Recording Complaints & Incidents in Chintaro

Modified on Thu, 29 Sep 2022 at 01:39 PM

A complaint or incident can take many types, for example, a complaint from a Tenant against a staff member or Tradesperson, a neighbourhood dispute between Tenants or maybe an appeal from a Tenancy about a decision regarding their Tenancy. It may also take the form of a Tradesperson complaining about a Tenant, or a staff member complaining about another staff member. Chintaro enables you to record many different types of sources of complaints/incidents, track the progress of key dates such as acknowledgements sent or updates for resolution, and any resolution notes and details. 


How and what your Organisation will need to track with Complaints/Incidents is individual to you and each organisation will have a different process. As with any other screen in Chintaro, if you don't need to use the field, leave it blank. 


This solution covers:


Adding a new Complaint or Incident to Chintaro

Complaints/Incidents can be added from many different screens, including the Client/Tenancy screen, Property screen, Tradesperson screen, or Property Manager/Tenancy Manager screen.  

To record a new Complaint/Incident from the Home Screen, click Complaints / Incidents, then click Manage Complaints / Incidents. The Manage Complaints/Inc screen will open:


To add a new Complaint to Chintaro, click the Add Incident button:


A blank Complaint/Incident screen will open:



General section of the Complaint/Incident


Screenshot in Chintaro
Description
Title: Enter a brief and succinct description of the Complaint that will appear on the Manage Complaints screen.
Incident Type: Select an Incident Type from the drop-down list. If the type has the sensitive box ticked on the reference table, the complaint/incident will automatically be ticked as sensitive, which can be filtered on from the Manage Complaints/Incidents screen. The sensitive box can be un-ticked at bottom left of the complaint/incident screen if needed:

This flag only allows the Sensitive flag to be filtered on the Manage Complaints/Incidents screen and future development of this functionality is coming in future releases of Chintaro.

NOTE: If the Incident Type you would like to add is not in this list, please ask your Chintaro System Administrator to add it to System Maintenance > Reference Tables > Complaint/Incident Type.
Add/Edit Issues: Click 'Add/Edit Issues' to add multiple Tags that you can apply to the Complaint. Double click on all of the issues that relate to the complaint, and click Exit to save.


NOTE: If the Issue(s) you would like to add is not in this list, please ask your Chintaro System Administrator to add it to System Maintenance > Reference Tables > Complaint/Incident Issue.

This table has a column for Issue (eg Compliment, Noise Disturbance), plus a column for Complaint/Incident Type. 

Complaint/Incident Type is selected from a drop-down and the value must already exist in the Complaint/Incident Type reference table.  There can be duplicate issues if they have different Types (see example below):



Initiator: Free Text Field - Enter the name of the person who initiated the incident.
Initiator Type: Select an Initiator Type from the drop-down list.

(NOTE: If the Initiator Type you would like to add is not in this list, please ask your Chintaro System Administrator to add it to System Maintenance > Reference Tables > Complaint/Incident Type 
Involved: Click 'Add/Edit Involved' to add any Client, Property, Tradesperson, or Property/Tenancy Manager that is involved with the incident/complaint. You can click on the radio button at the top to choose the category, and double-click on as many entries from each category as necessary (see below). Once all selections are complete, click Exit to save.

Once you add an entry, you will be able to see the complaint/incident from the detailed screen.  For example, if you add a property to a complaint/incident, when you go to the detailed view for that property, the complaint/incident will be displayed under the Complaints/Incidents section for that property.
Incident Level: Select the step the Complaint/Incident is at from the drop down list.

(NOTE: If the Incident Level you would like to add is not in this list, please ask your Chintaro System Administrator to add it to System Maintenance > Reference Tables > Complaint/Incident Level).
Risk Level: Select the step the Complaint is at from the drop down list.

(NOTE: If the Risk Level you would like to add is not in this list, please ask your Chintaro System Administrator to add it to System Maintenance > Reference Tables > Complaint/Incident Risk Level).
Program: Select either a tenancy or property program that the complaint relates to from the drop-down list.
NOTE: This does not default as a Property and Tenancy may have different Programs.
Reported To: Free text field where you can enter the name/place the Complaint/Incident was reported to.
Managed By: Select the individual responsible for managing the Complaint from the drop-down list of Property/Tenancy Managers.

(NOTE: If the person you would like to assign as the manager of the complaint is not in this list, please add them to Chintaro through Home Screen > Tenancies > Tenancy Managers > Add Manager).
Format Lodged: Select the format the complaint/incident was lodged by from the drop-down list.

(NOTE: If the Format Lodged you would like to add is not in this list, please ask your Chintaro System Administrator to add it to System Maintenance > Reference Tables > Complaint/Incident Format Lodged).
StatusSelect the Status of the Complaint from the drop-down list.

(NOTE: If the Status you would like to add is not in this list, please ask your Chintaro System Administrator to add it to System Maintenance > Reference Tables > Complaint/Incident Status).


Received Date: Will default to today's date, but can be changed by removing the date (highlighting and pressing <DELETE> on your keyboard) and selecting from the calendar icon or typing straight in the field.
Resolution Target: This is a calculated field. It will add the Default # Days to resolve to the Received Date.

(NOTE: To change the days to resolve, please ask your Chintaro System Administrator to edit 'Incident Resolution Days' under System Maintenance > Preferences > Tenancies/Rent).
Finalised Date: Once the Complaint has reached a resolution, enter the date in this field. If there is an entry in this field, the Complaint/Incident will automatically be set to In-Active (tick-box in the bottom left-hand corner).
Elapsed Days: This is a calculated field.   The number is calculated by determining the number of days that has passed since the Received Date until the Finalised Date.  If there is no Finalised Date it will use Today's date. 
Outcome: Once resolved, select the Outcome of the Complaint from the drop down list.

(NOTE: If the Outcome of the Complaint/Incident you would like to add is not in this list, please ask your Chintaro System Administrator to add it to System Maintenance > Reference Tables > Complaint/Incident Outcome).
Resolutions: Click 'Add/Edit Resolutions' to add multiple Tags that you can apply to the resolution of the Complaint. Double click on all of the resolution(s) that relate to the complaint, and click Exit to save.


(NOTE: If the Resolution(s) you would like to add is not in this list, please ask your Chintaro System Administrator to add it to System Maintenance > Reference Tables > Complaint/Incident Resolution).





Details section of the Complaint

The details section of the complaint records the particulars about the incident.


Screenshot in Chintaro
Description
Details: A free text field, where you enter all of the relevant details related to the Complaint.

NOTE: Press <CTRL> and <ENTER> for a new line.



Outcome Sought section of the Complaint

The Outcome Sought section of the complaint records the particulars about the resolution of the incident.

Screenshot in Chintaro
Description
Outcome Sought: A free text field, where you enter all of the relevant details related to the outcome of the Complaint.

NOTE: Press <CTRL> and <ENTER> for a new line.



Incident Notes

The Incident Notes section in the Complaint/Incident is used as a historical record of the interactions regarding the Complaint/Incident.  The top part of the section contains calculated fields for easy reference.  The dates are calculated based on Note Types that have the box 'Contact With Initiator' checked.  

To adjust Note Types, please ask your Chintaro System Administrator to edit System Maintenance > Reference Tables > Note Type Complaint.  The 'Contact With Initiator' check box should be used for Note Types that refer to any interaction with the person who raised the incident.



Details for each calculated field are as follows:

Screenshot in Chintaro
Description
First Contact: This field contains the date of the first note with a Note Type that has 'Contact With Initiator'  checked.
Last Contact: This field contains the date of the most recent note with a Note Type that has 'Contact With Initiator'  checked.

NOTE: The Reference Table for Note Type Complainthas a tick box for Contact With Initiator, which is used to calculate First Contact/Last Contact on the Complaint/Incident screen. 
Days To Respond: This field contains the number of days from the Received Date until the first note with a Note Type that has 'Contact With Initiator'  checked.
Days Since Last Contact: This field contains the number of days from the most recent note with a Note Type that has 'Contact With Initiator' checked until today's date.  If the complaint/incident has been finalised, this field will be blank. 

 

Notes can be entered manually, then added to the Complaint/Incident record by clicking Add Note. The Incident Note pop-up will appear:


Screenshot in Chintaro
Description
Note Date: Will default to today’s date.

Note Type: Is a drop down list where you can group your Investigation Notes in to categories (EG Step 1 Notes, Step 2 Notes, Resolution Note). You will be able to filter and sort Notes by the Note Type, and the Note Type drop down list is customisable by your System Administrator (System Maintenance > Reference Tables > Note Type Complaint).
Note Title: Add a short description of the Note
Note Body: Add the full description of the Note in the Note Body. Enter in Minutes.For a new line in the Note Body, you must hold down <CRTL> + K. Simply pressing <ENTER> will move the cursor to the next field. When you have finished entering the Note information, click the Add button to save the Note. Notes will appear in the Notes Section of the Client record in descending date order.
Related Links: Is used to add a hyperlink to a folder or document on your network that you would like linked to this specific Note.
Time Spent in Minutes: Is used to record how much time is spent on a task.
Sticky?: If you have a note (or multiple notes) that are particularly important and you would like to pin them to the top of the Notes list, you can make them a 'Sticky' note. When a Note is 'Sticky', it will appear at the top of the list, by Note Date. These Notes will appear at the top of the list and be seen first, each time a user logs in to the Complaints screen.



You can also make Investigation Notes in to Actions for yourself or another Chintaro user to follow up. Click here to find out more about Action Notes.  


The Complaint/Incident can link to files or folders on your network drive. To add a related link to a Complaint/Incident Record, press the  button. The Related Links pop up will appear. Enter the name of the file/folder next to Link Name, and <TAB> to the Link section.


From here, click either FILE to link to one file or FOLDER to link to an entire folder, depending what it is that you would like to link:



Press  to save the Related Link. Click on the hyperlink to open the file/folder you have linked:


Setting Security for Complaints/Incidents 

To ensure that Complaints/Incidents are hidden to users who you do not want to see them, by default, users who are not System Administrators in your database will not be able to see complaints and incidents on each of the screens throughout Chintaro


To change this please navigate to System Maintenance > Reference Tables > Parameters > IncidentAdminOnly and set Parm Number to 0 


If you turn this off, all users will be able to see Complaints/Incidents on the Client/Tenancy screen, Property screen, Tradesperson screen, or Property Manager/Tenancy Manager screen, EG below:


Deleting Complaints/Incidents 

Only System Administrators can delete a complaint/incident.  In order to delete it, bring up the complaint, then select the red 'Delete Complaint' button from the blue toolbar at the top:


Reference Tables used for Complaints/Incidents

When you add a new complaint/incident to Chintaro, a lot of the fields are drop-down boxes, which get their values from reference tables.  The different reference tables are outlined below.  

NOTE: You must have system administrator privileges to be able to edit reference tables


Reference Table
Options
Complaint/Incident Format Lodged eg. Email, In person, Phone...etc
Complaint/Incident Issue 

This table has a column for Issue (eg Compliment, Noise Disturbance), plus a column for Complaint/Incident Type.  Complaint/Incident Type is selected from a drop-down and the value must already exist in the Complaint/Incident Type reference table.  There can be duplicate issues if they have different Types (see example below):

Complaint/Incident Level
eg. Step1, Step2
Complaint/Incident Outcome eg Out of scope, Partially Substantiated
Complaint/Incident Resolution
eg Apology, Cleaning arranged
Complaint/Incident Risk Level 
  • Complaint/Incident Risk Level - eg High, Medium, Low
  • Complaint/Incident Status - eg Open, Pending, Resolved
  • Complaint/Incident Type – contains a ‘sensitive’ column.  If that box is ticked, the complaint is ticked as sensitive when the type is selected
  • Note Type Complaint – Has a tick box for Contact With Initiator, which is used to calculate First Contact/Last Contact on the Complaint/Incident screen
  • Parameters > IncidentAdminOnly – if set to TRUE, only level 9 users can see complaints on each screen (Client, Tenancy, Property, Tradesperson, Property/Tenancy manager)

Preferences and Parameters used for Complaints/Incidents

A system administrator can change the default number of days given to resolve a complaint/incident under System Maintenance > Preferences > Tenancies/Rent:

Incident Resolution Days: This is used to calculate the Resolution Target


By default users who are not System Administrators in your database will not be able to see complaints and incidents on each of the screens through out Chintaro. To change this please navigate to System Maintenance > Reference Tables > Parameters > IncidentAdminOnly and set Parm Number to 0 


Click here to read about how to add a new complaint/incident in Chintaro.



For further assistance with Complaints/Incidents

Please contact support@chintaro.com.au for more information on the Complaints/Incidents module in Chintaro.


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