CFO Playbook: Building the Business Case for Case Management

Case managers are the backbone of healthcare, foster care, veteran’s care, homelessness care, and more. They work on behalf of overlooked groups in society to ensure they receive the treatments needed for optimal quality of life.

Unfortunately, more people need help than there are case managers who can serve them. High caseloads plague the industry, causing high turnover rates. The average state has a case manager turnover rate of 14-22%. This can be costly on multiple levels. It raises costs for agencies, with the estimate of replacing a case manager at 30-200% of their salary. Plus, it interrupts investigations and services given to their clients. It takes time to learn a new case. Appointments, scheduling, and more may fall through the cracks for a client during a case manager transition.

Modern technology offers a solution that simplifies a case manager’s workload and eases the transition between case managers: case management software.

The Definition of Case Management Software

SaaS (Software as a Service) is a type of software where you pay a subscription fee and gain access to a platform that solves problems for a specific industry. For case workers, case management software is a type of SaaS that streamlines administrative duties and creates a visual communication platform. Every piece of information related to a case is stored in the software, making it easy to access from anywhere (such as a laptop or tablet) and removing the need for paper files.

Case management software is built to seamlessly digitize existing workflows. For example, PlanStreet’s case management software mimics the case management process.

Step 1. Intake: Customizable intake forms allow for robust information collection in the initial meeting with a client. This information is then stored in the software, accessible at any time.
Step 2. Needs Assessment: Using the information collected at intake, case managers work with the client to assess needs. A plan can be created using visual boards and shared with relevant case managers in seconds.
Step 3. Service Planning: The case manager schedules and plans the services in this step. Calendars and messaging tools in PlanStreet make it easy to communicate with all parties involved and schedule appointments, evaluations, and more.
Step 4. Monitoring and Evaluation: The case board allows for visual monitoring of all services. Instead of having to look through emails or make phone calls, a case manager can see what appointments were made and check in on clients in seconds. This makes it easier to evaluate what has been completed and what still needs to be done.

The Benefits of Case Management Software

Case management software gives case workers more time to focus on case management standards, rather than trying to finish up tedious administrative tasks. The average professional spends 28% of their workday answering emails. By using case management software, case workers can look at the platform to find answers related to their clients, rather than emailing and wasting precious time.

Case management software offers other exceptional benefits to streamline processes for case workers, including:

Simplified approvals: Digital signatures, intuitive workflows, and automatic alerts create streamlined processes for approving care.
Powerful analytics: Power BI (Business Intelligence) creates reports from existing data to show what services are working for your organization and areas that need to be improved.
Enroll and track attendance: Keep track of clients’ services and ensure that they’re attending to see growth.
Grant management: Distribute grant spending and track where the money is going based on the grant’s requirements.
Customizable templates: PlanStreet is full of ready-to-go forms for multiple industries, including health care, foster care, veteran’s services, and more. Each can be customized to meet the exact needs of the organization.

The bottom line is that case management software is a critical time-saving tool. By freeing up the administrative duties of case managers, they can spend more time creatively finding solutions that best serve the needs of their clients.

7 Steps to Build Your Business Case for Case Management Software

Case managers quickly understand how case management software can improve their workday. The issue is that they are not usually the ones with buying power within their organization. Therefore, enact a plan to approach higher-level executives, such as the CFO, to outline the benefits of case management software.

If you believe case management software such as PlanStreet would greatly benefit your organization, here are 7 steps to take to build a business case for your CFO.

1. Put Yourself in The CFO’s Shoes

The average CFO works 50-60 hours per week. Their minds are going a million miles a minute, constantly in meetings, finding problem-solving solutions for budgets, and analyzing challenges for the company. It’s a fast-paced position, and the person typically won’t waste time. To get a purchase approved, you must put yourself in the CFO or relevant executive’s shoes. Think about the following questions when creating a presentation about case management software:

What are the pain points that affect the CFO from day to day?
What are their current goals for the company? Think about productivity, budget, etc.
How does case management software assist with those goals?

While you can talk about your needs for the software, talk about the CFO’s problems first to grab their attention.

2. Identify the Pain Points in Your Workday

Unfortunately, everyone hates change. So you need to not only assess what problems the CFO has but also outline the issues you’re having in your organization. Perhaps you have to turn in paper notes at the end of every day. A digital option allows you to take notes in meetings and create a streamlined version accessible to everyone, saving you 30 minutes.

Make a list of all the challenges you face as a case worker and how they limit your productivity. Pick the top three that most affect your schedule, and highlight these in your presentation.

3. Pinpoint the Benefits of Case Management Software

Simply stating the problems of your existing systems is not enough. You must include the solutions that case management software provides.

These should be tangible benefits, such as return on investment, hours saved in the day, and streamlined communication. Do thorough research for this phase. Look for customer reviews or case studies that explain the benefits of the software in action. Consider categorizing the benefits into easily identifiable pillars, including:

Time spent
Money saved
Improved safety
Increased quality
Enhanced data

4. Define the Costs and Savings

It’s critical to map out the cost and savings of case management software for your organization. You must spend time crunching the numbers and calculating the cost of the investment versus the amount saved through implementation. Your CFO will want to know the return on investment as best as possible.

While this varies depending on the software selected, look for information such as:

Cost per user per month
Any additional subscription fees
Tier costs—not all features may not be available for every plan.

With software such as PlanStreet, the starting cost is $60/user/month.

Then, consider the time saved. The average case manager salary is $23/hour. If case management software features save 30 minutes of administrative time every day, that means the software saves $230 over four weeks per case manager. Subtract the monthly cost, and you can start to see how much an organization can save.

5. Create an Action Plan

Now, you’ll need an action plan that shows the CFO how the team will utilize case management software tools every day. The total cost of Cost of Poor Quality Software (CPSQ) in the United States totaled 2.08 trillion dollars for companies in 2020. You must prove to the CFO that the case management software will be used regularly and won’t fail.

Be sure to chat with co-workers and hear their ideas on how to use the software to ensure implementation will go smoothly once approved. Develop a rollout plan that outlines:

The team leaders who will spearhead implementation
Software testing on a few individuals
The onboarding and training required for all employees
The time to install and integrate the new case management software
The feedback process to make changes as needed
Where people can go if they need help implementing the software

6. Highlight Security Concerns With Outdated Systems

Your client’s confidentiality is a requirement for case managers, but outdated legacy systems and paper files leave their information exposed to thieves. Enhanced cybersecurity is critical to prevent cybercrime and fraud within your organization. This issue is particularly strong for small to medium-sized businesses: 50% of them have experienced a cybercrime, and the 60% that have ended up going out of business.

Modern case management software offers top-of-the-line security, ensuring that your client’s information is safeguarded and HIPAA-compliant. PlanStreet’s case management software uses a HIPAA-compliant cloud-based system, hosted on the Microsoft Azure platform.

7. Schedule a Demo

If your CFO prefers to see software in action, a great way to fully convince them of adoption is through a live demo. Experts in case management software spend 30 minutes to an hour explaining the most helpful features and can walk through questions and concerns for adoption at your organization.

Many software companies offer a free demo or trial before purchasing the software. At PlanStreet, schedule a free live demo with one of our case management experts to see exactly how our software works and how it can be implemented. This can be a great final step to gaining the CFO’s approval and adopting case management software.

Improve the Health of Your Organization With PlanStreet’s Case Management Software

CFOs care about the bottom line of the organization. PlanStreet’s case management software improves the health of case management providers at every level. It saves time for a case worker with streamlined administrative duties and simplified communication and tracking. It benefits high-level executives with Power BI and reduces overhead costs on admin, paper, printing, and more. If you’re ready to make a change at your nonprofit, state, federal, or tribal organization, schedule an introductory call with PlanStreet to learn more about our case management software today.