industry & policy
A 20/20 overview
Good business software provides a
comprehensive look, which leads
to better decisions throughout
community care organisations
– to the benefit of all stakeholders.
By Trish Hall
I
n the corporate world, ‘more with less’ has been the primary
management mantra for nearly two decades.
In the care sector, the saying has been modified somewhat,
but the message is similar: organisations need to focus on
providing higher service quality, more effective targeting of
resources, better value and increasing client choice.
This is particularly true when providing community care, and
one of the best ways to support incremental improvements across
all areas of this specialist sector is with technology.
If there has been one constant in community care over the
last 20 years, it has been the need to manage increasing client
numbers and rising expectations while dealing with proportionally
declining budgets. In other words, just like in the corporate sector,
community care providers are being asked to do more with less.
The difference is that in business, the aim is getting the most
return from the funds available. When dealing with those in care,
the focus is more about tight management of limited resources
to deliver an appropriate range of services while ensuring highquality for clients.
One of the main prerequisites when planning for incremental
improvement in this ‘more is less’ climate is good information.
Whether initiating a new program, forecasting future capital
expenditure requirements or simply creating the weekly staff
roster, managers need to capture accurate information efficiently
so they can monitor, manage and plan.
They need information so they can base decisions on real facts
and figures. They must understand demand for service, the cost
of providing that service, and the resources required. What’s more,
they need this information in real time so they can respond to
changes or resolve problems without delay.
Budget blowouts can have an ongoing impact. It’s no good
making it halfway through the delivery of a government-funded
program before finding out you’ve massively underestimated staffing
levels and there is now no way of achieving the program’s key
performance indicators. Not only is that program affected but also
your chances of receiving further funding are likely to be reduced.
LEARN FROM CORPORATIONS
All of this makes a holistic view of the organisation and its
activities essential. The corpora H