AcruxKC: how a nine-person nonprofit drives innovation with no code

Elizabeth (host, PEX Network)00:01

Hello everybody, and welcome. Today we explore how AcruxKC streamlined processes, enhanced productivity and drove innovation with no-code automation. Our speakers are Beth Radtke, Executive Director at AcruxKC, and Gary Mellows, Head of Delivery and Customer Success at FlowForma.

Gary Mellows00:28

Thanks, Elizabeth, and welcome everyone. FlowForma is an award-winning, 100% no-code process automation tool: a three-in-one solution with forms, workflow and document generation out of the box. We help customers across all industries quickly and easily digitize their business processes, and I'm delighted to be joined by one of them. Beth, tell us a little about AcruxKC and your role.

Beth Radtke01:17

I'm Executive Director at AcruxKC, so I oversee all of our programs. Our work supports health and quality of life in the Kansas City metropolitan area, which straddles Missouri and Kansas. We have education, grant-making and healthcare access programs. The largest is AccessKC, which helps people with low incomes access basic health services like emergency dental care and prescriptions. Clients get vouchers at a relief network of fixed locations and redeem them at 120 vendor locations. We've budgeted $1.5 million to cover the cost of care this year alone.

Beth Radtke02:09

Social services as a whole is burdened by paper and manual processes. Low-income people usually have to go to a fixed location to apply for help, and they don't have money for transportation or time off work. Internally we had at least a dozen pain points: getting users registered and agencies and vendors on board meant emails back and forth, the payment process was extremely manual, and reporting meant manipulating exported spreadsheets. And we don't have an IT department, so there was nobody to own this work. That's where FlowForma has come through for us.

Beth Radtke03:42

The big thing was the collection of manual processes and the burden that creates. It's time consuming to fill out all those forms, and any time somebody fills out a piece of paper, someone else is doing the data entry into a database, which creates opportunities for error. That's not unique to social services. In fact, it's endemic.

Beth Radtke04:13

So we needed something quick and easy to set up, because we don't have time to waste or a lot of technical skills on our staff, with plenty of support to make it operational. We wanted to be as self-sufficient as possible, because we don't have money to keep paying another resource to set up and maintain systems, and because we want to add new services, like CPAP machines alongside dental, prescriptions and glasses, without going back to a vendor each time.

Beth Radtke05:08

With FlowForma you can replace paper forms with electronic forms. Our program is very workflow based, so the software is a perfect fit: getting glasses involves different steps for the client and the caseworker than dental care does. We also needed better reporting, because I was exporting CSV files and manipulating them. Our fixed locations had to phone us to find out how much money a client had left to spend, and invoices arrived by fax. We wanted to bring the whole process into a web-based reality and make it easier for our clients.

Elizabeth (host, PEX Network)07:08

Before we move on, we're going to run a short poll for attendees. We'll come back to the results at the end of the session.

Gary Mellows07:26

Let's talk more about the key requirements you had when you went out to the market.

Beth Radtke07:38

We wanted something web-based. We have sensitive clients, such as domestic violence survivors and cancer patients, so we needed to segment those client databases away from our core program. We needed an attractive, intuitive interface, because the people who issue vouchers, and our clients, aren't people who use office software every day. And we're not programmers. I can't afford a programmer, and I didn't want to depend on a software company for every step of the program's future.

Beth Radtke08:41

We needed the autonomy to add and change things, like adding a language to the primary-language question. And we needed an integrated document repository. Social workers have had a four-inch binder of paper on their desk for decades. With everything in the system, they always have the latest document instead of wondering whether theirs is current.

Gary Mellows09:39

One customer told us recently that the only barrier to process automation is your own way of thinking.

Beth Radtke10:07

So far we've automated client registration, which in social services is called intake, where you collect the client's personal information. We've done it from two sides: our fixed locations can still issue vouchers, and we're launching a web app where clients can apply for a voucher themselves. That's a huge step in social services, where people usually depend on others to get their needs met.

Beth Radtke10:43

We've created the workflows for our five different vouchers. Being able to customize workflows to five very different services is crucial. I didn't want the usual social services database where you tab through fields you don't need. That's a waste of time, and I think it's demoralizing.

Beth Radtke11:13

Invoice payment is huge for us too. If I told all you process automation nerds just how manual our process was, with faxes individually named in a certain way, you'd understand how time consuming it was. I didn't want my staff to suffer like that, and we've improved it dramatically.

Beth Radtke11:49

We have a lot more planned, because the only limit is your imagination. Next is registration for our vendors and user agencies, so they can provide their information electronically instead of by email. The number of emails it takes to onboard a new partner organization is extraordinary, and then somebody has to do the data entry again.

Beth Radtke12:26

We've never been good at satisfaction surveys, and the system will let us do them. We're HIPAA compliant and need to survey our users every quarter, which right now means SurveyMonkey. We also do site visits to vendors and partners, and we'd like that workflow in the system so the person doing the visit can record what she learns and hit submit. Right now it's all manual.

Gary Mellows13:38

It's great to see you plan to keep enhancing the services you offer. Your staff have gone through the training so you can do this work yourselves, which was one of your goals. FlowForma is designed for the business user, so you don't need technical expertise or reliance on third parties.

Beth Radtke14:17

Absolutely. The person who's our primary internally for developing and managing workflows is a social worker by training. She got the certification and plans to take the advanced training in October. She's really caught fire with it, and it's great to see somebody grow in their role like that. We can do this work internally. It's possible and it's affordable.

Beth Radtke15:07

You need some aptitude for database thinking and flow thinking, but it's not outside the realm of possibility for anybody. It's a very user-friendly, intuitive program. I've taken the training as well, and I plan to take the certification exam by the end of the year.

Gary Mellows15:32

What benefits are you seeing from digitizing your processes?

Beth Radtke15:38

There are a lot of measurable things. We've streamlined and shortened the user experience, which matters because social workers fill out applications after spending a long time talking with someone about their needs. The phone approval I spoke about has been completely eliminated, because our users can see a client's balance in the system. And when clients can apply for vouchers on their own, we're empowering them to take care of their own health, and that's one less thing for a social worker to do.

Beth Radtke16:48

We're eliminating the email traffic, and the duplicate data entry that's bothered me in more than 25 years in the social services sector. Then there's the incalculable stuff. Improved staff and user morale: don't discount that. I don't want my people coming in and rolling their eyes because they have to do the same thing over and over again.

Beth Radtke17:55

We've started to transform community perception of our organization. We've always been a sleepy, folksy little program in Kansas City, and now that we're leveraging technology, and doing it internally, people are taking notice. And I'm proud that nonprofits can do this. We're a staff of nine. There's no reason other nonprofits can't do this. It's quick and easy to set up, the FlowForma team is always there to support, and the system is intuitive.

Gary Mellows19:03

The positive impact on staff is often overlooked and underappreciated, so it's great to see you call it out. People in social services are used to paper and manual work, and it doesn't have to be that way.

Gary Mellows19:27

Last question: what's next for AcruxKC and its use of FlowForma?

Beth Radtke19:33

Our big next thing: 20% of our vouchers never get redeemed. That's thousands of dollars of care and hundreds of people who aren't getting what they need. So we want to automate text message reminders, through an available API, and add a workflow to follow up with clients. FlowForma also has expanded reporting coming in the next couple of months, and I can't wait to use it to show how our program is growing.

Beth Radtke20:25

We also have grant and scholarship programs, and with the software and the knowledge in-house, there's no reason we can't add those workflows, forms and documents too. I really believe workflow management is crucial to being efficient and effective, after being weighed down with paper for two decades. I may even set up the scholarship and grant workflows myself. You wouldn't expect an executive to do that, but it's that easy.

Elizabeth (host, PEX Network)22:53

We have a few audience questions. First: how do you provide support to clients who have problems filling out their voucher submissions?

Beth Radtke23:05

Right now they call us, and our social workers help them however they need, sometimes by calling the agency that issued the voucher or the vendor. Clients still go to a fixed location today. We're close to launching the online application, and we'll eventually have a chat function and an email option. We've also reduced the number of questions on the application so it's easy to follow.

Elizabeth (host, PEX Network)24:18

Have you prioritized the to-do list you mentioned?

Beth Radtke24:29

We're still new, and our social worker has just been trained, so it's a balance of the things we need and her growing skills. We're starting with workflows that are fairly straightforward so she gains confidence, then adding more complex ones. FlowForma is there for support, but I want her to be as autonomous as she can be.

Elizabeth (host, PEX Network)25:31

A question for Gary: how long does it take to learn how to use the tool?

Gary Mellows25:37

It depends on where you're coming from. If you have no experience with workflow or process automation tools, we have a two-day foundation training course, where new customers learn to automate processes in FlowForma. In 95% of cases, after those two days they're off on their own, taking on use cases in their business. People with experience of other tools can often pick it up without training.

Beth Radtke26:31

And when you do have a question, the FlowForma team is always there. They're not going to let you struggle: send a quick email or get on Teams with them and they'll walk you through it. That support has been an indispensable part of our experience.

Gary Mellows27:00

We also offer a self-paced online academy for people who can't take two full days out, an advanced course for those designing a solution for the whole business, and certifications at foundation and advanced level.

Elizabeth (host, PEX Network)28:06

Let's share the poll results. The top answer was improved productivity.

Gary Mellows28:18

That's what we see across our customer base too. Plenty of customers have regulatory compliance requirements, but in most cases they want to improve productivity, which in itself reduces cost, and improve the customer experience and, as Beth said, their own staff's experience.

Beth Radtke28:43

Don't overlook that. I don't want people to be in soul-sucking jobs that they're trying to get out of at 4:30 every day. We need to do better as managers and leaders.

Gary Mellows29:23

Thank you for your time today, Beth. It's been great working with you, and I'm looking forward to adding more services and supporting you as you grow.

Beth Radtke29:40

I can't thank Gary and his team enough. We're not tech people, and they've been extremely patient. It's a quirky program with some strange restrictions, and they've never said that can't happen. Their attitude is that automation is possible for everybody, including a small social services agency in the Midwest. I don't think we could have found a more suitable software platform for our work.