Complaints

Trias is committed to function in a fair, transparent and ethical way. We value an open dialogue about our activities, organisation and services with our partners and stakeholders and invite you to share and discuss any questions or concerns you might have. Our aim is to come to an agreement in mutual consultation and find satisfactory solutions. If the proposed solution does not take away your dissatisfaction, you can file a complaint. Trias aims at doing everything within our means to follow up on your complaint and regain your trust!

Policy Statement with regard to Complaints

This policy applies to all Trias divisions and is global in application. A complaint can be made by any supporter, partner organisation, community or individual with whom we work or any member of the public whether an individual, company or other entity in Belgium or anywhere else in the world.

Ensuring that our stakeholders can hold us accountable will improve the quality of our work. When we make a mistake we want and need to be informed. We will use the information to put things right and to help us to become more effective.

Definitions and guiding principles

A complaint is an expression of dissatisfaction about the standards of service, actions or lack of action by Trias or its staff, volunteers or anybody directly involved in the delivery of our work. The complainant expects a reply and would like things to be changed. Complaints could include the following (not an exhaustive list): Concern from someone we work with about the quality of programme delivery⋅ Concern from a member of the public or supporter about a particular fundraising approach or campaign ⋅ Concern about the behaviour of staff, volunteers or partners/contractors, etc.

A complaint has to be about an action for which Trias is responsible or that is within our sphere of influence, and will as a guiding principle be handled in a decentralized way by the involved division first.

Accessibility. Complainants should be able to make a complaint as easily as possible: written correspondence, email, telephone, verbally, via a third party, etc. We are committed to making communication with us as easy as possible.

Timeliness. Trias aims to resolve complaints within 15 days of receipt. In the event that a complaint cannot be resolved within this timeframe the complainant will be informed about the progress made to date and when they can expect to receive a response. This will be within 45 days upon receipt. Complaints should be made within 3 months of the relevant incident. In exceptional circumstances we may be able to respond to a complaint that is older, although the passage of time may make it harder to resolve the complaint satisfactorily.

Confidentiality. Some complaints need to be kept confidential in order to safeguard those making or involved in the complaint. However in some instances we might judge that the complainant will be  better served if others are involved in the resolution of a complaint. Third parties will only be included in the resolution of confidential complaints on a case-by-case basis and with the agreement of the complainant.

Documented. Some complaints may be both made and resolved verbally, e.g. by telephone or face to face. Where they are unable to be resolved verbally, complaints must be made in writing.

Right to appeal. Complainants who have launched a well-founded complaint and who are unsatisfied with Trias response to that complaint have the right to appeal. Appropriate appeal processes are outlined in the document published with this policy. After the internal appeal, there is no further internal process. You may however still contact our General Management, or the chairman of the Board of Directors.

Mutual Respect. Everyone who makes a complaint to Trias will be treated with courtesy and respect. In return, Trias expects people who make a complaint to communicate their concerns fairly and appropriately. Where complainants harass staff, behave abusively, or unreasonably pursue complaints, Trias reserves the right to withdraw or modify its complaints process.

Part of a learning process. We will log and monitor all serious complaints and results of such complaints and this information will be brought, regularly, to the attention of appropriate senior management in order that we learn from what we do and how we do it. This information will not necessarily be available to the public.

Annual report. Trias will keep this policy under review and an annual report will be produced on its implementation for submission to the Trias Management Team and Board of Directors; this report will also include consideration and comment on the application of lessons learned from previous years’ reports. In accordance with Trias Integrity Policy an overview of complaints including number and analysis will be published, although to respect the privacy of individuals the details of individual complaints will not be public. The content of the annual report will be based on data extracted from the complaint registers.

Our step-by-step approach to complaints:

1. Upon receipt of your complaint, the responsible in charge (usually the divisional internal counsellor, see contact details below) will register your complaint and investigate it further. A case file will be opened.

2. In case some aspects need clarification, you might be contacted for more information within a delay of 15 working days. You will also receive a notification of receipt.

3. Upon receiving a justified complaint, we will take due time to do research and find possible solutions. The results of this process and the proposed solutions will be communicated to you within a delay of 45 days. Proposed solutions can be either preventive or corrective measures, or a combination of both.

4. In case you are not satisfied with the way your complaint has been handled, or the proposed solution(s), you can bring your case to the attention of the focal point integrity at the Brussels Office of Trias.

5. Upon receipt of this appeal after complaint a second internal procedure will start. The steps mentioned under 1 through 3 will be repeated but this time under coordination of the (central) focal point integrity at HR in Brussels.

6. The objectives of this second process could be to assess the quality of how the complaint procedure was handled at the decentral level, the internal processes or policies at the source of your complaint and to investigate/ propose solutions with a more positive impact on your satisfaction.

7. In you are still not satisfied with the outcome of the complaint procedure, you have the right to address our General Management directly, or if applicable the chairman of the Board of Directors.

Get in touch

If you wish to make a complaint, there are several ways to contact us. By post, email or phone through the following officers at the Regional Offices:

Trias Centroamérica
Daisy Mejia, internal counsellor

Regional office in El Salvador
Residencial Lomas de San Francisco 3
Avenida 2 casa no. 29
San Salvador
El Salvador
Integrity_CAM@trias.ngo

Trias Afrique de l’Ouest
Emmanuel Zombre, internal counsellor

Regionaal office in Burkina Faso
Boîte Postal : 05 BP 6530 Ouagadougou
05- Burkina Faso
Ouaga 2000, Secteur 45
Ouagadougou
Tel: 00226 25 37 51 14
Integrity_WAF@trias.ngo

Trias América del Sur
Paul Vazquez, internal counsellor

Regional office in Ecuador
Argentinos 38-82 en Carlos Zambrano
Riobamba
Ecuador
Tel: 00593 3 2968211
Postbus: 06-01-1422
Integrity_SAM@trias.ngo

Trias Afrique Centrale
Raul Muhindo, internal counsellor

Regional office in D.R. Congo
Avenue Colonel Ebeya 15-17 (nouveau bâtiment, 3ième étage), Kinshasa-Gombe
Kinshasa
DR Congo
Tel: 00243 82 30 82399 of 00243 81 07 05527
Integrity_CAF@trias.ngo

Trias East-Africa
Sophia Rwomire, internal counsellor

Regional office in Tanzania
Hans road – Gate No. 5 – Plot No. 17
PO BOX 12005
Arusha
Tanzania
Tel: 00255 73 29 79 942
Integrity_EAF@trias.ngo

Trias Southeast Asia
Catherine Esplana, internal counsellor

Regional office in the Philippines
Matiyaga-straat 22
Central District Diliman
Quezon City
Manilla
Philippines
Tel: 0063 2 89266163
Integrity_SEA@trias.ngo

General mail address

Trias
Liefdadigheidsstraat 22
1210 Brussels

Stefan Wellens – focal point HR/integrity
+32 (0)548 01 31
integriteit_BO@trias.ngo