Background
Northcott is one of Australia’s largest not-for-profit disability service organisations. Operating across NSW and the ACT, the registered NDIS provider has more than 85 years of experience in disability services. Northcott employs 2,400 staff and provides empowering, personalised services to around 13,500 people with disabilities, their families and their care takers. Its diverse service offerings and strong community partnerships ensure clients have access to support through a single gateway from many locations
The Challenge
Northcott sought to optimise its capabilities in two keyways:
- Automates financial reporting
With a growing and geographically dispersed client base, Northcott needed to shift away from manual reporting processes and embrace automation. This was particularly important for financial and activity-based reporting, which was completed using spreadsheets. this manual process was effort-intensive, time-consuming and prone to human error.
- Leveraging data to increase business performance
As a housing and supported independent living provider, Northcott manages over 110 properties with over 500 rooms accessible to people living with disability. In assigning rooms, Northcott works with clients to understand their requirements, searches for suitable rooms and negotiates arrangements on their behalf.
With no holistic view of the business there were time delays communicating with prospects seeking accommodation, and a lack of confidence in the accuracy and timeliness of the data available for reporting. As a result of the manual processes straining under the pressure of growth some properties remained vacant and opportunities were lost.
The Solution
Antares developed a fit-for-purpose and cost-effective data warehouse and visualisation solution for Northcott. A SQL server database connected to Power BI dashboards to provide centralised and real-time visibility of client activity, financial information and accommodation status.
The Results
Northcott’s new centralised data platform has provided benefits ranging from improved data quality to enhanced security and faster decision-making. Ultimately Northcott has been able to dramatically reduce the vacancy rate for its properties and provide a more precise and timely service to their clients. Some of the outcomes achieved included:
- Real-time insights: Data is centrally available to multiple Northcott users in real-time, providing a single source of truth for information relating to accommodation and client activity.
- Raster reporting: The time and effort to produce reports have dramatically reduced, with data and reporting now automated in SQL server and presented via power bi dashboards. This has removed the need for time-consuming and error-prone spreadsheets.
- Improved data accuracy: With a reliable and accurate database, Northcott staff are empowered to undertake data-driven decision-making to better meet their client needs whilst supporting business growth.
- Swift user adoption: The new system is intuitive and easy for staff to use. Key highlights include a ‘quick search’ facility to scan for properties based on the unique needs of each client.
With its new central data warehouse and advanced analytics capability, Northcott is well positioned to unlock even more value from its data. This includes tools to track the client journey in order to identify areas for improvement and opportunities for further growth. Predictive models can be built to inform business development opportunities and pre-emptively identify ‘at risk’ tenants
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