Participant Rights, Responsibilities, and Complaints

ANHBC Complaints Process

Complaint: A complaint is an expression of dissatisfaction about the service, actions, or lack of action by ANHBC as an organization or a staff member or volunteer acting on behalf of ANHBC. It can include concerns about our staff’s conduct, quality of service, delay in providing a response, or the reasonableness of a decision made or action taken by a member of our staff. It can also include the response provided by a staff member to a complaint or concern raised about our organization.

 Our Commitment to You:

The Association of Neighbourhood Houses of British Columbia (ANHBC) is committed to providing a transparent process for participants, volunteers, and others connected with our organization to express their concerns. 

Sharing your concerns with us will not have any negative impact on the services you receive and will not result in retaliation of any kind. We will work through your concerns respectfully, fairly, and in a timely manner. We will protect your personal information throughout the complaint process and beyond.

If you want to communicate your concern, we suggest taking the following steps in registering a complaint and escalate your complaint if needed:

Complaints Process:

 Step 1: Try to resolve the matter directly with the person or people who are the subject of the complaint.

 Step 2: If you are unable or unwilling to resolve the complaint directly, or if the complaint wasn’t resolved to your satisfaction, then you should inform the supervisor/manager in charge of the program about the concern. The supervisor/manager will ensure appropriate investigation and follow-up is conducted.

Step 3: If you are unable or unwilling to inform the program supervisor/manager, or if the complaint wasn’t resolved to your satisfaction, you should submit your complaint in writing, using the complaint form, to the Program Director or the Executive Director. The Director receiving the complaint will ensure appropriate investigation and follow-up is conducted.

 Step 4: If you are unable or unwilling to inform the Director or Executive Director, or if the complaint wasn’t resolved to your satisfaction, you should submit your complaint in writing to the ANHBC CEO. The CEO will ensure appropriate investigation and follow-up is conducted.

 Step 5: If your complaint remains unresolved, it will be escalated to the ANHBC Board of Directors to attempt a resolution.

 Step 6: If it is deemed necessary, due to inability to resolve the complaint or the nature of the complaint, an external review, mediator, or legal advisor might be engaged.

Timeframe:

Within thirty (30) days of submitting the complaint, a response will be provided to you which will outline the process of the investigation and any actions taken.

ANHBC will do our best to remedy any situation causing a complaint, will be open and honest in our efforts to do so, and will attempt to resolve the issues relayed in the complaint in as timely a manner as possible.

Support:

ANHBC staff are here to help. If you need support during the complaints process, or help completing the form, please reach out to any trusted staff member, who will support you through the process.