A Guide to Designing and Implementing Grievance Mechanisms for ...

In general, complaints are most effectively addressed if grievance resolution is seen as everyone’s
job, rather than something the “social folks” do. There should be a single point for coordination
of this function, however, and a single, high-level person who has ultimate responsibility for the
system. Where the mechanism resides and who is responsible within the company sends a strong
message to the community, company employees, and contractors about the company’s
commitment to grievance resolution.
While the home of the mechanism’s coordination function should be in a prominent unit of the
company and high-level personnel should be assigned to manage it, the work of the system
should be mainstreamed throughout operations and the business side of the enterprise. If
responsibility for resolution of complaints is assigned exclusively to community affairs or a social
and environmental unit, these entities and their leaders may not have the authority to secure
effective resolutions. Similarly, the effectiveness of the mechanism is likely to be compromised if
the mechanism is totally disconnected or only loosely linked to operations—often the source of
a complaint and therefore necessary to engage in resolution.
Companies have sought various ways to mainstream grievance resolution activities and link
social and environmental functions with operations. Some solutions include regular forums,
such as meetings that bring together community affairs, environmental, and operations staff to
discuss community concerns. Sometimes, staff members are assigned to multiple departments.
In other cases, all company personnel have been trained to handle complaints, with responsibility
for grievance management ranging from merely receiving complaints to offering a solution,
depending upon the level of the employee. A highly innovative approach—empowering
operations staff on the ground to accept and resolve complaints within their authority—is
described in box 5.9.
Box 5.9. Involving Company Employees in Grievance Resolution
While many companies appoint and dedicate specific personnel to accept and handle grievances,
a few see this role and function as part of the job responsibilities of all employees. These companies
brief and prepare all employees to be ambassadors to the community and authorize them to accept
grievances from members of the public whenever they are on the job. They are also empowered to
resolve a complaint immediately if it is within their scope of responsibility and does not require
significant expenditure of company resources.
An international forest products corporation has used this approach at some of its plants. A company
official explained: “[We] emphasize good neighbor relations. Our Forest Managers, people accountable
for the operating business, walk up and down the road to let people know what is happening—
truck traffic, spraying… People with connections are from operations. We do not farm this out to
community relations people. Operations are accountable to the people. We want operations people
to be connected to the issues and the local people. [The] guy connected to the balance sheet has to
be involved.”
Incorporate the Community
To draw upon the community’s perspective, the system may tap community leaders, elders,
chiefs, or other respected people. Some of their functions may include accepting and
forwarding community complaints to the appropriate company official; serving as witnesses
who publicly verify the fairness of a resolution process; acting as advisors or advocates for
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