Creating a Learning Culture: Exploring Adult Social Care Practitioners’ Perceptions of Organisational Learning through Feedback

Listening to the voices of the people who use adult social care is critical for service improvement and development. There are both proactive and passive ways of achieving this. While proactive methods such as co-produced service design and satisfaction surveys are well-researched, there is limited evidence on the impact that passive mechanisms, such as feedback from compliments and complaints, have on improving adult care services within local authorities. This study examined the effectiveness of learning from compliments and complaints in adult social care. A survey and two focus groups were conducted with adult social care practitioners within a single local authority, focusing on whether feedback supports individual or organisational growth from practitioners’ perspectives. The research found that compliments and complaints are valuable development tools but need to be supported by reflective and quality-assured organisational cultures. While complaints offer valuable learning opportunities, it was the morale-boosting effect of compliments that was highlighted by practitioners, suggesting that sharing positive feedback can enhance workplace culture, support recruitment and improve staff retention. The study also highlighted the need for local authorities to better understand the demographics of those providing and receiving feedback to address the needs of marginalised groups and promote inclusive service improvement.