Impact Story
From complexity to clarity: Streamlining service delivery for Purple House
The Challenge
Before using Salesforce and working with Enclude, Purple House services were managed from a large desk diary. All records were paper based and manually maintained. Installing a CRM provided security and consistency of data, automation of processes, increased usability and made life generally a lot easier.
However, the team were still telephoning clients to remind them about appointments, classes, transport arrangements etc. With 40 to 50 clients a day visiting the centre, this meant the team spending anything from 90 minutes a day, or 7.5 hours a week making these calls alone. The system was pricey in terms of resource and resultant phone bills. It wasn’t always successful either as people might be busy or simply not want to answer the phone or check their voicemail.
The Solution
Enclude introduced their SMS Package. The package works as a “plug-in” to Purple House’s Salesforce instance. Taking the range of appointments and services delivered into account Enclude were able to configure the package so that clients could be sent SMS alerts quickly and easily, with little human intervention. Not only that, but the messages were also recorded against the “Contact” record, along with any response.
Conor O’Leary, Director of Operations at Purple House, explains “People don’t always want to check their emails. An SMS is short, informal, to the point, a quick reminder, it’s there.”
The Impact
Over a day a week was saved in terms of time. Time that could be spent focusing on direct service delivery, or priority matters such as planning services and the administration and client follow-up involved in maintaining clinical governance standards.
In addition to this, clients recorded responses, or lack of responses, could be used by the team to determine next steps with that client, or prioritise them for other interventions. This became particularly important during the Covid-19 pandemic where the team were a lifeline to those in a highly vulnerable group.
Conor told us “When we started interacting with our clients in a more technical way, they adapted and responded in kind. Whereas younger clients expect us to use technology and automated processes in service delivery, we worried about our older clients. But they have responded well, and we see that as success. This has had significant benefits to multiple areas of service from using SMS to quickly and easily confirm appointments to the ability to provide information resources digitally.”
About Purple House
Purple House Cancer Support (Purple House) provides professional Cancer Support & Psycho-Oncology services to people affected by Cancer. In 2022 they supported over 1,500 families across the nation. Their services range from non-medical supports such as counselling, complementary therapies and survivorship programmes, to practical supports such as transport, delivery of food hampers, advice on benefits and entitlements, as well as group classes focused on exercise and other pastimes.