Q&A: Bringing care agencies the insights they need with Birdie’s Pulse Dashboards

We caught up with Implementation & Enablement Manager Danielle Roberts, to chat about why she joined Birdie, what it was like to go from a Birdie customer to a team member, and why she feels the recently released Pulse Dashboards are so valuable for the care sector.

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Q: You recently joined Birdie after working in Domiciliary Care. What drew you to the platform?

A: Before joining Birdie, I was actually a Birdie client and user. Having spent 9 years in the sector, I knew firsthand the complexities of running a healthy social care business, and the importance of sustainably and consistently providing quality care that helps ageing individuals maintain independence, and reassures their families.

I’d seen my share of technology for this sector. What excited me about Birdie was its holistic approach to addressing these interlinked challenges. The platform isn’t just a collection of tools; it’s designed around best practices that help agencies track and communicate their successes seamlessly– internally to stakeholders, to families, to the CQC and to Local Authorities. I also appreciated how industry best practices were baked into the system: with tags that correspond to CQC inspection focus areas, or structured assessment templates that can drive recommendations for further assessments. 

The volume of metrics available on the platform, combined with a very pragmatic approach to surfacing what’s most impactful means that agencies can take quick action based on real insights.

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Q: You mentioned that Birdie has a highly collaborative approach to product development. Can you expand on that?

A: Absolutely. As a customer, I experienced firsthand how deeply Birdie listens to its partners. The company maintains a constant feedback loop with care agencies, ensuring that the product evolves in direct response to their needs. Through our co-development program, we’re not just hearing about care agencies’ realities—we’re incorporating their regular feedback into every aspect of our platform’s functionality. This means we’re building a product that truly understands and supports care providers.

There isn’t exactly a lack of technology vendors out there claiming they can support domiciliary care, but more often than not it feels like they’ve clicked copy-paste on tech built to serve another industry’s context. 

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Q: What were some of the key challenges care agencies were facing when you joined Birdie?

A: I’ve only joined recently! But it’s an especially challenging time for this sector. Pressures are coming from all angles– the sheer number of individuals requiring care, and the resulting need to bring more carers on board. The economics are, of course, also challenging. Across roles, the care sector just wants reassurance that they’re making the right decisions in high-stakes situations.

Another major concern was alignment: ensuring that all team members were on the same page when it came to implementing tactics and strategies. We saw a clear need for a solution that provided clarity and confidence in decision-making.

And then from a tech perspective, agencies have overall moved away from paper-based processes, but not all tech has made their lives easier. There’s definitely some report-fatigue in the industry. Tech was supposed to make things easier, and in some cases I’ve heard colleagues in social care say that it’s added complexity due to clunky interfaces (these are not Birdie customers by the way!). So I’d say the need for usability and clarity are definitely key challenges, and ultimately, requirements. 

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Q: That need for clarity, usability and alignment led to the development of Pulse Dashboards. What makes them so valuable?

A: Speaking as a former customer, Birdie’s always been very empathetic to the need for intuitive interfaces in what are, inevitably, complex workflows. With Pulse Dashboards, we’re focusing on centralising the most essential metrics needed to report, operationally, on the state of the business from the perspectives of Care Management (and soon to be Finance and People & Performance.) 

Basically, if the most senior leadership of the agency wants to know how things are going– what metrics would be discussed? But these dashboards aren’t solely supporting the flow of information in that direction. They’re built to be simple and understandable enough that any member of the team could find them actionable. We hear from agencies all the time that siloes come from a lack of shared information, but it’s more than that. Without a shared view on the data that matters, it’s difficult to align teams around a “north star.” To truly collaborate, teams need the ability to strategise around shared, measurable goals. That’s where Pulse Dashboards come in.

Pulse Dashboards were designed to give care agencies an overview of their performance as it impacts the bottom line, in a single view. They focus on three crucial strategic areas: Care Management, Finance, and People & Performance. We know that in reality, these “areas” are interlinked within the agency. We see these dashboards as the subjects of key tactical and strategic discussions across the business.

But, crucially, the dashboards are designed to be simple and intuitive. Any team member can understand them. Everyone from frontline staff to manager can feel confident and understand their impact, and the direction forward.

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Find out more about Birdie's dashboard in our latest blog >> Pulse Dashboards: Built to help care agencies optimise and plan ahead

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Q: What has the response been from care agencies using Pulse Dashboards?

A: We incorporated so much of that co-development approach that I loved as a customer while building these dashboards. So it’s not surprising that partners tell us that they reflect their needs. Agencies have called them “their best friends” and “the only view they need, instead of exporting lots of reports.” Managers have shared that Pulse Dashboards take the pressure off, providing a self-explanatory view of their operations. One partner even said they’d be “devastated” if they ever lost their dashboard—luckily, that’s not something they’ll have to worry about. Coming from the industry, it’s so nice to see that the dashboards are making an immediate difference– the people working in care give so much and are often under-appreciated for their achievements under pressure. They deserve technology that empowers them, gives them confidence– helps them work smarter– and is easy to use.

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Birdie offers all-in-one homecare technology, supporting providers of all sizes with the entire care journey, from care management and quality auditing to rostering, finance, and analytics. Let's chat about how Birdie can help you and your business.