Top 5 Features You Should Consider While Purchasing A Case Management Software

Given the recent technological breakthroughs, nonprofit organizations all around the world are now using software to automate certain processes. With the growth of your nonprofit, such solutions become an integral addition to your system.

It helps make operations more unified, smoother, and efficient. Any discrepancy in committing to such tasks can prove detrimental to your organization and, more so, the cause you are fighting for. Fortunately, today’s technological landscape comes with various options to help you overcome such challenges.

Depending on your organizational requirements and needs, you can opt for one of many such software available. However, not always having such a lot of options is a good thing. Sometimes this can also confuse you, especially if this is your first time with such a purchase.

It becomes very important to understand what you are looking for in nonprofit case management software before you make your purchase. If you, too, are having a hard time making that choice, this article can be a great read. Here you will learn about the five most important software features you should not miss out on and how to go about the selection process.

1. Custom Online Forms:

The first thing you should look for in a case management solution is if it allows extensive data collection. As a social worker or case manager, you already know how important proper allocation and storage of data really is. It not only helps you keep track of your donors and their habits but also ensures you can cater to them better.

However, doing so manually comes with its own challenges. In addition to being time-consuming, it uses up the workforce and sometimes can even lead to human error. Such lapses can often bring down your organization’s authenticity and efficiency.

With software that allows you to build customized online forms, this is not a worry. Online forms are perhaps the easiest way to collect patient histories, demographics, and other data integral to your services.

More so, sending online forms can also help you attract more participants who might not want to disclose sensitive information directly. You Cn easily design the data collection methods keeping in mind your specific needs. From surveys to intake forms, you can collect precisely what you are looking for and avoid extra effort.

2. Customized Workflows And Alerts:

With more people coming to your organization to help or for help, managing your workflow and data will get even more challenging. A great way to deal with that is to ensure that your nonprofit case management software uses customized workflow and alert features. This will further ensure that no client gets overlooked and that all your events and programs occur as scheduled.

Simply put, with automated notifications, you will always stay on track. Since this is a unified system, you can also use such notifications to alert your team members about what actions they should take and when. This way, you will not have to manually track your progress. Here are some things the software will help automatically communicate to your members:

• Updates
• At-risk clients
• Overdue items
• Deadlines

This allows you to pay attention and offer the best service to every person depending on your team. A bonus is that your staff will be free from administration tasks as all of them will get automated.

3. Self-Serve Capabilities:

While working for your cause is perhaps your main concern, your clients should be a priority as well. Without donations or support, there is no way you will be able to bring about the change you want. This is why it is very important that you prioritize your client’s experience with self-serve features.

Allowing your participants to take responsibility for their own experience will help build a more personable community and also give you a better insight into their needs. A few of the tools in any case management software nonprofit that should have self-serve capabilities include:

• Client Intake:

By making all submissions and form fill-ups online and automating the process, you are making your organization more accessible. The ease of application can bring a big change in the community and garner more participants.

• Reminders And Communication:

The software should allow you to communicate with your participants directly and store all relevant data. This makes the experience more personable, and notifying them in time can also influence them to take quicker action, keeping everything running smoothly.

• Appointment Scheduling:

Along with applications, the participants should also be allowed to request any in-person and virtual appointments or services that tally with their availability. This further ensures that they feel more appreciated and show interest.

• Online Portal For Participants:

Here, participants can log in and check their insights. They should also be able to make any changes or update the information, request services and check progress. With all that information directly coming from the participant, your software can better segregate events that fit their habits.

Self-serve capabilities basically help you figure out exactly how your clients want to be taken care of and what their needs are. Doing so can also make your client feel more welcome and eventually be likely to be a long-term donor.

4. Referral Management:

During intake, you will often witness that a particular individual’s needs might not align with how your organization can support them. Either that or maybe you have to go through a number of different services to achieve success.

This is quite a common scenario in the community, and a solution with referral management features can help you overcome it. Referral management allows different public sector forces to collaborate, ensuring effective and timely delivery of service.

Not only will this feature help you find more individuals your organization can help, but it will also allow them to know about your nonprofit. It allows your team members to deliver people with the right care they need to improve their lives.

5. Cloud-based Access:

Gone are the days when physical access was required to communicate an idea to another individual. The world is now based on the cloud, and so should your organization. A capable case management program will always come with cloud-based access.

Whether you have team members who are working remotely or you want to access a client’s records from your office. With online access, this kind of information is always available to you whenever you need it.

In addition, such quick access also ensures that your team’s communication improves. Making sure that your choice of software can handle cloud-based services will mean:

• Your team members can update records during or after appointments from any location, making sure it is accurate
• You do not have to worry about interruptions, especially if a case manager cannot make it to the office
• Social workers and case managers can access client information and submit new updates directly from the field.

Now that you know the necessary features you should check for, you should know how to implement them in your organization. There are three basic steps you need to follow to ensure that you have seamlessly incorporated the software with your team.

Firstly, make sure you have picked a platform that is tailor-made for your organizational needs. It should be able to rectify or reduce any kind of problems you might be facing without any issues. It is best to go for a simpler option as it reduces training time.

Secondly, fix a meeting with your team to explain the software. Although quite common in this industry, there will be several team members in your office who do not have an idea what case management software is. It is best to get everyone together and explain why you want the new system and what you expect out of it.

Lastly, all you have to do is train your staff. That said, with the information in this article, finding and incorporating a great case management software will be easy for you.