Top tips to help care providers efficiently expand services
The care sector is forecast to expand and become more diverse in the future, and with this comes more opportunities for providers to grow, meaning more choice for clients - as well as more competition. If you've become a successful provider, it's only natural that you'd want to expand your services to support more people.
Though expanding your business can be extremely rewarding, it’s also risky if you don’t control costs or invest in the right areas. So how do you off-set the risks and scale up successfully? Here are five things to think about.
People power
A growing number of companies in the care sector are recognising the importance of their team’s wellbeing and showing employees that they are valued.
Investing in elements such as benefits, rewards and flexible working, as well as on-site support such as mental health first aiders and mentors can be really positive ways to show people that they are valued, especially in light of the pandemic. This will not only make you attractive as an employer but will also aid in staff retention and place you in a strong position for growth.
Save time
For too long, staff have felt frustrated and over-burdened with the amount of admin they have, especially when faced with a number of outdated, complicated and restrictive IT systems.
By bringing your IT applications together on a single central platform, staff no longer have to remember numerous IDs and passwords. Care workers can log their timesheets, check their payslips and book annual leave easily.
The system can do much of the legwork so staffing resources aren’t put under pressure when work increases and tasks become more complex. This streamlined approach means that everyone in the company, including HR and finance, has instant access to information, which supports better decision-making. And the care workers on the front line can spend their valuable time focussed on caring for clients.
Plan plan plan
When looking to scale-up your business, a strong business plan that sets out financial goals and provides a snapshot of where you are now (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats), is important. This will not only give you a clear picture of where you want to go and how you’ll get there but it also helps to reduce risks and costs.
Running a care business takes a considerable amount of time and dedication, and financial planning sometimes takes a backseat. However, creating a financial plan, and reviewing it regularly (at least once a year) will show you where to focus and save you time in the long run.
Don’t compromise quality
Care providers need to ensure that they have established their market position and that their clients see their value before they look to scale up. Asking yourself questions such as; ‘are we receiving positive feedback’ and ‘will families and clients be willing to choose us as we scale up’ are crucial.
In addition, ensure you have repeatable processes that can be scaled up efficiently and most importantly, confidence that growth won’t compromise your quality of care or your reputation.
Keep an open mind
Expanding any care service relies on strong leadership as well as investment in skills and processes, in order to retain and gain confidence and support of the team. Throughout the last year, care providers have had to adapt to new ways of working and offer flexibility and choice to staff who may have needed to self-isolate, have their own concerns around the virus or take time off to look after loved ones.
It can be difficult to change your way of working, but having an open mind and improving your processes now will support you in being able to deliver better quality of care and create a better place to work for your teams. Not only that, it will also future-proof your care home or service and should enable you to make the most of new opportunities.
Find out more about how our finance management software can support the needs of your care business.
