Intro to data basics for homecare agencies: how to work smarter, not just harder

In today's economy, homecare agencies are being asked to do the seemingly impossible. When you can't work any harder, there's no choice but to work smarter - and that's exactly where data comes in.

According to industry reports, 81% of providers identified workforce-related costs as their most significant pressure, while 54% have made internal efficiency savings through streamlining IT systems. The message is clear: data in home care UK settings is no longer optional—it's essential.

But for many, 'data' can feel daunting. Most of us have mountains of it, whether it's in paper files, spreadsheets or care technology, but it can be a huge headache to make any sense of it.

If that sounds like you, we're here to help. This guide will demystify some data basics, showing you how to use its power to improve your agency's performance - and if you want to read it all in more depth, you can download our full guide here.

Key data concepts you need to know

Let's start with the basics - here are a few key terms you'll see around data that are worth getting familiar with...

Data collection

This means gathering relevant information from sources like care plans, client records, visit logs, client feedback, and incident reports.

Accurate, consistent data collection is crucial, and the first step is to make sure it's being captured digitally rather than on paper. The second step is to make sure that it's structured.

But what does 'structured' data mean? Structured data is organised and formatted in a predefined way, like rows and columns in a database, while unstructured data lacks a fixed structure and includes formats like text, images, and videos.

In other words, if you're filling in set fields to make your care plan, your data is structured - if you're writing it as a single block of text, that's unstructured.

Having structured data is critical - if you don't, you'll find it very difficult to analyse it and therefore use it. That's why at Birdie we've committed to having structured data since day one, which means our platform now runs on one of the largest datasets in care - and that means we can do a lot with it.

Data analysis

So now we've got the data, it's time to analyse it.

This involves examining collected data to identify patterns, trends, and insights. This could involve simple tasks like calculating averages or more complex analyses using data visualisation tools - for example, finding out from your visit records whether your service delivery levels are going up or down, or finding out from your eMAR logs if missed medication rates are improving.

Of course, that's often much easier said than done - and if you don't have analytics as part of your care management software, this might be left up to you to figure out through spreadsheets. If you have different systems for different functions - such as one for care management and another for rostering - this can be even harder.

That's a key reason we built Birdie as an all-in-one system with built-in analytics - all the systems run together, so all the data is connected, and there are over 50 pre-built reports so you can get answers to almost any question within a few clicks. Check out the list of reports here to see them in detail.

Data visualisation

Turning raw data into charts, graphs, and dashboards makes it easier to understand and communicate - as well as much easier to spot trends or issues. Birdie's new Pulse Dashboards bring multiple different types of visualisation together to make 'at a glance' analysis much easier: 

Data security and GDPR

In the UK, GDPR compliance is essential when handling client data, as is data security, confidentiality, and transparency. With that in mind, it's absolutely critical that any platform you use to capture client data is fully compliant with the required standards such as ISO20071.

What metrics do homecare agencies need to track?

Where to begin? There are hundreds - if not thousands - of datapoints you 'could' analyse in order to work smarter, but it's not always necessary. The key is to start simple - and so we've laid out some of the most important points below that should get you started on your data journey (for more details about each one and where to find them, have a look at the free ebook).

Financial stability

1. Revenue

‍Track total income and break it down by sources (public contracts vs. private clients) and by different areas of your business (geographically or by service line) to have a stable and profitable business.

2. Profit

The Homecare Association considers 5% to be a minimum rate of net profit for a financially sustainable care business and you can use Birdie's benchmarking tool to understand how your margin compares to other agencies.

3. Quick Cash Ratio

The money that your business has that's ready for use (not tied up in investments and can be liquidated in less than 90 days).

4. Collections Effectiveness Index (CEI)

This is a calculation that shows how effectively you're collecting payments.

Operational efficiency

1. Time spent on admin (office staff)

The % of your office team's time spent on administrative processes, such as creating and updating care plans, and processing invoices. Don't include time spent on growth activities (recruitment and marketing).

2. Time spent on admin (carers)

The % of your care team's time spent on anything other than care and travel (e.g., completing visit reports or communicating with the office).

‍3. Travel time

The amount of time spent by carers moving between calls whilst on a run.

4. Paper and printing costs

The money that you spend on paper, ink, printer maintenance, and postage.

Care quality and client satisfaction

1. Client satisfaction data

The direct feedback from your clients on how happy they are with your service.

2. Alert resolution time

The time it takes your care team to respond to an alert raised on your system.

3. Outcomes

Each client should have at least one active outcome at any one time that should be reviewed at regular intervals (ideally once per month) with adjustments made if needed.

4. Punctuality

The rate at which your care team arrives on time to visits.

5. Incident reports (e.g., medication errors)

A clear documentation of errors and the steps taken towards their resolution.

6. Q-Score

This is a score unique to Birdie Analytics, which predicts your regulatory rating based on your data. Here's how Christies Care uses it to drive quality:

Workforce management and engagement

1. Retention/turnover Rate

A % figure: the number of employees who leave, divided by the total number of employees (usually calculated over a year-long period).

2. eNPS (Employee Net Promoter Score)‍

A single number that reflects how strong your employee engagement is.

3. Cost per hire

Take your internal and external recruiting costs (including salaries for staff working on recruitment) and divide the total by the number of hires made over the same period.

4. Absence rate

The number of absent days divided by the number of available workdays in a given period, times 100.

5. Employee performance ratings

These are trends in overall performance in employee evaluations. It's good practice as part of performance reviews to give employees a standardised score (e.g., 5 - Outstanding, 4 - Exceeds Expectations, 3 - Meets Expectations, 2 - Needs Improvement, 1- Unacceptable), which allows you to aggregate performance by team or even by manager.

How to get started

Becoming a data-driven organisation doesn't happen overnight. Here's a step-by-step guide to help you get started on your data journey:

1. Secure organisational buy-in

Engage your key stakeholders early. Explain how these new data practices will deliver value and won’t overly burden their teams.

2. Get the right tooling

You need tools for both collecting and analysing data. Some tech - like Birdie covers both.

To improve data collection, you should first ditch paper entirely by moving all processes to digital platforms and integrating your systems to have all data in one place. Use structured data that easily fits into a spreadsheet (numbers, dates, picklists, etc.) and get a system that encourages your team to input data in a structured way.

Make sure it’s easy for everyone to update data by using a solid mobile app for carers and consider IoT devices (wearable health monitors) to provide real-time data on a client's health status.

For better data analysis, you can use data studios and visualisation tools or smart homecare technology with in-built analytics (like Birdie's Analytics) to avoid extra legwork.

3. Establish data governance and security processes

Implement data governance policies to ensure data accuracy, security, and compliance with regulations like GDPR.

4. Document your new processes

Create standard procedures for data collection, analysis, and reporting. Document these clearly and make them accessible to your team.

5. Provide training

Adapt your training to the different needs and responsibilities of your staff, so you can keep information clear and easy to understand.‍

6. Implement regular data reviews

Schedule regular data review meetings to discuss insights, track progress, and identify areas for improvement.

Ready to transform your care agency with data?

Over 1,000 care providers of every size choose Birdie, whether they're just getting started or are market-leaders. After one year, these providers see an average 20% increase in care hours and 8% improvement in profit margins.

Book a demo with Birdie today to see how our smart technology can help you harness the power of data to improve care quality, operational efficiency, and business health.