IT IN HOUSING
System & Process Health Checks
The service is designed to help you get the most out of your existing IT systems and ensure they provide the best possible support to your critical business functions – potentially avoiding the expense of implementing new IT solutions.
The objective is to save you the time and expense of traditional detailed process reviews that start from the ground up. Yet critically, our Health Checks still centre around feedback from your operational staff – the users who have an in-depth knowledge of your systems’ day-to-day performance.
What it covers
A Health Check can be conducted on any aspect of your service, whether that is a single process such as complaints management, or a business function that might involve more than one IT system such as repairs. Equally, Manifest Consulting can do a systems-wide check across your organisation if required.
What is involved
All of our team are Housing IT experts, with extensive experience working in and for registered providers of social and affordable housing – local authorities and housing associations.
Our consultants will work with your operational staff, IT team and other relevant parties in order to:
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Understand what existing process are meant to achieve
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Understand how the systems should work, and how well they are working
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Identify any issues that may prevent staff doing what they need to do
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Pinpoint areas where there may be unnecessary double handling of information
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Spot areas where workarounds are being used
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Gather and assess ideas from staff.
Reporting back
Manifest Consulting will use all of this information to identify the potential for improvements. Depending on what we have found, our recommendations might focus on changes to existing system configurations, or adjustments to system specifications or integration requirements.
The aim is always to find ways to support your staff to deliver the service, rather than having to work around problems that have inadvertently been caused by the way your systems are set up.
Deliverables
A System & Process Health Check report will clearly set out:
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A summary of the systems used
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An outline of the business processes that we worked through with your teams
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An appraisal of the effectiveness of the current business process that considers:
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Its efficiency and ease of use
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Whether it makes good use of the available technology
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Practical recommendations that consider how your existing systems could better support your processes to improve efficiency and service delivery to residents
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Recommendations for any more significant changes that could be beneficial (if relevant).
Manifest Consulting’s System & Process Health Checks are not a process mapping and redesign exercise. They are a succinct form of review that will quickly reach tangible conclusions, and offer practical and useful recommendations
Using a System & Process Health Check
Our Health Check reports will always provide relevant, specific recommendations that you can:
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Feed into, and use, within any wider service improvement plans
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Discuss with your current system suppliers
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Contribute to any wider decision-making processes around your IT Strategy.
Having produced the Health Check report, if required, Manifest Consulting can work with you and your suppliers to implement the improvements you need.
