Managing Unreasonable Behaviour – The Legal Ombudsman Journey

What is Unreasonable Behaviour? At LeO our ‘Managing unacceptable behaviour policy’ defines unreasonable behaviour under two categories: Aggressive, abusive or offensive language or behaviour General unreasonable behaviour 1

Aggressive, abusive or offensive language or behaviour Threats of physical violence Swearing Inappropriate cultural, racial or religious references Rudeness, including derogatory remarks 1

General unreasonable behaviour Examples of this behaviour include Demanding responses within an unreasonable time-scale Repeatedly contacting or insisting on speaking to a particular member of staff who is not directly dealing with the matter; Excessive telephone calls, emails or letters Sending duplicate correspondence requiring a response to more than one member of staff Persistent refusal to accept a decision or explanations Continuing to contact without presenting new and relevant information. 1

The impact of unreasonable behaviour Operational efficiency Fair Investigation / resolution Staff 1

Considerations when managing unreasonable behaviour Our Policy says......... “The Legal Ombudsman recognises that in some circumstances, customers may have a mental health problem and/or other disabilities where it may be difficult for them to express themselves or communicate clearly and or appropriately. Where unacceptable behaviour is evidenced under these circumstances, [we] will consider the individual needs and circumstances of the customer and our staff before deciding on how best to manage the situation.” 1

A need for change Staff Feedback Staff wanted a more definitive framework which would provide the tools and empower all staff to play a part in the management of unreasonable behaviour Operational Inefficiencies Inconsistencies in how unreasonable behaviour was managed had a resulting operational impact New Case Management system Introduction of new case management system (CMS) has given the organisation new capabilities and tools to manage unreasonable behaviour more effectively 1

What we did next Working group set up to look at our current policies to develop training, policy and procedure using existing and new material Looked for ‘best practice’ from other organisations and considered material from ‘New South Wales Ombudsman’ Use of external bodies (Queen Margaret University) to help develop a real time tool for all staff 1

A clearer approach Reviewed and updated the ‘Managing unacceptable behaviour policy’ Developed a process guide and our case management system Enhanced our online tool kit for staff 1

Process Guide Informal Warning – by staff member Clear three stage process of responsibilities: All clearly documented on the contact record of the case management system Informal Warning – by staff member Formal Restriction – By Team leader authorised by Operations Manager Restriction review – Team Leader 1

Contact Alerts We use ‘contact records’ to link cases to customers. These record useful information about the customer that will then be shown on all cases that contact has. Information on the contact record drives a number of ‘Contact Alerts’ such as Reasonable Adjustments in place, (RA) and Active Complaint (C) and recently updated contact information (U) 1

Types of restriction Blocking phone access to part or all of the business Blocking an email address Allowing the customer to speak to only one main contact Restricting any further communication around a specific complaint that LeO has already dealt with Restricting how long telephones calls will last for or the times of day they are made Placing letters or emails on file but not issuing any further response 1

Online tool support Developed a Challenging Behaviour Application for use in real time to supplement our existing suite of support information Covers three main sections Why people are unreasonable and how to prepare for contact An interactive real time tool for all staff A reflective piece for staff support – feedback, learning and debriefing. Includes section on ‘post management; which includes supportive strategies for dealing with challenging behaviour. 1

Review and reflection The full suite of changes will go live in June / July 2015 Continuous improvement - review six months later 1