Case Study: London Borough of Hackney cuts complaint escalations from 13% to 4% and improves service quality with Pentana Risk

Covalent helps London Borough of Hackney reduce staffing costs, improve quality of service & decrease escalation of complaints from 13% to 4%

The London Borough of Hackney faced a slow, three-stage complaints process that produced poor communication, unresolved issues and a 13% escalation rate. The legacy system had no integration with corporate IT, limited reporting or analytics, and no IT support, so the Council needed a new complaints system and training to streamline workflows, reduce staff workload, improve citizen communication and cut escalations within three months.

Hackney implemented Covalent’s cloud-based Feedback product alongside a new two-stage handling process and training; Covalent customised the system to integrate with the Council’s document management and on‑premise systems and went live after three months. In the seven months since launch over 5,000 cases have been logged, 400+ officers use the system, online submissions rose from 20% to 30%, escalation rates fell from 13% to 4%, response times and quality improved, staff resources were freed, and instant reporting enabled trend identification.

London Borough of Hackney

Bruce Devile

Head of Business Analysis & Complaints, London Borough of Hackney