Managing and Investigating a Case

Once the case has been added to the system, you can click into it to begin reviewing and investigating it by navigating through the different tabs.

You can record actions, add notes, upload evidence, assign an owner and update the case status as the investigation progresses.

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Please Note: The steps below guide you through each section of a complaint, but you don’t need to complete every step for every case. If appropriate, you can simply record the key details and Skip to Resolution.

Overview

In the Overview tab, you’ll find key case details on the right-hand side, including status, stage, and owner. You can also view the original concern and upload any relevant attachments.

Summary

If a summary was not created when the case was first logged, it can be added within the Overview section. You can either write your own summary of the complaint or use CompanionAI to generate one based on the original details provided.

If a summary was already added during case creation, it can also be reviewed and amended here at any time.

When using the generated option, make sure to review the text carefully. You can edit the wording as needed or generate a new version if you would like an alternative.

Once you are happy with the summary, click Save.

Acknowledgement

You are also able to add an Acknowledgment. If you’ve already sent one, you can copy and paste it into the field, or use the CompanionAI feature to generate a response.

The AI-generated response can be refined by selecting one of the predefined options in the dropdown or by entering your own prompt. When you’re ready, select Generate and Save.

You can copy the Acknowledgement directly from Companion and paste it into a separate email or document to send.

After sending the Acknowledgement, select Mark as sent to record the date and time it was sent within the case.

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Please note: Saving the Acknowledgement simply records that the communication has been sent and adds a date and time stamp to the case record. This creates an audit trail but does not send the email.

If you would like the actual email to appear in the case communications, you can forward it to your unique Companion email address and link it to the case, or copy your Companion email address into the email when sending and link it afterwards.

Investigation

Once the complaint has been logged, navigate to the Investigation tab to review and break down the complaint into the key issues.

Key issues can be added manually, or you can use the CompanionAI feature to generate them based on the information in the case.

If you use the CompanionAI-generated options, you can edit the content as much as needed before saving.

Each CompanionAI-generated issue will automatically be assigned a category. You can update this at any time by opening the issue, selecting the category and choosing an option from the list.

Tasks

Once the key issues have been identified, you can click into each issue to create a list of Investigation Tasks to track the actions needed to resolve each issue.

To begin creating tasks, simply click into the relevant issue, from here, tasks can be added manually or generated using the CompanionAI feature.

If you use the CompanionAI-generated options, review the suggested tasks and save or remove them as needed. You can also edit the content as much as required before saving

For each task, you can assign it to a user in the system and set a due date. The due date will automatically default to the case’s resolution due date, but can be updated if needed.

Investigation Tasks will appear under the relevant Key Issue and in the Tasks tab, giving you a complete view of all actions in one place.

You are able to click Next and Previous options to navigate between tasks.

As you work through each task, you can add Notes / Findings (such as interview notes) at any time, along with any relevant Attachments.

Once you are satisfied that each task is completed, select the Complete Task button.

Policy Review

Policy Review allows you to analyse your school policies within a task and add relevant extracts directly to your findings. It will automatically pull out the sections of your policies that are most relevant to the case and the task at hand.

How to use Policy Review within a task:

Firstly, ensure the relevant policy is uploaded in Settings > Policies

Within the relevant issue, create a task (e.g. Review Complaints Policy)
Open the task and select Review Policies
CompanionAI will automatically extract relevant sections of the policy for you to review
You can then add these extracts to the task’s Notes and Findings if needed

Linking Issues and Tasks

If a task applies to more than one issue, you can link an existing task to multiple issues rather than creating duplicates.

To do this, simply click into the relevant task, select Link Issue, choose the appropriate issue(s) from the list, and click Link issues.

Alternatively, you can open the relevant issue, select Link Task, choose the appropriate task(s) from the list, and click Link tasks.

Archiving Tasks

Navigate to the relevant task
Click the three dots next to the Complete Task button
Select Archive
Click Confirm

Once archived, the task will no longer appear in the main Tasks tab or within the active case view.

If you need to restore the task at any time:

Open the relevant case
Go to the Tasks tab
Click the Archived button
Select the task you would like to restore
Click Unarchive

Resolution

Once you are satisfied that the case has been sufficiently investigated, navigate to the Resolution tab to resolve the issues and create or upload the resolution report.

To resolve an issue, select Resolve for the relevant issue. You will then be prompted to record the Resolution decision (EG upheld, partially upheld etc) and add any relevant Notes / Justification to explain the outcome. After completing this, click Complete Investigation to finalise that issue. Issues can also be resolved within the Investigation tab, following the same process.

This process can then be repeated for each issue within the case.

You can use the CompanionAI feature to generate a resolution report based on the information recorded in the case. Simply select Generate. The report can be edited or regenerated as needed. When finalised, select Save Report to store a copy within the case.

If a report has already been prepared, select Start Writing, enter the relevant information, and click Save Report to complete and store the record.

The saved report can be copied into other documents if required by clicking on the three dots next to the save button.
When a resolution has been sent to the complainant, select Mark as Sent, choose the relevant Sent Method, and then click Confirm Sent. The system will record the date and time, along with the method used and the sender’s details.

Once you’re satisfied the case has been resolved, select the Resolve Case button. The case will then be marked as resolved within the system and will move to the Resolved tab under Cases.

Managing a Case

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