Digitally transforming case management
When the focus of your charity is to deliver a positive impact on someone’s life, you could be forgiven for not adding digital transformation to the top of your priorities. This would be because you are rightly focused on your clients. These have and always will come first and foremost, not technology.
However, for charities which support and deliver care services, in addition to safeguarding, using advances in case management technology provides an increasingly attractive way to improve current processes and modernise services. This has the added benefit of bringing case management in line with other processes within the charity which may already benefit from digital transformation.
Raft of opportunities
The information age has certainly brought with it a raft of opportunities to increase efficiency and save money, thus transforming the nature of services. Modern case management systems have proven to help transform the services of charities.
This is from improving efficiencies by reducing time staff spend on administration duties to meeting industry compliance, improving safeguarding with both internal and external safeguarding procedures, and ultimately better outcomes for service users.
Basic paper-based files, spreadsheets or even traditional electronic CRM systems hinder progress, and these antiquated approaches are gradually being eliminated, to be replaced with innovative cloud technology. Let’s look at key benefits that make integrated digital case management systems an attractive option for charities:
BETTER OUTCOMES FOR THE PEOPLE YOU SUPPORT. Digital case management is proven to deliver better outcomes for the people you support. This is due to the fact that your teams will have access to all the information they need to make the best decisions. Modern case management systems enable teams to work more collaboratively and faster, and this all means less time spent recording and more time with the people you support. By understanding their needs better you are able to provide higher levels of support.
IMPROVING DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE ACROSS THE CHARITY. As charities grow and develop, so too must the systems supporting the organisation. Existing systems that are not fit for purpose in today’s modern charity environment create challenging issues. and in order to provide the best possible care, forward thinking charities are updating supporting solutions to improve and transform their digital infrastructure; case management systems being one.
Functionality and longevity
Regardless of the size of the charity, better approaches to case management, such as cloud-based IT solutions specifically designed for the unique needs and requirements of the sector offer functionality and longevity over and above other options to help charities thrive.
Innovative technology is being used to transform and strengthen services across the charity sector from charities large to small. Tim Bird, chief information officer at Help for Heroes, which uses a digital case management solution, agrees: “We strive to provide the best care possible to wounded veterans, and their families. In order to do this as efficiently as possible, we recognised the need to update our supporting digital solutions.”
DELIVERING A SINGLE SOURCE OF TRUTH. An integrated system means that all data is recorded and stored in one place, instead of being spread across a number of different databases or storage sites, which in itself has a number of benefits. For instance, the service user does not need to keep on retelling their story. Your teams have a complete understanding of the service users, their journey to date and the plan in place to improve their lives.
OPTIMISING OPERATIONAL AND FINANCIAL EFFICIENCIES. A common complaint with traditional case management workflow in charities is that a defined process needs to be rigidly followed and this can get in the way of effective recording when the real world fails to follow the ideal state.
Digital case management systems are designed to streamline processes and be mapped to the way your organisation works. They are a more efficient option that supersedes fragmented databases and outdated paper-based systems, and removes the associated complexity; it is incredibly quick and easy. Importantly, improved efficiency from both an operational and financial perspective helps charities prosper.
Investing in future performance
Steps are actively being taken to find better ways of operating, and investment in the right resources is imperative to future performance, to deliver the highest standards of services and care. One important trend with case management systems is engaging with subjects if only to sit in front of a screen going through their records or outcomes with their case manager.
ENABLING EFFECTIVE TEAMWORK AROUND THE INDIVIDUAL. Staff-to-staff and staff-to-service user communication is simple and secure with modern case management, which enables effective support for your service users based on a shared understanding and planning. These types of systems bring huge benefits in terms of the day-to-day recording, particularly by proactively supporting the user in effective workload management.
For instance, a really good case management system completely streamlines the data recording process, makes data entry easier, eliminates errors, and reduces duplication. Systems can deal with managing multiple workflows at the same time, and can create automated workflows, alerts and reminders so that staff can simply and easily progress with a case however it develops.
Having a technologically enabled case management system also provides the ability to add multimedia content and provide additional evidence to a case in a way that simply is not possible with other options.
ADAPTABLE, SCALABLE AND FLEXIBLE. IT solutions often have the advantage of being fully scalable, adaptable and flexible and can grow as the charity grows. Look out for cloud-native technology – this is the next generation software which adapts and develops with speed and ease as charities’ needs change.
Responding and adapting
It’s inevitable that as a charity develops, IT systems will need to respond and adapt accordingly - in a simple and straightforward way. The best systems out there will continue to evolve to meet the changing and unique needs of the sector.
KEEPING SAFE THOSE YOUR CHARITY WORKS WITH. The Charity Commission states that safeguarding should be a priority for all charities, not just for those working with groups traditionally considered at risk. Recent charity safeguarding scandals such as Oxfam have highlighted the risks of not having effective safeguarding systems across the sector. Paper processes or clunky CRM software are no longer good enough to ensure that adequate safeguarding protection and oversight is in place.
Innovative case management systems, however, allow charities to manage safeguarding processes in a much more effective way. The software helps to improve safeguarding and identify emerging risks - making it easy to raise concerns, track, handle and report on allegations or incidents (such as bullying, harassment, and employee grievance procedures) which ensures that no information slips through the net.
EASILY DEMONSTRATING THE IMPACT OF YOUR CHARITY’S WORK. For senior leaders, a case management solution is an attractive option because it means a high level view of team activity is achievable, providing managers with a strategic view of performance. Case management reporting is made much simpler, as bulk uploads and exports are possible at the touch of a button.
Through using technology, reports can also be exported at various frequency levels - daily, weekly, monthly, annually, and even ad hoc - without generating any additional work.
Imagine the effect of a charity having the statistics behind all ITS work in improving people’s lives at a touch of a button. A clear view of the impact of your charity’s work is hugely valuable. Through using software charities can also identify trends, strengths and weaknesses in service delivery, which can then be used to improve the services a charity delivers.
ACCESSING RECORDS ANYTIME, ANYWHERE, FROM ANY DEVICE. Quite simply, a good integrated case management system makes recording easy and is a chance to ditch any outdated processes such as paper recording! A move to an electronic system supports mobile working as it provides an opportunity for teams to work easily from anywhere, at any time, from any device.
Freeing up time
One of the main benefits of this is that it frees up time. Staff do not need to head back to the office to update the notes; they can do so from their phone or tablet and the case is updated immediately into the back office system. This means staff can record in real-time, reducing administration and enabling them to concentrate on delivering the best outcomes for service users.
Some solutions offer inbuilt system intelligence which speeds up the recording process by automating known or repetitive tasks. This gives the power back to professionals by reducing administration, enabling them to concentrate
OFFERING SECURITY. Digital case management systems offer a heightened level of security over paper-based approaches - providing comprehensive role-based security, which allow different data access levels to be granted to different user types and teams. This can also be used in reverse, with the ability to restrict individual cases to particular defined users in order to protect sensitive data. Electronic systems also offer an easy way to you hold your data in a GDPR compliant way.
Raising the bar
The benefits of digital case management solutions are clear, and by adopting fresh, innovative ways of thinking they enable charities to raise the bar on efficiencies and work smarter.
These benefits are pointed to by Allan Allman, a trustee at Pure Innovations, a charity which supports people with disabilities and disadvantaged groups to get into work, and which has recently gone live with case management software. He says: “We now have a uniform way of pulling and analysing all data across all our services. It means we can use this evidence to apply clearer operational logic to tailor our services and the direction of the charity. It will save time and increase efficiency.”
