The Communication Challenge for NDIS Providers 

It’s essential that you, your support workers and your clients are all operating on the same page. But this can present a major problem for NDIS providers, who often manage a large staff visiting clients in their homes or otherwise off-site. You might go weeks or even months without seeing some team members in person. 

While this is a challenge, we’ll share how you can overcome it and why it’s so important that you do. 

4 Benefits NDIS Providers Experience from Excellent Team Communication

1. Improved Care Outcomes for NDIS Participants 

It’s impossible to overstate the importance of good communication for positive care outcomes. In order to provide the most appropriate disability care and support, your team relies on having a full understanding of participants’ needs and goals. This includes the latest information about their health, wellbeing and recently provided services.

2. Bolstered Team Morale and Caregiver Retention 

Good communication is one of the most important factors in creating a positive employee experience. When disability care workers have all the information they need to do their job well, they enjoy their work more. And, when they feel confident in their ability to get help from a manager or make leave requests, they feel supported and valued by their employers.

3. Enhanced Compliance and Documentation for NDIS Audits

When audited, your NDIS business will need to provide comprehensive documentation for all processes, incidents and delivered services. By improving your team communication, you can ensure that incidents are quickly reported, appropriate disability care is always provided, and that you have an electronic paper trail for all services and interactions.

4. More Readiness for Business Growth

As your NDIS business takes off, you want to avoid common bottle-necks that can force you to hit the brakes. A well-designed communication system will help you make the most of opportunities for growth.

Smooth, quick, effortless communication is imperative for quickly allocating staff members to new clients, sharing participant details and getting them added to the roster. You won’t lose hours to back-and-forth emails or be forced to take on additional admin staff before you’re ready to.

Tips & Tools for Improving Communication

1. Streamline Communication Within Caregiving Teams 

Using care management software with a companion mobile app helps NDIS providers communicate quicker and more effectively. Make sure the caregiver mobile app allows your team to check and update client documentation, set their availability and view their schedule. Look for in-app clock-in systems that will immediately notify you of no-shows.

You can also set up push notifications and send SMS messages for the most important information.

2. Maintain Open Lines of Communication with Clients’ Families

With all the items on your team’s to-do list, providing family members with updates can feel like your least important task. However, providing clients’ loved ones and other care providers with regular updates has several valuable benefits. It gives families peace of mind, helps with support management and allows NDIS participants to receive more assistance from their community.

Make sure you keep best practices in mind when communicating with clients’ families. Get NDIS participants’ full consent before sharing any information and keep updates professional.

Care management software with a companion portal like ShiftCare Connect lets you automatically share scheduled services, updates and billing details with clients’ approved contacts. 

You can also set varying access levels so that participants’ privacy is always respected. And because it’s always the same type of information being shared, it’s easy to collect your client’s informed consent.

NDIS Software for Seamless Communication 

ShiftCare’s disability care management software is built around the needs of NDIS providers, participants and support workers. It streamlines communication, with your team able to bid on shifts, view their schedule, access client details, clock in and add progress notes via the ShiftCare app. The ShiftCare Connect web portal, meanwhile, allows you to instantly share updates with clients, their approved loved ones, plan managers and support coordinators.

What’s more, ShiftCare clients love how easy the software is to use. Whether it’s your first time using NDIS software or you’re migrating to new software, we make the process easy for you.

Discover how the right software can help you and your team work better together. Try ShiftCare for free.

What are the communication methods for the NDIS?

NDIS providers can communicate with participants via phone or email. With ShiftCare, you can also schedule video calls and invite clients to check updates on ShiftCare Connect.

What are three methods of communication you might use when collaborating with another service provider?

You can communicate with support coordinators and other service providers by phone, email or by giving them access to ShiftCare Connect.