Proper complaint management is essential for identifying product or service shortfalls and resolving them efficiently. For companies that adhere to ISO standards or are regulated by the FDA, complaints management is also a compliance requirement.
Unfortunately, complaint management isn’t something that’s easy to get right. We look at the top four challenges companies face and how best to overcome them.
Lack of procedure
Without a standard procedure for recording, investigating and resolving complaints, agents are left to their own devices and each incident may be handled differently. Inconsistency can lead to confusion and ineffective communication between agents, managers and customers.
Insufficient information
Recording too little information or leaving out relevant details hampers effective complaint resolution. It also leads to dissatisfied customers, who may be called on to provide the same information multiple times.
Proper record keeping in relation to complaints is also an FDA and ISO compliance requirement.
Outdated systems
An outdated or ineffective complaint management system can lead to issues such as miscommunication, data loss, improper recording of information and failure to track complaint handling through to resolution.
To be effective, a modern complaint management system should be intuitive to use and properly integrated with other business systems. Agents should also be thoroughly trained in its use.
Late resolution
A complaint that is resolved weeks or even months after it’s received paves the way for further customer dissatisfaction and new complaints about how long it takes your business to resolve issues.
Corrective and preventive action (CAPA) needs to happen quickly, and to include giving necessary feedback to the customer.
Effective complaint management
With standardized procedures, proper staff training, and constant monitoring, most challenges associated with complaint management can be easily overcome.
Complaint management software is ideal for streamlining this process. A suitable complaint management system is also a requirement for ISO and FDA compliance.
These are some of the key capabilities of the best complaint management software:
- central, standardized recording and storage of complaints, enabling tracking of all information pertaining to their investigation, resolution and closure
- creation, distribution, and tracking of corrective action (CAPA) requests, through to their satisfaction and closure
- automated workflows, for ensuring nothing is overlooked
- automatic email task notifications with regular reminders and automatic escalation if due dates are missed
- up-to-date analysis of key complaint and CAPA performance metrics.
Complaints management software from isoTracker
isoTracker offers modular, cloud-based quality management software, including a complaints management module. This module provides a comprehensive system for recording, investigating, and resolving customer complaints. It also ensures easy compliance with ISO and FDA complaint management requirements.
Contact us to learn more or opt to begin a free, 60-day trial of our software so you can assess its benefits for your business.
