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Achieve Best Practice 
Complaints Management
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Assessment Framework

CSIA uses the Complaints Handling Framework (CSIA-CHF) as the assessment framework for organisations undertaking certification. 

 

The Complaint Handling Framework (CSIA-CHF) has been designed to provide a best-practice guide to maintaining an effective and robust complaint handling system. Organisations that successfully complete the associated assessment will be able to proudly display a recognised Trustmark acknowledging their ‘Certified Complaints Handling System’. The framework is aligned to the AS ISO 10002-2018 and the AS/NZS ISO 10002:2014 standards, and provides guidance on complaints handling related to products and services within an organisation, including planning, design, operation, maintenance and improvement. 

 

The framework is intended to benefit an organisation and its customers, complainants, and other interested parties. It is intended to be used by organisations of all sizes and in all sectors. 

 

The Complaints Handling Framework

Effective complaints handling is one of the cornerstones of a customer-centric organisation – it’s critical that an organisation, no matter its size or sector, successfully addresses and resolves its customers’ complaints when they arise and learns from the experience. 

 

The CSIA Complaint Handling Framework (CSIA-CHF: 2025) is structured around multiple tenets of a customer-centric philosophy: 

 

  • That prompt and successful complaints resolution can build customer satisfaction and loyalty, as well as building an organisation’s reputation. 

  • That by better understanding customer complaints, an organisation can improve both its relationship with its customers, but also the quality of its products and services.

  • That successful complaint handling is an all-of-business exercise – a commitment to complaint handling needs to be driven from the top of the business as much as from the front-line worker. 

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The Framework is structured around three layers of business processes: 

 

  1. The organisational foundation elements on which a successful complaint handling process is built. - the business culture and resources on which complaints are managed. 

  2. The complaints process itself - the customer and business journey of receiving, investigating and resolving a complaint, and

  3. The organisational outputs - how an organisation manages complaints handling, understanding both the broader trends and how they impact the business, and learns from them 

 

This framework has been designed with versatility in mind. It can be applied to large corporates through to smaller organisations, across a range of sectors both public and private. It’s with this versatility that all organisations can use this framework as the basis of designing, implementing, and managing a best-practice approach to complaint management. 

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The Framework consists of 25 elements across these three layers

Performance Measurement

The ICSS assessment process measures each of the 25 elements with a 0-10 scale across three key metrics:

INTENTION

Evidence exists to show that these attributes are to be addressed in the current, or in the next business planning phase

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IMPLEMENTATION

Evidence exists to show that the attribute has been address and success measured

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INTEGRATION

Evidence exists to show that the attribute is part of the culture, and measurement data is being used to enhance service delivery

Assessment Process

1. Self Assessment

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  • The organisation completes a CSIA-CHF Self Assessment Workbook. This includes providing commentary and compiling an evidence library for all 25 CHF elements.

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2. Certification Assessment

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  • CSIA conducts a certification assessment. This includes interviews with department leads, key stakeholders and service team delegates, with the organisation’s self assessment workbook and evidence library are central to the assessment.

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3. Certification Report and Measurement

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  • CSIA completes an analysis and prepares an CSIA-CHF Report for the organisation and completes CHF measurement and scoring.

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4. Report & Recognition

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  • CSIA provides the organisation with a comprehensive CSIA-CHF Certification Report which outlines performance for each of the elements, including in-depth analysis of strengths, risks and opportunities for continuous improvement.

  • The report includes CSIA-CHF scoring for each attribute and the organisation's formal CHF Performance Score 

  • The organisation is certified to the CSIA Complaint Handling Framework, and receives the Certified Complaints Handling System status, certificate and Trustmark.

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Resources

Complaints Handling Framework Internal Stakeholder Evidence Guide

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