Making software an easy choice for your home care business

Of course, you want to make sure your shiny new piece of tech has all the right functionality, that goes without saying. But you also want to make sure that there is an easy transition to the new system, and that you have all the ongoing support you need. Choosing the right software provider is key.

At Unique IQ we like to do things a bit differently. Our view is that it’s not about the software, it’s about care. What our software enables your business to do, and how quickly and easily it can make that happen, is just as important to us as how it works.

Here are some of the ways we try to take the pressure off your decision to bring new technology into your business.

Starting out partners

We want to have good relationships with our customers right from the start. Before we even think about taking you on a tour of all the clever things our technology can do, we’re keen to find out what it is you’re trying to achieve, so that we can both determine whether we’re a good match. And if we feel we’re not the right fit for you, we’ll tell you.

We want you to feel like you’re dealing with humans, not tech. This piece of feedback from Emma Morris at Croeso Care sums it up, when David, our Managing Director, went to visit her in mid-Wales: “I was surprised at this as the other electronic call monitoring companies laughed at the idea of an actual person coming down to show us the system. David came to the office – explained about the systems and how they all work – yet he never pushed us into anything; it was our decision at the end of the day.”

Easy to use

When it does come to what our technology can do, we aim to make it as user-friendly as possible. We’re one of only a couple of software vendors on the market that offers a hybrid option for our electronic call monitoring software; businesses can choose whether they want their staff to clock in and out using a landline, mobile app or a combination of both. We also build our software to be compatible with some of the oldest generations of iPhones and Android devices, making it accessible to a broad base of users, not just the most tech-savvy.

As Jane Barber of Bolton Council commented: “IQ:timecard is simple to use, we like that the system does not require high level IT skills to use, and very few of our staff have experienced issues.” We know that in both the home care and contract cleaning sectors, the workforce is skewed towards older workers, so that’s an important consideration for us in both the design and usability of our software.

World-class customer service

One of the things we really pride ourselves on is our customer support. Our dedicated support team is on hand to deal with any questions or queries that our customers may have when using our software. Widely regarded for their professionalism, knowledge and warmth, our frontline team consistently receive Customer Effort Scores (CES) that are at a ‘world-class’ level.

Here are a couple of examples of why:

“The team are very responsive – get things sorted very quickly and efficiently. Also very friendly and always keen to help.” – Barry Lambert, Home Instead Senior Care Knowsley & Liverpool East

“Great service and timely response. Thank you.” – Sue Watts, Minster Cleaning

Just wanted to say thank you for solving the problem so promptly this morning. This is why we love being with you as a company.”  – Laura Grant, Home Instead Senior Care Exeter & East Devon

We’re keen that our customers continue to make the most of our technology, so we offer unlimited free training via video screen-sharing calls, along with downloadable user guides that can be shared with both office-based and remote staff. As Keeley, one of our Client Services Managers says: “I’m really proud of our world-class client service, it’s an important part of the company, and I love that clients feel they can come to us for anything.” 

Designed around what customers tell us they need

Along with being easy to use, it’s important to us that our software does what the people who use it actually need it to do. We build real-life feedback into the design of our software by holding regular focus groups with our customers, to make sure that it is genuinely meeting the needs of frontline workers.

As Richard Coward of Autism Together says: “The common sense layout and ease of use really make the product stand out. We’re very glad we decided to opt for IQ:careplanner and very pleased with all of the development work that has been done to customise the product to our ever-increasing requirements.”

We also delve into the feedback we receive on a regular basis via our customer service team, as this great example from Andrew Button at Home Instead Senior Care Harrogate illustrates: “A single phone call asking if it was possible to implement a feature led to intelligent questions to work out what I actually want and offering to implement exactly the right function, which of course already existed. You really make this side of my job very easy! Thank you.”

We were quick to respond to the needs of home care organisations in the face of the coronavirus pandemic, implementing mandatory hand washing tasks and symptom checkers to help prevent the spread of the virus, along with features to aid business continuity. We’ve also recently launched a new Care Quality Management dashboard, which helps home care organisations quickly view insights about the care they’re delivering. It’s designed to ease the process of data gathering required for CQC inspections, saving an estimated two weeks of manual data collection and analysis.

Values-driven

Finally, what we always come back to whenever we are doing business is our core values. They are our template for how we operate and are the standards that every member of the team lives by. Whenever you deal with us you can expect:

– Integrity & high moral standards
– Honesty & open communication
– Commitment, exceeding expectations
– Passion & energy
– Teamwork & problem solving
– Innovation

Want to read more about managing software implementation in a home care business? Check out our comprehensive project implementation page.


If you’d like to know more about our technology that’s being widely used by both home care and contract cleaning companies, then please get in touch with us. We would love to work with you.

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