Category Archives: social services leaders

Surviving Your Resolutions

Posted on January 4, 2012 by vertex| Leave a comment

Did you promise yourself you would achieve a goal this year, either professionally or personally? It happens every year, at this time, and many people make one tiny mistake or stumble a bit and then they give up.

You might, for example, promise yourself you will be more productive and get more done in the new year. Now, it’s January, and you’re back at your desk, ready to lead your social services organization in the new year, and… you’re already overwhelmed.

Emails, files, and messages have piled up on your desk. And, before you know it, you’re back to putting out fires instead of getting organized and being more proactive. You know there are a lot of technological tools out there – many free – that will help you gain control but you’re already stuck in your old routine.

So, what normally happens when you stumble out of the gate with your resolution? You give up…

And that’s okay – that is precisely what most people do when it comes to their New Years resolutions.

My suggestion to you is this – don’t give up. Well… that sounds simple, but it’s so easy to get discouraged. Many say they are going to lose weight – I think that’s the number one resolution – and they start out eating right and exercising that first week of each year (and my gym was PACKED last night!)

But then the weekend comes and that cheesecake is waaaay too hard to resist. And so they skip that Sunday workout. And then it’s Monday and… they’re back to their Quarter Pounder with Cheese combo meal for lunch and they’ve effectively given up.

Don’t think of your first stumble out of the gate as a complete failure.

Think of it as… Strike One! No, that’s not right. It’s too limiting. That means you only have Strike Two and Three to go before you can officially give up. Is there any analogy I can could use where you’re allowed to fail ten or twenty times?

It’s very hard to break a habit you’ve had for a long time. What’s important is you start over every time you stumble. There’s an old saying that says something like, “Do anything for twenty-one days straight and it will become a habit.” But it doesn’t suggest that you’ll get to those twenty-one days on Day One.

If you want to try new technology to make yourself more productive as a goal, give yourself small steps to achieve it rather than laying out a broad plan. Try downloading the software as a goal for your first three days. Then try spending a half an hour at the end of your day learning how to use it. Your goal for the second week might be to use the software for 5 days straight. But you only end up using it for 3 days. Well then, try 4 days as your goal for the following week. After a while, you’ll find you can’t live without your productivity solution (maybe after… 3 weeks or so!) and then it’s become a habit. And, suddenly, you’re being more productive!

Just don’t quit. If you fall off that horse, hop back on and try again. You’ll eventually wear down any resistance you have and you’ll be riding like a pro in no time at all. In fact, after a while, it’ll become instinct and you won’t even think about it.

Good luck and Happy New Year from Vertex Systems!

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Posted in Non-Profit Business Advice, Non-Profit Software, nonprofit leadership, Nonprofit Management Software, social service nonprofit, Social Service Software, social services leaders, social services leadership, Social Services Technology

Can Productivity Help You Survive the Fiscal Crisis?

Posted on December 20, 2011 by vertex| Leave a comment

In a recent Bridgespan Group article, titled “Five Ways to Navigate the Fiscal Crisis“, the authors talk about how the government has been outsourcing human services to social services agencies to provide care and programs and how budget cuts are causing serious problems. They also offer tips on how these organizations can survive their most recently slashed funding sources as well as future cuts they know will be coming their way.

Because everyone understands the situation in this country is bleak, and more than likely not going to get better any time soon, social services agencies need to do everything they can to make the most of their situations. One major way to navigate these fiscal waters is through an increase in productivity. In every department, if possible.

The suggestion, in the Bridgespan article, to focus on productivity made great sense to us. We help agencies become more productive with their processes and have seen the results. But we have also seen a push back from nonprofit leaders and workers when we bring up productivity.

Most social services professionals do not see themselves as business people or those who would focus on for-profit terms like “return on investment” or “increasing productivity”. Others don’t understand the concept of productivity and how it would affect them. But, as the article states, non-profit leaders are starting to warm up the concept. Money quote:

[T]eam leaders realized that typing in case notes was taking up hours of clinician time, so the agency now uses electronic medical records and voice recognition software to allow clinicians to streamline their documentation—reducing time spent on that task by 40 to 50 percent. The productivity mindset “is now a big part of what we do and it has transformed our organization,” Lawler notes.

We have seen similar results with our social services clients who use our software to improve how they collect, use, and report on data. We’ve seen improvements in their client payroll time and piece count collection process for those with vocational employment facilities. We’ve seen how they’ve slashed the time and manpower required of them to submit billing invoices to Medicaid and other units-of-services payers.

It’s great that so many are starting to see the benefits of productivity in their business offices and in the programs they offer to those with disabilities. When they can enter notes faster, enter payroll with fewer errors, create reports without referring to four different sources, and when they can bill for maximum services provided they are making the most of what they’ve got. They are saving time, saving money, reducing staff, maintaining compliance, surviving audits, and making fewer errors.

One of our customers recently let me know about how much more productive they’ve been:

“Front office staffing was reduced by 40%, largely due to elimination of some steps formerly required to process our client payroll. Our production supervisory staff was reduced 40% as well, and their throughput is effectively unchanged from our pre-Vertex Systems days. We’ve redirected some of those resources into client care.”

And he added that, in their vocational employment facility, they are making the businesses who hire them on a contract basis happy as well:

“A few have given up their own Bill of Material systems entirely because we now provide that to them as an added value. The effect has been huge because they highly value the fact they can pick up the phone and ask us, ‘How many XYZ assemblies can you build?’ and we can answer that question in about 10 seconds.”

Even for those social services agencies that don’t have manufacturing or services capabilities, many of our customers have been able to use software to doing something as simple as reducing the number of steps in a process all the way to replacing staff members or a whole department in order to meet their obligations.

The alternative? Agencies can continue to make due with what they have and hope things don’t get too much worse. Being productive means being able to not just continue offering the same number of programs but making those programs better. It means not only keeping the doors open but possibly expanding operations. We’ve seen the results and we think more and more non-profit leaders are recognizing the value of productivity across the board.

Check out the Bridgespan article for more tips to surviving budget cuts for government-sponsored social services organizations.

If you have questions about how to make your social services organization more effective and efficient, contact Vertex Systems today. We have 30 years experience in making agencies not only survive but thrive during any fiscal crisis.

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Posted in Budget Cutting Solutions, Electronic Documentation for Nonprofits, Medicaid billing, Medicaid Cuts, Non-Profit Business Advice, Non-Profit Software, nonprofit leadership, social service nonprofit, Social Service Software, social services leaders, social services leadership, Social Services Technology, software for social services

Making a Case for New Technology – Measure the Results

Posted on November 15, 2011 by vertex| Leave a comment

This is PART 5 of Making a Case for Technology Purchases for Nonprofits – PART 1 is here, PART 2 is here, Part 3 is here, Part 4 is here.

When one considers everything involved in making a case for purchasing new technology, this final step of measuring your results seems to be occurring a bit too late in the process.

How will you make your case to justify new hardware or software by showing how well is works after your purchase?

Looking at the Return on Investment (ROI) of your technology decision accomplishes several tasks. First, it allows you to demonstrate to your stakeholders that you are determined to verify the effectiveness of this purchase by tracking the numbers and the feedback from users. Second, it gives you credibility for any future decisions on additional purchases – your results will show that you made the correct choice for your agency. Finally, by evaluating the usefulness of your new product, you’ll be able to make sure you’re achieving the results you want. You may find you’re not receiving as great a time savings, or salary/staff reductions, or an increase in revenue as was expected. By maintaining the proper facts and figures, you’ll be able to make better decisions to get the most from your investment.

Many who work for human services organizations shy away from for-profit business terms such as Return on Investment (or Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)) because they don’t feel it applies to them or their nonprofit mission. But the ROI is a fair way to review effectiveness and measure your results.

To see your return, you can use the simple formula for ROI as a way to see how well the new technology is working – you subtract the savings/revenue/gains from the cost of investment, divide that amount by the cost of the investment, and multiply by 100 to get your return percentage.

Keep in mind, the figures required can be complicated and require some digging to get the best results. For example, the cost of the investment is usually more than the purchase price. So include related costs, such as: service agreements, training costs, additional warranties, implementation, and extra hardware or software required in your “investment” amount. And keep in mind your revenue amount can be more than just a dollar figure. There can be intangibles that should be accounted for, such as: increased productivity, improved morale, staff reductions, and increased brand recognition/word of mouth exposure/referrals.

Just because something doesn’t have a monetary value, doesn’t mean it should be left out. And a lack of a dollar value doesn’t mean that measurements should not be taken. Make notes in your ROI calculation that shows the intangibles are not included but are counted.

Finally, the ROI amounts can be stretched this way and that to show whatever favorable results you need. The more concrete effects you can demonstrate – along with all the unfavorable details – the better off you and your organization will be. And you’ll make better decisions in the future. Track everything you can from the first day after implementation and review every month, quarter, or year to measure and report on your results.

Examine your ROI at different points in time so you can see the difference of the return for now and again in five years. Create a baseline for your current figures so you can make those future comparisons. Give yourself milestones or benchmarks so you’ll have goals to meet and, hopefully, exceed.

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Posted in Electronic Documentation for Nonprofits, enterprise resource planning, ERP Software, Non-Profit Business Advice, Non-Profit News, Non-Profit Software, Nonprofit Accounting Software, nonprofit leadership, Nonprofit Management Software, Nonprofit Overheard Costs, ROI - Return on Investment, social service nonprofit, Social Service Software, social services leaders, Social Services Technology, software for social services

Making a Case for New Technology – Assessing Benefits

Posted on October 25, 2011 by vertex| 3 Comments

This is PART 2 of Making a Business Case for Technology Purchases for Non-Profits – PART 1 is here, Part 3 is here, and Part 4 is here.

The next step in creating your case to enable a technology purchase for your nonprofit or social services organization involves assessing the benefits.

Implementing nearly any new software, hardware or other technology will bring rewards to your agency. However, it’s very important to determine the total number of new benefits and how well those benefits will affect or improve your organization and your mission.

The addition of new software or hardware will allow you to do more with less. Productivity usually increases across the board for the people involved with the new high tech devices or applications. Less time is required for people to do their jobs – manual processes are eliminated or sped up, errors are eliminated, rules are followed, and fewer people are needed as a process is automated. Money is usually saved with a new technology. Morale is improved. Less energy is required of both your people and your systems.

All of these benefits have a real affect on your organization by allowing you to make significant changes. For example, new technology could allow you to expand your facility, increase the number of programs or services you provide, and even allow you to grow into new areas.

Your greater efficiency and productivity mean that you can make the most out of your resources. It’s similar to switching from a gas-guzzling vehicle to a hybrid – you can do the same amount of work for less money (or do more work than before on the same amount of money.)

If your new software or technology purchase allows you to eliminate a manual process, you and your team will have fewer headaches. Imagine being able to use an automated payroll software to replace your paper time sheets and the manual data entry into spreadsheets. You no longer have to waste time fixing entry errors, illegibility problems, filing paperwork, retrieving paperwork, replacing lost paperwork, or spending time creating reports or information for audits. One software solution could take care of all of that. And you’d open up space previously used to store all your papers.

New technology gives you improved reporting capabilities. By having better access to all your data and having new systems that can deliver it to you as quality information means that you’ll be able to make better decisions. You’ll have reports and key performance indicators (KPIs) that can tell you where your nonprofit agency stands and what trends you can expect. It can show you problems before they get out of hand. You can use the information to not only survive but to thrive.

With all the right tools at your disposal, you’ll be able to communicate and collaborate with your staff, your partners, your donors, and your participants.

Examine any potential technology purchase to ensure you’ll be getting benefits like these. Once you’ve got these kinds of details in hand, you’ll have made a strong case for being able to complete a purchase of new technology.

We’ll soon examine the next step – Evaluating the Costs of a Tech Purchase - in making a business case for a new technology purchase for your non-profit organization or social services agency.

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Posted in Electronic Documentation for Nonprofits, enterprise resource planning, ERP Software, Non-Profit Business Advice, Non-Profit Software, Nonprofit Accounting Software, nonprofit leadership, ROI - Return on Investment, social service accounting software, social service nonprofit, Social Service Software, social services leaders, Social Services Technology, software for social services

Making a Case for New Technology Purchases for Nonprofits

Posted on October 21, 2011 by vertex| 4 Comments

More and more, social services agencies are making the decision to upgrade their technology so they can survive budget cuts, additional audits, and an increased demand in services. They are eliminating their hodgepodge of disparate software systems, manual procedures, and redundant processes to become more accurate, more efficient, and more effective.

However, spending more money can be a lot to ask for any executive director, management team, or board of directors. After all, we’re only now seeing signs of life after the Great Recession. Money is tight and fears of an additional downturn or more cuts at the federal, state, or local level have people running scared.

You understand the need for new software and new processes because you can’t afford not to make the investment. But you’re going to need to develop a business case to prove your need for better technology.

Does this mean you’ll need to prepare a well-structured document to present your case for the use of resources? Not really. It’s certainly a great idea to create such a written business case but this really could be anything from a PowerPoint presentation to a in informal conversation that you’ll have with those in charge of the purse strings. The business case itself is a way for you to organize your thoughts, examine your needs, review features and benefits, consider risks, and to ensure there will be a return on your technology investment for your organization.

There are several steps to accomplish the goal of creating a business case. This post is going to cover the first step – defining the need for new technology for your agency.

Defining Your Need
This step sounds like it would be the easiest to tackle when it comes to making a case for a software, hardware, or a complete ERP system purchase. It may seem to be that stating something as simple as, “We need new accounting software to replace our handwritten spreadsheets!” But because there’s more to it than that, this is why it can be a very difficult step.

You can simply explain that you need a new technology or system… but it’s also important to say or show why you need it. By bringing in concrete examples, your argument will be enhanced and you’ll have more ammunition to overcome objections. When you can easily convey what your problems are, it makes it more simple to explain how your new solution will fix everything.

It is also recommended that you have more than one problem to solve.

For example, your social services agency might have a vocational rehab facility where you take on contracts from businesses or the government to produce kits or to manufacture widgets. A business case could be that you need to bring in an ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) software solution to help track inventory, manage your supply chain, and oversee your job costing analysis. Your dilemma might be that you need this ERP system to streamline your processes which will allow you to take on more contracts and provide more jobs for your clients with disabilities.

If your existing processes cannot handle adding more work, you have a case. But your case would be infinitely stronger if you could also add that an ERP solution is needed because your currently doing too much redundant work, making too many errors, and spending too much time tracking and re-ordering inventory or waiting because raw materials aren’t being ordered on time.

Additionally, you could also build your case around the need to reduce costs. You could note that you’ve paying too many employees, spending too money much fixing errors, and are having cash flow problems because of paper invoice issues.

Finally, you’d be able to wind up and “seal the deal” by explaining that you’re stuck with an old software system that can no longer be updated (the software vendor is out of business or hasn’t done any upgrades) or has no technical support which means you cannot fix a glitch or customize it to your expanding operations.

Adding up and discussing several problems in your presentation allows you to set the groundwork for your case to make the technology purchase. And it gives you insight into what your existing needs and problems are. You’ll know where to look after implementation to see if processes and procedures are showing a return on investment.

You’ll be able to record progress and demonstrate that you were, indeed, correct about your organization’s needs.

If you need help developing a business case for a software purchase for your human services agency, talk to the consultants at Vertex Systems. We can help you deliver the right message to your board or whatever stakeholders involved to help them understand what your needs are.

Keep an eye out for more steps in the business case process! PART 2 – Assessing the Benefits is here.

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Posted in Budget Cutting Solutions, enterprise resource planning, ERP Software, Non-Profit Business Advice, Non-Profit Software, Nonprofit Accounting Software, nonprofit leadership, Nonprofit Management Software, Nonprofit Overheard Costs, ROI - Return on Investment, social businesses, social enterprise, social purpose businesses, social service accounting software, social service nonprofit, Social Service Software, social services leaders, Social Services Technology, software for social services

Do You Fear Change at your Nonprofit?

Posted on August 29, 2011 by vertex| Leave a comment

When I read the latest post from Seth Godin’ blog I had to share it here. I’ve written several times about how many social services agencies fear change (here and here.) Many would love to be able to maintain the status quo because it’s what they know and change can mean hard work.

Here are some questions to ask yourself the next time you’re considering starting a new program or service, upgrading your software, merging with another agency, hiring a new manager, or starting a new social enterprise business to help your organization deal with budget cuts:

“When confronted with a new idea, do you:

Consider the cost of switching before you consider the benefits?
Highlight the pain to a few instead of the benefits for the many?
Exaggerate how good things are now in order to reduce your fear of change?
Undercut the credibility, authority or experience of people behind the change?
Grab onto the rare thing that could go wrong instead of amplifying the likely thing that will go right?
Focus on short-term costs instead of long-term benefits, because the short-term is more vivid for you?
Fight to retain benefits and status earned only through tenure and longevity?
Embrace an instinct to accept consistent ongoing costs instead of swallowing a one-time expense?
Slow implementation and decision making down instead of speeding it up?
Embrace sunk costs?
Imagine that your competition is going to be as afraid of change as you are? Even the competition that hasn’t entered the market yet and has nothing to lose…
Emphasize emergency preparation and the expense of a chronic and degenerative condition?

Calling it out when you see it might give your team the strength to make a leap.”

Seth is a marketing guru and I would highly recommend bookmarking his blog (or subscribing to his email list) and letting some of his wisdom sink in.

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Posted in Budget Cutting Solutions, Non-Profit Business Advice, Non-Profit Software, nonprofit leadership, social businesses, social enterprise, social service nonprofit, social services leaders, social services leadership

Should Nonprofit Leaders Take a Vacation?

Posted on August 18, 2011 by vertex| Leave a comment

Everyone has heard the phrase, Nero fiddles while Rome burns. We talk to many social services leaders who are constantly putting out small fires and fear that if they take time off their organization will burn to the ground.

But most people understand the restorative value of time away from work (and the anxiety and stress involved with putting out all those small-ish fires.) And it’s not just getting some rest or “re-charging the batteries” when it comes to vacations. Time away from work can give you new experiences, teach you new things, remove those blinders allowing you to open your mind and be more creative, and gain more insight into life from the additional time spent with family and friends.

So, vacations are truly necessary.

The next hurdle is always going to be those pesky details that produce the guilt associated with taking time away from the mission of your agency. When is the best time to go? There’s never a good time… How long should you be away? More than a day is too long… Where should you go? To a donor’s house to beg for a sizable donation…

But in all seriousness, a great nonprofit leader will be aware of his or her value to the organization, will understand that time off is necessary, will know when is a good time and when it’s a bad time for a vacation, and will realize that they need to be dispensable to their organization.

The key to being able to get away is depending on your staff, training them to handle a crisis, and realizing that you can trust them and then proving it. By taking time off.

One way to improve their outlook for those days when you’re on vacation is to prepare contingency plans for when the mini-disasters strike. Planning and working out the “what if” details beforehand makes great sense.

First, make sure there is a clear leadership hierarchy in place for when you are gone. When there’s a panic on, people who normally look for you need to know who is next-in-line on the chain of command, if it’s not already clear. All parties concerned should understand and accept who the boss is while you’re gone.

Second, consider what those scenarios are that might cause the panic. If “this” happens, then do “that”. And if “that” happens, then do “this”. Running through the possibilities will calm your nerves and your staff’s. Doing this can prevent those vacation-interrupting phone calls or emails while you’ve got your toes in the sand on the beach because “this” or “that” has happened and they weren’t sure what to do.

Finally, put a plan in place and discuss it with everyone involved for what you want to see happen while you’re gone. Basically, idle hands should be put to work to ensure your staff doesn’t decide to take an in-house vacation while you’re away. Let them know you’ll be following up on whatever task might have been assigned above and beyond their own tiresome workloads. It doesn’t have to be a crazy, over-the-top project but something you know your people can handle (or possibly work on as a team to strengthen their leadership skills while you’re out of town.)

So, energize yourself with time off and come back with a renewed sense of purpose and the strength to power on. You deserve it and you need it. Depend on your staff and they’ll step up when you ask them.

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Posted in Non-Profit Business Advice, nonprofit leadership, social service nonprofit, social services leaders

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