Judy Boniface-Chang is the Chief Customer Officer at Birdie, an intelligent platform for homecare. Here she discusses how technology presents a pathway to ease the burden on resources.
According to the recent annual Social Care 360 report, care requests have skyrocketed, with 1.39 million elderly adults seeking support – the highest number on record.
This increase in demand comes at a time when the care system is under extreme pressure. Research from The Kings Fund has shown that whilst the vacancy rate in social care fell from 10.7% to 9.9% in 2023, there are still 52,000 unfilled roles, with experts estimating more than 400,000 extra jobs will soon be needed.
With state budgets for care unlikely to focus on salary increases for carers or funding for care providers, and changes to migration rules potentially reducing the number of people coming to the UK to work in social care, the care backlog will likely push existing resources to their limits.
Care organisations don’t need to face these challenges alone; technology can help alleviate the strain on resources. While adopting new approaches may feel daunting, it’s critical for the sector to examine existing processes and uncover opportunities for optimisation and efficiencies.
Increasing the capacity for care by reducing admin
Many care organisations still rely on outdated administrative methods like paper files. These increase the strain on care workers and care managers alike, taking up precious time and energy.
For example, relying on manual methods for scheduling is both time-consuming and error-prone, taking up an average of 94 hours a month for scheduling and an additional 12 hours for last-minute changes.
The key is in moving to digital operations. This means that administrative work can be completed quickly and simply, freeing up time and increasing the capacity of the business, allowing workers to focus on delivering the best quality care. Not only that, but with the right system, you can gain insights for strategic decisions, empowering carers and driving business growth.
For example, last year alone, Birdie was able to save care agencies 353,090 hours on care planning – allowing them to refocus their energy on growing their business. In practice, this means that care agencies could save up to two months’ worth of administrative work in a year.
Investing in staff: key to attracting and retaining top talent
In a challenging sector like care, the biggest opportunity lies in treating the hardest-working individuals differently—prioritising their career growth, job satisfaction, and ensuring they feel heard and supported.
Care providers can mitigate against this by prioritising the development of individual skills matrices and training programs aligned with regulator standards (CQC, CIW, CIS). This includes implementing a monitoring dashboard with alerts for expiring certifications or training.
There are many additional places where carers can receive professional development. For example, Birdie’s social care community, Flock, has been specially created to unify care professionals across the sector and help provide learning opportunities on-demand.
Why communication matters
Effective communication and information sharing are also critical to success – but get it wrong, and this can become a drain on time for everyone.
The best thing to do is implement a unified communications system that enables you to keep your communications in one place, notify carers of plans or visit changes and ultimately, make better decisions for care recipients for example, earlier and precise interventions.
It goes without saying, but don’t use WhatsApp or any other type of communication platform designed for private communications – this is not compliant with data protection laws in the UK.
Creating visibility across the full ‘care circle’ around a client, including carers, office staff, healthcare professionals, and families, is also crucial. Consider adopting a “family app” to enable care recipients and their loved ones to access essential information about the care provided, creating a greater involvement, connection and care.
The road ahead and unlocking opportunities
By nurturing your existing team, streamlining the outdated process and investing in technology, you can help your team perform at their best and achieve even more – so even if you can’t recruit, your business can continue to grow and flourish.
@BirdieCare
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