Employee Feedback and Grievance System (OI3601)

This metric is intended to capture whether organizations have in place a grievance mechanism and system to receive and resolve grievances and complaints. Organizations may also choose to report on additional feedback systems in place to capture positive feedback and questions. Organizations can refer to the glossary for more information on feedback systems.

Examples of relevant details to footnote may include: the frequency with which employee feedback is solicited or received, whether the system enables anonymity or confidentiality, whether there are established procedures to handle feedback, whether a regular employee satisfaction survey is conducted, and other relevant aspects of the feedback system.

Negative employee feedback, such as an employee complaint, is also known as a grievance if it is a claim by an employee who is being adversely affected by a misinterpretation or misapplication of a written organizational policy or collectively bargained agreement. Employee grievances typically relate to issues such as pay and benefits, workload, working conditions, and union and management relations. For example, a grievance may include an incident of sexual harassment, wage inequity for comparable work, increased workload without increased pay, or unsafe work conditions, among many other scenarios.

Organizations can refer to the SPI4 (http://cerise-spi4.squarespace.com/), specifically Essential Practices 5a3 and 5c1, for additional indicators related to employee feedback systems. SPI4 is a social audit tool, developed for financial service providers, which can apply to any organization with both social and financial objectives.