Pressure-Test Your Complaints Management Program

Pressure testing your complaints management program may yield concerns. Here's how to make sure you can develop a strong and effective program.

Editor's Note: This article was originally published in the Bridgeforce insights collection.

Recently, credit or consumer reporting complaints made up 79% of the total consumer complaint volume to the CFPB according to their annual report of credit and consumer complaints.?These trends are likely to remain unchanged since 2023 complaints were 34% more than 2022’s numbers according to the March 2024 Consumer Response Annual Report.? So it stands to reason that complaints will continue to increase. With that in mind, here are key components to develop and maintain a strong, effective complaints management program.

4 Areas to Check for a Working Complaints Management Program

1. GOVERNANCE to ensure a sustainable program and employee engagement

Determine what is expected and memorialize through documentation. These requirements are reinforced through training and tie to expected performance.

Required Elements

• Clear Compliance Expectations and Definitions
• Roles & Responsibilities
• Policies & Procedures
• Training

2. DETECTION, CAPTURE & ESCALATION guarantee that what is expected is being done and communicated properly

Implement methods to effectively communicate expectations and identify and document?instances requiring attention.? Confirm?exceptions are communicated promptly to the right people for appropriate next steps.

Required Elements

• Identification & Capture
• Prioritization & Communication

3. ANALYSIS & RESOLUTION aids in decision-making and drives change

Analyze to identify the root cause and formalize remediation needs. This should not be limited to the “highest volume” complaint types, as we have seen a small number of complaints be signs of significant underlying issues.

Required Elements

• Root Cause analysis
• Remediation
• Restitution
• Validation

4. REPORTING & MONITORING ensures widespread awareness and accountability from the top down

Appropriately record and categorize complaints and use the data to drive business decisions and to inform policies, procedures, monitoring and training.

Required Elements

• Trends
• Issues
• Risks
• Effectiveness

Supporting Success Factors

Top-to-Bottom Enterprise Buy-in:?Everything relating to risk and control must have?board and senior leadership agreement?on its importance and expectations.

Effective Case & Workflow Management Tools:?You need proper case management to be able to process documents and hand-off to the right resources.? Complaints should be reviewed centrally and?segmented for escalation?due to legal issues involving potential consumer harm from?unfair or discriminatory treatment, or other regulatory risks.

End-to-End Consumer Focus:?Regardless of where the consumer is in the complaints journey, you must keep that person’s perspective in mind to ensure regulatory compliance and consumer loyalty.

Reliable Data & Advanced Analytics:?Inadequate data and broken reporting mechanisms are inefficient and hinder your ability to identify trends.?Analysis should be system-driven?to include detailed tracking of important data. Your data should include the number of complaints, severity, classification, response timeliness and the relevant functional business area(s) to determine root cause and corrective action. Then, the data pieces need to be joined to examine enterprise-wide complaint activity.

Strong Governance & Oversight:?Leadership must create and maintain an authentic “culture of complaints as gifts” to?clearly define accountability and expectations?for behavior, communication, and actions.

Success of governance and oversight should translate into improved first contact resolution, a reduction of repeat consumer complaints and reduced complaint volumes in relation to your consumer base.

Bridgeforce Will Solve Your Credit Reporting Problems

Bridgeforce can evaluate your program. We’ve worked with financial institutions of all sizes to assess their?credit bureau complaints management programs?as a part of our proven, proprietary?Credit Reporting and Disputes Management?methodology.

Contact us?today to talk through your needs.

Read this article at Bridgeforce.com