Which client complaint records should a home care agency keep for a buyer to review?
Keep a log of every complaint with its date, what was alleged, who handled it, what was done and how it ended. A buyer will want to see patterns and whether complaints led to changes, not only that few arrived.
Buyers read complaint records to learn how the agency behaves under pressure. Keep a simple log for each complaint: the date, the client or family, the caregiver involved, a summary, the steps taken and the result. Include informal complaints made by phone, not only written ones, and note whether the person was satisfied afterward.
Keep what shows learning. If three complaints concerned late arrivals, note what changed in scheduling. If a caregiver was retrained or removed, record that in a respectful way. Also keep copies of related communication with families and any follow-up check. A pattern that was noticed and corrected tells a buyer much more than a spotless but undocumented record.
Be careful with privacy. Complaints include personal details about vulnerable people, so ask your lawyer how long to keep them, how to store them and what can be shown before a sale. Anonymized summaries may be enough early on. Sort the records into open and closed, and be ready to explain any open ones honestly, since a buyer will find them anyway. Keep the records tidy over time rather than assembling them during a sale. Regular reviews, perhaps by a manager who signs off each complaint, show a buyer that the agency takes the quality of its care seriously.
Key takeaways
- Log date, subject, handler, action and result for every complaint.
- Include phone complaints, not only written ones.
- Record what changed because of each pattern.
- Ask your lawyer how to store and share the records.
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Sources
This answer is checked against primary sources. Links were last confirmed on the dates shown.
- 01Business Development Bank of CanadaGovernmentHow to conduct due diligence when buying a business
- 02Business Development Bank of CanadaGovernmentHow to minimize negotiations when selling your business
- 03Business Development Bank of CanadaGovernment7 steps to increase your business’ value—before you sell it
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