Survey of service providers finds only 47% could keep pace with demand and just 57% said they had sufficient resources in 2017 This important article is originally from the Guardian 04 December, 2017
Disability service providers are struggling to keep up with growing demand and increased costs under the National Disability Insurance Scheme, according to a new report that warns the speed of the rollout is potentially affecting service quality. The National Disability Services 2017 state of the sector report, released on Monday, warns that policy uncertainty and inadequate price-setting by the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) has seen business confidence and financial stability among disability service providers fall in the past 12 months. A survey of 516 service providers found that only 47% could keep pace with demand and 73% saw an increase in demand for their services in the past 12 months, while only 56% actually increased the scale or range of services they offered to meet that demand. Only 58% of service providers in 2017 said they planned to expand their services, down from 68% in 2015, and only 41% described their financial position as strong or very strong, down from 53% in 2016. Sixty per cent of organisations said they were worried about their ability to adjust to changes resulting from the NDIS and only 57% said they had sufficient resources in 2017, down from 60% in 2016. The report will be presented to industry chief executives at a meeting in Sydney on Monday, before a meeting between industry and the NDIA CEO, Rob De Luca, on Tuesday. The number of participants in the NDIS has grown from 30,000 to 113,000 in the 15 months since the trial period ended in July 2016. At the same time there was an almost sevenfold increase in the number of complaints about the scheme to the commonwealth ombudsman, which service providers said reflected problems with the process for designing individual service plans. The NDIA is working towards a target of 475,000 participants by 2019-20 but a productivity commission report in October warned that deadline would not be met because the sector was not growing fast enough The chief concern listed by disability service providers in the state of the sector survey was that the service prices set by the NDIS were not sufficient, with 50% of providers saying they would have to reduce the quality of the service they offered to fit within NDIS cost parameters. National Disability Services has warned before that organisations were faced with shutting down regional or remote services because the price structure set by the NDIS did not cover the actual cost of services. Sixty per cent of organisations said they wanted the NDIS to set prices aligned with the cost of supply. An independent review of pricing under the NDIS, commissioned by the NDIA board, is due to report its findings this month. Organisations also raised concerns about poor-quality NDIS plans, which the report said were being undertaken by local area coordinators who were under pressure to meet rollout targets and often cutting corners. “Planning was rushed, often conducted over the phone and existing services were frequently disregarded as a starting point for considering the supports needed,” the report said. “Essential supports were omitted from plans and rectifying these omissions was not easy.” The number of organisations that said the government was neither anticipating nor responding to the needs of disability service providers rose from 62% in 2016 to 74% in 2017, and 67% said the NDIA was not working well with providers. “The NDIA cut corners to meet ambitious targets to get people with disability into the scheme,” the National Disability Services CEO, Ken Baker, said. “I think it recognises now that it needs to focus much more on improving the quality of the NDIS experience for providers and participants.” Baker said the disability sector would work with the NDIA to resolve problems. “We are determined to see the NDIS succeed,” he said. “Too much is at stake to let it fail.”
0 Comments
By Jeff Haden Mistakes are a great way to learn. But why not skip the pain and suffering yourself--at least on these 9 mistakes. Making mistakes is a great way to learn. Making mistakes is also not particularly fun. It's a lot more fun to avoid them entirely. Here are some of the most common mistakes entrepreneurs—and businesspeople in general—tend to make: 1. Think of a plan as an end result. Say you’re agonizing over a business plan; somewhere along the way you've forgotten your goal is to actually start the business. Establish goals, create long-range plans, make to-do lists, and get going. Most successful people are solid planners and excellent adapters. Get started so you can start adapting. 2. Assume style indicates substance. Logos, identity packages, killer wardrobes, eccentric work spaces... none of those matter if you can't deliver. Businesses are built on go, not show. Your business or personal style will create a memorable brand as long as you deliver. Just be you. And get to work. 3. Think of business as all-you-can-eat. Ideas are thrilling. Opportunities are tantalizing. Dreams are exciting. Great, but execution is everything. Take on too much and you do few things well. Keep getting distracted by the latest trend and your best ideas get ignored. Check out everything on the business menu, but only select a few items at a time. Don't be afraid, or have too big an ego, to start small. Small is almost always your start-up friend. 4. Underestimate the time required. Nothing ever goes as quickly as you predict; in a start-up, time passes in reverse dog years. Create timelines but always factor in scenarios and sensitivities. If you don't reach your estimated sales in six months, what will you do? An estimate is theoretical. Plans are more concrete. Know what you will do if your timelines are wrong. They will be. 5. Assume perfection is required. Trying to create a product that meets every conceivable customer need? Sooner is almost always better than later, so do a Tim Gunn and make it work. Get to market and then start refining your products or services based on actual customer feedback. 6. Underestimate the money required. It’s easy to underestimate cost when you let hope creep into your calculations. A start-up, no matter how bootstrapped, always has unforeseen costs. Just because you really want something to work out doesn't mean it will magically cost less. Apply sensitivities and create plans in case your estimates are wrong. Just like your time estimates, they will be. 7. Give up too soon. Success rhymes with excess for good reason: Entrepreneurs who succeed do so because they work harder and longer. Before you give up, take a step back and decide whether additional effort is all that's required to overcome roadblocks or hurdles. Sometimes it's not the business or the market. Sometimes it's you. Never quit until you’re sure it’s not you. 8. Stop acting silly. If you’re like me your favorite childhood stories involve something stupid you did. (How else would I know the right mixture of sulfur and saltpeter will burn hot enough to turn a Tonka truck into a glop of metal?) Business is serious enough. Every once in awhile, do something silly. Silly is memorable. Silly makes you feel like a kid again. Laughing at yourself will make the toughest day a lot easier. 9. Adopt expectations. We are all influenced to some extent by what other people think about us. But what do you want? What really matters to you? Live your life based on the opinions of others and you live their lives, not your own. What matters most is what matters most to you. Always be sure you're living your life. It’s the only one you get. Heather Smith 11 December 2013. Innovation is often touted as the secret to business success. But what exactly does being innovative involve, and how can you do it? The late US management consultant and scholar Peter Drucker once said, “Business has only two functions – marketing and innovation. All the rest are costs.” The accountant in me has always found this sentiment a bit hard to swallow (does this mean I’m just an expense?), and led me to continuously ponder what innovation in small business is and what value it has. To explore the concept of innovation I spoke with Mark Paddenburg, CEO of Innovation Centre on the Sunshine Coast. Paddenburg says innovation in a business can take many forms – from changing your business model to the introduction of a new or significantly improved products or services. It could also involve improving business systems and processes or finding a better way of promoting and distributing your products. “ Innovation that is misguided, not based on research, or carried out for the sake of innovation itself may prove costly and not be in the interests of the business at all. ” According to Paddenburg, the important thing to remember is: innovation shouldn’t be relied on to right wrongs in your business; rather it should be intrinsic to its progression – an “embedded, ongoing practice” as opposed to a quick fix. When looking to innovate, he says it’s essential business owners understand the competitive environment, the direction their business is heading in and what the unique selling proposition (USP) is. “Innovation that is misguided, not based on research, or carried out for the sake of innovation itself may prove costly and not be in the interests of the business at all,” he says. Innovation can also help to boost business growth. “For business – it’s essentially innovate or stagnate,” says Paddenburg. “We’re in a highly competitive environment and often it’s innovation that makes the difference.” He gives the example of the retail sector using technology to attract and keep sticky customers, citing companies such as women’s fitness-wear line Lorna Jane, whose digital strategy has helped it secure over $50 million in extra sales. Statistics support that innovation is important for business growth, both in terms of profit and workforce. It also helps to improve productivity. Research from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows a third of businesses that took steps to innovate during 2011–12 saw an increase in productivity, while only 14 per cent of non-innovation-active businesses reported any increase in productivity. It’s estimated that only 38.8 per cent of Australian businesses employing 0–4 persons are actively innovative. That means over 60 per cent of micro business are not taking advantage of all that innovation has to offer. Whether it’s improving the goods or services you provide; enhancing your operational, organisational or managerial processes, or developing your marketing methods, why not embrace innovation as a part of every day practices, and reap the benefits? How have you been innovative in your business, and has it been valuable? How to avoid discrimination during the interview process: ✔ Select applicants for interview based on skills, abilities, qualifications and experience relevant to the role. Be consistent. ✔ Prepare interview questions that are consistent for each applicant and that do not imply discriminatory decision-making. Set aside any assumptions regarding sex, age, race, etc. Keep a record of questions and answers. ✔ Determine and assess pre-employment tests such as medical, competency or psychometric tests according to the role requirements. Check tests for any bias or indirect discrimination. ✔ Only contact referees specified and authorised by the candidate, and only ask the referred questions that relate to the selection criteria. Ensure that the information provided is recorded in a consistent way. ✔ Select the successful candidate on the basis that that they best meet the key criteria (i.e. are the best person) for the job. Record the reasons for your decision. ✔ Provide constructive feedback to unsuccessful candidates. ✔ Offer similar terms and conditions for candidates of similar qualifications and experience who are undertaking the same role. by Janna Leyde Remember when Facebook was only for the in-the-know college kids? That was 2004. Mark Zuckerberg knew what he was doing. Almost a decade later and there are close to 800 million people posting, tagging, liking, sharing, and inviting. Just this past October, Facebook surpassed one trillion likes. Yes, some of those were engagement photos, inspirational quotes, videos of puppies barking, breakups, and babies, but do not underestimate the marketing power of this social networking behemoth, even if the teenage demographic is supposedly fleeing to Tweetier pastures. Here’s 2Checkout with how to use Facebook to acquire more customers for your e-commerce business. 1. Create the Right Page Keep work and play separate. Personal pages are for sharing quotes, stumbling toddler videos, vacation memories, and photos with friends. Fan Pages (Facebook Business pages) are structured differently to allow users to run advertising campaigns (Ads Manager) and track user activity (Page Insights). 2. Facebook Advertise There are currently 23 million small business owners on Facebook. Of those 23 million, only one million are using Facebook to advertise. Facebook advertising is an inexpensive and effective way to reach out to a super-targeted market. Creating an ad is as easy as: one selecting an image; two creating a headline; three writing a few words of copy. 3. Post Photos Facebook photo posts beat the average post — links or text-only — by a landslide. According to Kissmetrics, photos have 84 percent more click-throughs, 53 percent more likes and 104 percent more comments. Have Instagram? Link the two accounts and posting photos becomes a snap (pun intended). 4. Ask Questions Questions are a social media call to action. Question posts receive 100 percent morecomments, says Dan Zarella, a viral marketing scientist. Close-ended questions (would, should, which) are more effective than open-ended (why, how) questions. A local record store posts, ‘Here are the top ten 2013 releases that we think sound better on vinyl. Tell us, did you buy any records this year?’ to marginal response; the post would receive more attention from a simple Yes or No question. 5. Offer Coupons Fan-only coupons create strong incentive to buy — 42 percent of users like a page for the discounts, according to Socially Stacked. Write a short post with an image of the product or service and include a call to action word, like claim, click, use, or grab. Seattle’s Best Coffee offered Last minute grocery shopping is le mis. Grab some coffee to make it better. http://bit.ly/2offcoupon to encourage Thanksgiving shoppers to try out the brand and save $2. 6. Check In Butcher and the Rye is the new bourbon restaurant in town. A select number of folks know about it one week. The next week people are pouring through the doors. Why? Because “I saw my friend went on Facebook.” The great advantage of check-ins, is that Facebook users who are not fans can still post, tag, and share photos of their experience with their friends. Let customers do the social media marketing. Adding Page Location is all it takes. 7. Schedule Posts It’s easy to leave Facebook posting until the last minute, or, inversely, to choke one day with too much content; however, the key to an engaging Facebook page is consistent content. Take time each week (or day) to compose a number of posts, schedule auto-posting times with websites like Hootsuite or Buffer, and then sit back. Tip: Go to Page Insights to determine when peak engagement times are and post accordingly. Here are three changes expected for 2014…
1. Advertising on Instagram In 2014, Instagram will be introducing targeted advertising in users' Instagram feeds. Photos and videos that contain advertisements will appear with a “Sponsored” label alerting users to the fact they are viewing an ad. 2. Facebook star ratings Next year, we will begin to see star ratings on all company Facebook pages. The five-star rating scale is expected to appear at the top of a company's Facebook page next to the name of the business. 3. Images on Gmail Soon Gmail will allow you to view images in your email by default, meaning that you won't get a prompt asking you whether you wish to view images or not. They will already appear. |