Since 2001, the Altius Group has operated with a singular vision: to elevate the wellbeing of people, workplaces and communities. Built on a foundation of compassion, Altius offers premium end-to-end health solutions to support both businesses and clients to restore their physical and mental health.
A key pillar of Altius’ offering is working with NDIS clients – using a robust and scaled case management system to deliver tailored disability care plans.
We spoke to Nick Park, Head of Digital & Technology at Altius, about his experience implementing DocuSign’s eSignature solution into the business and how digital transformation through automation has led to better outcomes for Altius’ clients.
Breaking free from manual follow ups
Nick was brought into the business to review Altius’ current service model and identify ways to simplify and streamline their operations.
“In the previous way of working, so much of the work happened over email – which meant a lot of manual follow ups. Did you receive the care plan? What did you think? Can you share any feedback? There was so much back and forth,” Nick said.
“If everything worked out and the care plan was approved by the client, we would then have to go through the rather slow process of executing the agreement in a way that was legally binding.”
This involved printing and signing the care plan documentation, often taking weeks for the client to return.
“The whole process was clunky and cumbersome – particularly for our client community who may face particular challenges accessing technology. We know many of our clients across the Group don’t have direct access to printers or scanners.”
Relying on manual processes was resulting in delays and sometimes miscommunications – which ultimately delayed clients from getting immediate access to the care they needed.
Exploring digital solutions to solve real-world problems
Altius recognised the need for a digital solution that would streamline their agreement process and boost overall efficiency throughout the business.
As the digital transformation expert, Nick explored a number of digital solutions. Interestingly, he was initially sceptical of DocuSign’s ability to deliver.
“I’ll admit I went into the research process thinking that DocuSign was the incumbent, the default – so it may not be the superior solution. But I was completely blown away with both the quality of the tech and the level of support we received from the team.”
“At every single stage of the process, it felt like I was working with a modern, fresh, new company. They were the stand-out solution by far.”
Working together to achieve better outcomes for clients
From the initial implementation to ongoing support, DocuSign was invested in Altius’ success as a care provider. DocuSign’s customer success team helped Altius swiftly adapt to the platform, providing personalised onboarding sessions and one-on-one coaching to the team.
Nick emphasised the exceptional support, saying, "We had an incredible account management team taking us through the onboarding process and set us up for success within the platform. I think it’s a fascinating thing to be the market-leading eSignature solution, but still be so energised, committed and willing to invest so heavily in client relationships. The team was phenomenal.”
“We had to make several adjustments to our templates, and the flexibility that DocuSign offered us was huge. On top of that, as we realised where we could use DocuSign, we needed to create sub-accounts within a single DocuSign licence for two of our hiring teams to use the system for new employee contracts, ensuring privacy and segmentation options for different areas of the business.”
The integration of DocuSign has had a profound impact on Altius’ efficiency, client experience, and overall business outcomes. One of the significant improvements has been the reduction in NDIS agreement turnaround time.
"We've gone from a typical support agreement taking two to three weeks to be signed and returned, down to a two-day turnaround.”
This remarkable reduction empowers Altius to focus on the important things – delivering more-timely services and building stronger relationships with their clients.
Leveraging tech to deliver human-centric outcomes
DocuSign has empowered the Altius team to allocate more time to answering questions, resolving concerns, and providing personalised support to their clients.
“By automating low-value tasks, the team can now dedicate their expertise to delivering quality experiences and addressing specific client needs – as opposed to having to spend time chasing up PDF files or following up on emails that have got lost along the way.”
“We’ve seen major gains in productivity since implementing DocuSign, but what I’m most proud of – and passionate about – is the dramatic impact we’re having on people’s lives.”
“At its most simple, we get to deliver care sooner. Instead of having to say: It’s going to be three weeks before we can start taking care of you because of a drawn-out paperwork process, we can now say: By the end of the week, we’ll have the agreement sorted and can start scheduling your care plan. This alleviates some of the stress and anxiety for our clients – which can be life changing.”
Altius has no plans to slow down their adoption of digital technology – looking ahead to find more ways for DocuSign to integrate further into their systems.
“At the moment, we’re starting the process of integrating HubSpot, our customer and marketing platform, into the system which is really exciting. We’re always tuning and refining our existing processes, taking advantage of new features and upgrades. It’s a really exciting time for us as a business.”