The key findings from the 2016 Business Confidence Survey (BCS) and the “State of the Disability Sector Report” (SDSR) indicate that organisations providing Disability Services are quickly identifying which services will be viable to maintain and which will be cost prohibitive.

The statistics presented in Figure 6 and Figure 7 of the SDSR paint a worrying picture for those seeking services. As does the report that 41% of respondents are discussing merger activity and nearly half of respondents did not make a profit in 2015/16. How does a reduction in the total number of service providers or service options improve choice for those seeking support services?

The challenge in maintaining choice and diversity in the sector is seeking ways to improve business efficiency to maintain viability and avoid the need to reduce services or merge.

The biggest cost for a disability support service provider is wages. Any steps a business takes to reduce their administrative and non-direct service wage costs will have a positive impact on the viability of a provider. Evidence shows that a well-planned and implemented IT strategy can create savings, and improve the quality of your services and job satisfaction for your staff as a side benefit.

The concept of a ‘digital transformation’ of your business can seem too much to contemplate on top of all the NDIS changes. But there are great examples where the effective use of information technology has had a transformational effect on service provision and business success.  An organisation who has been successful is Ryman Healthcare, please click here to read more about what they achieved and what they learnt. 

Not every organisation has the capacity or skill set within their team to take the business on the digital transformation journey. At CRM Partners, we can assist you to plan, prepare for and implement a solution that will result in tangible efficiency improvements resulting in measurable cost savings. We are a Microsoft Partner organisation and have designed a disability product using Dynamics 365 & Office 365 platforms to assist you to streamline the participant (client) management process and manage your marketing activities, and free up valuable resources, human and financial, to provide direct support services.