Grievance and disciplinary process for Destination management firms: complaints from guests, agents and crew
Complaints reach a ground operator from three directions: the guest on the day, the agent after the trip and the crew about each other or about pay. Each needs a fair route.
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Share your requirementsWhy grievance and disciplinary process matters in destination management firms
When an agent says a guide was rude, the owner often calls the guide and decides on the spot. When a guide says a coordinator gave the wrong briefing, nobody writes anything down. People learn that the loudest voice wins, and both sides stop reporting honestly.
A grievance and disciplinary process sets simple steps. Hear the complaint, hear the person complained about, check facts such as the programme sheet and any messages, decide and record. It applies to employees and, in a suitable form, to panel guides. Imagine a complaint that a guide left a group at a shop for two hours. The steps show what happened before a decision is made.
How to set it up
1. Define what a complaint is
Agree what counts and how it is raised, whether by an agent, a guest or a crew member, and to whom.
2. Set the steps
Receive, acknowledge, hear both sides, check the facts, decide and record, in plain words.
3. Name who decides
An operations head for most cases and the owner for serious ones, with a written note of the outcome.
4. Cover panel guides in the same way
A short agreement for panel guides on how complaints are handled and what may follow. Ask a qualified professional about the wording.
5. Review patterns each quarter
Look at complaints together to see repeated causes, such as one vendor or one programme type. HR policies can record the outcome.
Check these first
Before changing anything, find out what is true today. These take an afternoon and use your own records.
- Read the last five complaints and see whether any were recorded.
- Ask guides whether they would feel heard if a client complained about them.
- See whether crew know who to speak to about a grievance.
- Check if panel guides have any written understanding about complaints.
GullyHR can do this with you. Read how we approach grievance and disciplinary process in general, or share your requirements and we will tell you where to start.
Questions owners ask
The steps can apply in a form suited to their arrangement. Ask a qualified professional how their engagement is set up, and write the process so both sides know how a complaint is handled.
Name someone outside the line, such as a trusted adviser or a board member. Without an outside route, crew will not speak up.
Agree a timeline, such as acknowledgement in a few days and a decision within a set period, and tell the people involved. Delay is a common cause of bad feeling.