Recovering from a major disaster is difficult. That’s why local, state, and federal governments dole out some form of financial assistance. That process, however, is rarely simple. How can digital case management bring efficiency?
Why exacerbate the existing challenges of disaster recovery
Indeed, research shows that many aspects of the disaster relief grant process leave much to be desired. The process itself is overwhelmingly manual and paper based. And when digital systems do exist, they rarely provide much benefit. They tend to be poorly integrated into the flow of work.
What’s the effect of these process inefficiencies? Increased error. Administrative overhead is also high. So are storage costs.
What’s more, meaningful insight into the data compiled (whether on clients or officers processing claims) is also elusive. Data sources remain too fragmented.
How digital case management techniques can help
What can be done? Case management techniques – the collaborative work method to link people to the relevant and available resources they need to attain pre-determined goals – can help.
These techniques have oftentimes already been introduced into disaster grant processing. But they can be further refined and enhanced.
How, exactly? Well, digital case management enable practitioners (i.e., triage and case officers) to interact more efficiently with the wider environment of information, resources, and services.
These stakeholders can then make more expeditious decisions throughout the lifecycle of the case. Which creates a better service experience for clients.
Digital case management systems for triage officers and other stakeholders
That’s not all.
Digital case management platforms with configurable workflows automate key facets of unpredictable work, such as disaster welfare grant processing, to increase visibility into complex operations, improve collaboration, and facilitate better stakeholder engagement.
How do they work? Firstly, intuitive user interface and experience (UI and UX) cater to the varying demographics and technology skill levels of the people who interface with the end-to-end disaster recovery grant process.
The technologies are designed so that the various roles involved in grant processing have easy access to the information most relevant to their responsibilities in a single-source-of truth system where they can more efficiently complete tasks.
In the case of the triage officer, for instance, case management technology helps the role by enabling triage officers to digitally validate that requirements are actually fulfilled.
The system also enables triage officers to easily input relevant information (e.g., whether an applicant is insured, property type, mortgage owned, how many assets owned, status: renter or owner, etc.) digitally in a single source of truth, which can be easily amended later.
If that information comes from claimants filling out public forms, it’s automatically captured in the system, as well. That makes it readily available for triage officers to review alongside a timeline of events.
Triage officers, however, aren’t the only stakeholders in the disaster grant relief process that are enabled by digital case management technology. Case officers, team leaders, and executives of agencies and organizations can be helped, as well.
How so? Download our Guide to Digital Case Management for Disaster Welfare Grants and Other Disaster Recovery Processes to find out how.
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