A word from Kwame Addo, Director of Investigations & Complaints Resolution
In April 2009, the Office of the Ombudsman became the last of the City’s Accountability Officers to set up shop and open its doors to the public.
As we approach the end of the year, it’s a good time to look back on our first seven months of operation. So far we have held 25 information sessions with managers to provide information about how our office works. Fiona Crean has spoken to all senior managers, and has had one-on-ones with all councillors.
We are currently focusing on public outreach, but we will resume our information sessions with staff in the New Year, as departments see the need.
What we have found dealing with our colleagues in the public service is that divisions and ABC’s are generally very responsive. Staff respond to our requests in a timely way, offer advice and clarify information.
On one occasion, we had a Director walk over to our office to discuss a case in response to an enquiry. Talk about service!
Recently, I spoke to a staff member who said that if only we’d known she was the person to direct a complainant to, she could have helped immediately.
So the commitment is there. But where improvement is needed – and is coming with 311 – is connecting members of the public with the right staff. Next year we hope to continue to work with the public service to make sure their complaint resolution procedures and identified personnel are well understood by both members of the public and our office.
Not surprisingly, there have been challenges, too. We get lots of calls about being bounced from place to place before finding someone who can help. That happens to us too. And that’s frustrating for people, no matter which sector of the economy you’re in. Just try managing your hardware, software and service providers on your home computer and you’ll know what I mean.
But people expect more from the public sector, they are the taxpayers after all.
Through all these interactions, we have developed solid working relations with key areas. Several Divisions have asked the office to comment on their complaint processes. And we are in the process of developing working protocols with others.
We reported on our stats in the October newsletter and some of you may have noticed that our calls to you have increased since then. Since we started our public education and media activities our numbers are up.
The majority of complaints are finalized without the need for a formal investigation. They may require a series of phone calls, or an exchange of correspondence, shuttle diplomacy and meetings with the relevant agency or division.
In most cases, this can be done fairly quickly. Sometimes it takes a couple of weeks before a matter can be resolved. We appreciate the number of staff who have made such an effort to make our enquiries a priority.
When a complaint can’t be dealt with informally, we will do an investigation. That takes longer and it may take up more of your time. Right now, the office has six open investigations. More details about cases we’ve dealt with will be provided in our first Annual Report, so stay tuned.
A word about Kwame Addo: He brings more than 18 years of complaint resolution experience as an investigator at Ombudsman Ontario. Trained as a biologist, he initially investigated complaints about the Ministries of Natural Resources, Environment and Ontario Hydro. More recently, at Ombudsman Ontario, Kwame led several systemic investigations, including the Special Investigations Unit and Newborn Screening.
Follow @TO_Ombuds