The five main issues faced when beneficiary support programmes are managed with non-specialist tools
Published 21st May 2020
Wasted time, siloed data, slow payments, limited future success, constant investment…
Have you ever tried to eat soup using a fork? Or used a shoe instead of a hammer? In either situation, you’ll have soon discovered that selecting the wrong tool for the job is a shortcut to frustration, wasted time and the realisation that there has to be a better way.
But sometimes, the path to change isn’t that straightforward. Often, we simply don’t know of the existence of a better tool. Or, we can be held back by resistance. It might be emotional – there’s comfort in familiarity. Or it could be financial – over-investment in an incumbent tool, or lack of funding to make a change.
So what often happens? You get your head down and make the best of things. The trouble with this approach is that “making the best of things” drains a lot of energy, so rarely is there time to consider a wider, longer-term view.
Are you managing a support programme with a spreadsheet or a non-specialist CRM?
At ICONI, conversations like this are very common when we talk to prospective customers about the tools they use to manage beneficiary support programmes. From our experience of working with organisations from the not-for-profit, charity and public sector, we hear of programmes being managed either without any tools or systems, or those grappling with software that was not really designed to manage support programmes.
The two most common scenarios we find are:
A. The management of support programme participants using spreadsheets.
B. The end to end management of a support programme using a non-specialist CRM system like sales management software.
Making do, with non-specialist systems, results in frustrations right across the whole organisation – from the Programme Directors and Operations Managers, to the Programme Managers, Case Workers and Advisors.
The top 5 issues we hear most frequently from those at the frontline of beneficiary support programme delivery are:
- Wasted time | My Case Workers spend more time on administration than they do supporting programme participants
- Information silos | I need accurate performance information on the many programmes for which I’m responsible, but all this information is held across different spreadsheets
- Slow payments | My programmes are paid on a Payment by Results (PBR) basis, but we waste a lot of time collating the data, which slows our payment.
- Future success limited | In order to win future programmes, I must be able to demonstrate operational compliance, but our technology is holding us back.
- Constant investment | We have invested a huge amount of money configuring our existing system, but each time we take on a new programme, we need to make further investment.
When we hear of these frustrations, that’s when we know exactly how we can help.
We can take away your frustrations and create real efficiencies within your organisation – that’s the benefit of using a specialist, sector-specific tool.
We can help you deliver, manage and evidence your support programmes
The 19 years of experience that we have invested, and the specialist knowledge that we have acquired, has led to us creating a software platform that contains everything organisations need to effectively deliver, manage and evidence programmes.
When specialist software is used – the benefits reach everyone
Beneficiary support programmes have the potential to achieve the greatest impact when they’re managed by software created to specifically handle programme management. When the technology fully supports everyone from the programme managers to the end participants – everyone benefits.
Our software helps you, help them.
