Mobilizing digital transformation across an entire organization is a huge project.
In these tech-savvy times, it’s also one of the most important ventures a management team can undertake. While the aged care sector has certainly not been leading the change charge to evolve with a digitally driven society, its rapidly aging population and growing consumer demands puts it at the top of the list of industries which need to embrace the revolution now.
Innovating the aged care industry
Many industries have been tapping into the dimensions of digital for decades, embracing the rapid evolutions and revolutions to improve their services, retain their currency and remain at the forefront of their sector.
The potential of digital transformation remains largely untapped in the aged care industry. Research shows that the level of technological change in the age care industry is slow, but also that the IT investments they did make focused mainly on operational systems – administrative platforms, electronic patient records – rather than innovative platforms aimed at improving the overall customer experience, employment brand experience and ultimately, the provision of care (IBISWorld).
The benefits of overcoming the digital hump
There are several reasons as to why aged care providers have been slow on the uptake of technology.
Consumer demographics has been the main one, but according to the Aged Care Industry IT Council of Australia’s (ACIICA) digital roadmap, standardization has been another hurdle. There has evidently been a lack of standard off-the-shelf digital products for aged care providers to choose from when considering new IT systems and consumer services. Which directly relates to the next hurdle, risk. With no aged care providers leading the way and implementing the use of new technologies in their workplace, it’s hard to justify a return on investment when there is no evidence out there to suggest it will improve the customer experience. Despite these hurdles, the time for change within the aged care sector is definitely now.
For those ready to embrace and implement digital transformation strategies within their organization, let’s take a look at the top five benefits.
– Streamline your processes
Using powerful, innovative software platforms specifically designed for the aged care industry will transform the way you manage your workforce. Budgeting for good recruitment software for example, will help lighten your HR team’s administrative load and automate processes for a more efficient workflow and more productive team.
– Look the part
Dress your IT systems to impress your clients, customers and candidates. Complicated or antiquated hiring systems can be a turn off for potential employees who are looking to join a forward-thinking organization with innovative processes. Your workplace culture is an important advertisement, investing in dynamic, easy-to-use platforms will heighten your brand experience when seeking new talent to join your team.
– Hire the right people and build long-lasting relationships
Sourcing suitable people to work in the aged care sector has never been more important. AI recruitment platforms with automated job match scores, dynamic talent ranking and selection with individual Workplace Profiles from inexhaustible Talent Pools means you’ll have a live database of candidates at your fingertips at all times. Continuous, active engagement with the right people in your Talent Pools will help you build meaningful connections with potential candidates and your workforce now and into the future.
– Get to know your workforce better through analytics
Culture doesn’t create itself. Management teams are the cultivators of workplace culture and knowing your team and how they operate is the best way to drive a positive cultural experience from the top down. Real-time visual data on each of your team members is the best way to gain useful insights into your workforce and monitor their sentiment, satisfaction, compliance and retention.
– Digital ID for your team
Keep your employees and contractors in a digital Workforce Wallet. This unique feature is created dynamically for all employees and contractors in your organization and stores all compliance records, verified job skills and insights for your entire workforce from pre-screening and onboarding to training and upskilling data.
A bright future
It’s imperative for organizations in the aged care sector to begin looking for solutions now to advance their digital culture and remain in the ‘now’.
Specific team members either within or outside the organization with particular skill sets are required for a successful digital overhaul to occur. Whether it’s with small steps or giant leaps, it’s important that change does occur within the sector, with organizations implementing measures to change their digital culture as a matter of urgency.
Need help?
There are myriad solutions available to maximize the power of technology in your aged care community.
Schedule a free, no obligation demo to see the PowerHouse Hub platform in action and how it can benefit your organization.
