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Complaints: are we really learning or just keeping up?
The social housing sector is working hard to improve complaints handling, so why isn’t customer satisfaction with the process rising?
PEOPLE & CULTURE
Francesca Macey
Consultant (governance and regulation), Campbell Tickell
Francesca Macey
Consultant (governance and regulation), Campbell Tickell
Issue 84 | June 2026
Across social housing, complaint handling is more coordinated than it uses to be. Processes are clearer, expectations are higher and regulation has raised the bar. Yet, satisfaction with complaint handling remains stubbornly low. Why?
When process outpaces experience
There has been real progress in how we handle complaints. The question is whether we are learning from them in a way that actually improves services.
The sector has invested heavily in clearer procedures, tighter timescales and stronger oversight. These things all matter, but they don’t, on their own, change outcomes.
Our research into complaints handling culture found that empathy and colleague commitment are often strong. The gaps are more structural: systems, consistency and accessibility.
That’s why a response can meet every requirement and still leave someone feeling unheard. What looks like a well‑handled complaint isn’t always a resolved experience.
The pressure to respond, not reflect
Complaint volumes are rising, so the focus naturally shifts to keeping up. When that happens, complaints become something to process rather than something to learn from. Reporting tends to stay at the level of volumes and response times which are useful for oversight, but limited for improvement.
The real questions are:
- Why does this issue keep happening?
- What is the underlying cause?
- What would stop it happening again?
Those questions are often being asked within complaints teams. But if the same issues keep coming back, the answers aren’t translating into change elsewhere.
“Complaint volumes are rising, so the focus naturally shifts to keeping up. When that happens, complaints become something to process rather than something to learn from.”
Insight is there, but are we using it?
Complaints offer a direct, unfiltered view of how residents experience services.
They show where services break down and where expectations don’t match reality. The insight is there. The problem is what happens next.
Too often, insight stays within the complaints function where it is captured in reports, but not driving change in the services that generated the issue. That’s where learning breaks down.
Learning from complaints isn’t about better case handling. It’s about changing what sits behind the complaint.
That means focusing on:
- where issues are repeating
- who is affected
- and what needs to change in the service itself
If complaints keep coming in about the same issue, and the service is operating as designed, the learning isn’t to improve complaint responses but it’s to rethink the service.
Watch our recent webinar, in which we share share insights from our pilot of the new Complaints CultureScan tool, developed in partnership with housing providers to better understand the cultural drivers behind effective complaints handling.
Why culture and leadership matter
One of the clearest findings from our research is the link between organisational culture and resident experience. More mature cultures tend to have higher satisfaction with complaint handling.
That’s because learning depends on what organisations are willing to change. And that shows up in leadership decisions: what gets prioritised, what gets funded, and what is allowed to stay the same.
We often say complaints have become a strategic priority. But if complaints don’t lead to different decisions, different services or different outcomes, they aren’t driving improvement, they’re just being managed.
Real learning closes the loop: what residents told us, what we changed and how we know it made a difference.
That’s not something the complaints team can deliver alone. It depends on whether the organisation is willing to act on what complaints are really saying.
Ultimately, complaints show not just what has gone wrong, but whether organisations are prepared to listen and change.
You can read more about our research here: Complaints Handling Culture - Campbell Tickell
“If complaints don’t lead to different decisions, different services or different outcomes, they aren’t driving improvement, they’re just being managed.”
