One client,
Three projects
Our work with Lilies Home Care began with automating their recruitment process. As we got to know the business, we went on to develop a new website and bespoke software tailored to how their team operates
Together, they have completely changed how we run our business
Diane GledhillFounder & Office Manager
We started by automating their recruitment
Lilies Home Care exists to look after people, but its slow, paper-based recruitment process was pulling time away from care. Every applicant meant four paper forms to hand out, DBS checks and right-to-work documents to chase, references to follow up, and driving licences and eligibility to confirm, all by hand. Too often that time went on applicants who were never eligible in the first place, and with staff turnover already high across the sector, the same administration repeated with every round of hiring
We brought every one of those paper forms together into a single, comprehensive online application, and every applicant now goes through it. Anyone who is not eligible is filtered out before they take up any of the office’s time, and applicants are no longer left filling in paperwork for a role they cannot take. There is no longer any back and forth over missing fields. The moment someone applies, the office has a complete summary of them, ready to act on.
5 hours10 minutes
Weekly recruitment administration
“West Country Digital rebuilt our entire recruitment process. Applicants now apply directly through our website and are screened automatically the moment they submit, with anyone ineligible filtered out instantly. Work that used to take us five hours a week now takes ten minutes. I cannot recommend them enough”
- Application forms
- BeforeApplicants completed four separate paper forms by hand, which meant lower completion rates and hours of manual data entry for the team
- AfterApplicants complete one comprehensive online form
- Missing information
- BeforeStaff manually chased missing details and incomplete submissions
- AfterThe office gets a complete summary of each applicant as soon as they apply
- Eligibility checks
- BeforeBasic checks were carried out by hand with no consistent process
- AfterIneligible applicants are filtered out before anything else happens
Then we rebuilt their website
The new application form needed a home, and the natural place was Lilies’ own website. But the site was dated, had no way to make an enquiry and did not reflect the standard of care Lilies provides. So we designed and built an entirely new website, one that presents the business professionally and turns more visitors into enquiries
Built to turn visitors into enquiries
- Call or request a callback from anywherePhone and callback buttons sit throughout the site, so a family can get in touch the moment they are ready
- A callback form that prepares the officeIt asks who the care is for, what support is needed, how urgent it is and the best time to call, so every call is returned fully prepared
- Trust before the first callTheir live CQC rating, the family story behind Lilies and a clear guide to what happens next answer the questions families ask first
Built to be found
- Written for what families search forClear page titles and descriptions name the care Lilies provides and the areas they cover across Bradford and Leeds
- A page for every questionServices, care planning, documents, complaints and recruitment each have their own page, so each one can be found and shared directly
- Polished on every screenDesigned to look right and work properly on phones, tablets and computers, so every visitor gets the right first impression
“Our website has gone from the 1800s into the 21st century. Everything feels so much more modern and professional”
Then we built bespoke software to replace two systems
With recruitment running itself, we talked to the team about what else took up their time and caused frustration. Most of it came back to the two off-the-shelf systems running the business: one for the rota, finance and HR, and another for care plans, medication and visit notes
- Two systems, two billsLilies paid for two separate systems to run one business
- Paying for unused featuresOnly around half of what each system offered suited the way Lilies works, yet they paid for all of it
- Everything entered twiceThe systems did not talk to each other, so the same information was typed into both
One system, built around how Lilies works
We designed and built a completely bespoke system to replace both. The rota, care records, medication, HR and finance all share the same information, so anything entered once is known everywhere, and every screen follows the way the office already works rather than the other way round
- 0duplicate data entry
- 7areas of the business in one place
- 60+office, carer and client users
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Rota and live board
A weekly planner with repeating visits and travel, availability and training warnings, plus a live view of every call happening today
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Care plans and medication
Lilies’ own assessment forms, person centred care plans with regular reviews, and medication records that alert the office if a dose is missed
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A carer app that works offline
Carers see their calls, check in and out, record tasks and medication, and raise concerns. Without signal, everything saves and sends later
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HR and compliance
Holidays, sickness, training reminders, DBS and compliance documents and policy sign-off, kept alongside the people they relate to
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Families kept informed
With consent, family members get read-only access and can message the office, and the office can send updates to carers, clients and families
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Reporting
On-time visits, completed tasks and medication given, measured automatically and ready to export whenever the team needs them
More time for providing quality home care
“For years Lilies ran on paper forms and an outdated website, while our office relied on two disconnected off-the-shelf platforms that never covered everything we needed. We first asked West Country Digital to streamline our recruitment and update our website. Our recruitment admin dropped from five hours a week to just ten minutes, and we finally had a website we were proud to share. After seeing the results, we asked them to replace both of our old platforms with one system built around our team. Each project solved a real problem, and together they have completely changed how we run our business”
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