Lifeways, the UK’s largest provider of supported living to adults with diverse and complex needs, is rolling out new workforce management technology from Deputy to its team of over 9,300 support workers.
Efficient staff management and clear team communication is critical to Lifeways as it supports close to 4,500 individuals to live fulfilling and independent lives in the community. Through the introduction of Deputy, an app that team members access on their own mobile devices, Lifeways will transform its people operations UK-wide with mobile clock-in and real-time staff availability.
James Westwood-Beere, Lifeways’ Chief People Officer, said: “Our goal is to provide the best possible support for individuals – and enhancing our operational performance helps us do this.
“After an extensive evaluation, we have chosen Deputy’s platform. Using Deputy will benefit both our team members and the people we support. The app allows our support workers to manage their availability and work schedules in real-time. It also means we will be less reliant on agency staff to fill gaps in rotas.
“Using Deputy will also reduce the burden of traditional pen-and-paper administration at our services – which will increase the time we can spend supporting individuals.”
Deputy will integrate with other digital platforms that Lifeways uses. The resulting improvements in business reporting will enable Lifeways’ management team to ensure they are providing the right level of support to individuals.
Lifeways care workers will clock in and out of shifts using Deputy’s mobile clock-in function. They will also be able to see their allocated shifts, monitor hours worked and working patterns, and track their holiday allowance and usage from their mobile phone.
Westwood-Beere added: “We’re looking forward to supporting our people strategy through our partnership with Deputy and a system and data-led staff management approach.
“Choosing Deputy is a key component of Lifeways’ transformation roadmap, which will see us enhance our ability to deliver exceptional services.”
Jon Wilson, Deputy SVP, said: “We’re excited to be partnering with Lifeways to support its ongoing growth. The care sector performs a vital role in our society and we know how important it is to find, keep and engage staff. That’s why we’re continuously working on innovations to support our customers with productivity, engagement and efficiency. We’re already exploring how we can work together to develop some exciting scheduling innovations that are specific to the way Lifeways and many other care providers operate.”
