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

54
Train and Support Participants
A fundamental goal of the grievance mechanism is
to solve problems early at the lowest level.
It is important to support that goal with training for employees.
A fundamental goal of the grievance mechanism is to solve problems early at the lowest level.
Thus it is important to support that goal with basic stakeholder engagement and conflict
resolution training for employees. Training in a variety of responsibilities is required in the startup
of a grievance mechanism for the following people:
• Personnel who will administer the system must receive skill training in conducting receipt
and registration, referral processes, service provision, quality control, monitoring and record
keeping, and the grievance mechanism ethics.
• Grievance coordinators must receive training in conflict resolution and grievance
management.
• Those who register complaints must receive training about the receipt and registration
process, and the procedure for forwarding complaints to a central point of contact within
the company. They also need a set of complaint forms.
• Managers and supervisors need problem-solving skills because the bulk of complaints can
be resolved by using informal “decide together” approaches without having to resort to
more formal procedures, such as arbitration. Managers and employees who assume a new
role—that of a problem solver—will be more successful if they are prepared.
• Users need information about the system, information about their rights, help in thinking
through their choices, and appreciation for their efforts to address their disputes in a
responsible, productive way.
For all these reasons, training is a key element of quality control for the system.
Incentives must also be established to encourage the use of the grievance mechanism.
Some ways to build incentives are discussed in box 6.2.