Before I started at Hireup six months ago, I was motivated to join an organisation committed to supporting people with disability to live the lives they choose. The capacity to exercise choice and control is one of the NDIS’ great promises, but transforming the sector towards this promise has proven one of its greatest challenges. As I settled in at Hireup, I continually evaluated what I was seeing and hearing against my own sense of what choice and control over support might feel like.
What I saw and heard, and what I continue to see and hear, is that Hireup’s simple, yet fundamentally disruptive idea is doing just that. By connecting people with disability with support workers on the basis of shared interests and experiences (and not just convenience) Hireup brings to life the aspiration of choice and control. This aspiration is beautifully captured in our purpose: to enable the pursuit of a good life for everyone.
But having stated where we want to go, data is the key to knowing if we’re progressing towards our purpose.
Part of my job is to design and implement an approach to data collection, analysis and communication that will allow us to do this. This approach is grounded in an empirical perspective to understanding social impact. This is especially vital when we think about holding our sector and its providers to account. Without quantifying impact, it’s almost impossible to refute or confirm any claim about an organisation’s contribution to the life of a person with disability. To ensure that organisations are authentic in their claims and to build a picture of genuine progress as a community, not just good branding.
For every organisation, impact measurement is key to ensuring its resources are allocated efficiently and effectively. It helps organisations to answer the question: 'are we achieving our purpose?'. And the answer in turn encourages organisations to reflect on ‘what could we be doing differently to achieve more impact?’. These are universal questions that lead all organisations with objectives beyond revenue and profit to be better.
Before Hireup, I spent more than ten years working in human services where my work on social impact was done in partnership with government agencies and not-for-profit service providers. The kinds of organisations that have led the way in terms of innovating and implementing impact measurement methodologies.
And in these environments, there is a natural scepticism of information proffered by for-profit organisations about their social impact. Through this I learned that for-profit organisations, more so than governments or not-for-profits, have to meet higher evidence thresholds to be taken seriously. When for-profits describe our impact, we can’t just expect people to believe us, just because we say it is so. Social impact measurement is important for all organisations delivering human services, but the need for transparency – about analytical methods, about the way data is used – is amplified in a for-profit context.
Acknowledging this and understanding there is power in sharing our methodology, Hireup is committed to explaining our approach in a few different ways. These include:
- Publish the results of our social impact assessment in our Annual Report
- Have an always-on approach to sharing social impact data with our organisation and employees
- Use quantitative (and academically valid) methods to determine progress towards our purpose
- Participate in ongoing discussions with sector and academic partners about our measurement methodology.
All organisations delivering human services – public, not-for-profit and for-profit – have a shared interest in demonstrating the value they bring to society. Profit-for-purpose businesses have an important role to play, but they need to be particularly transparent about their methods, reasons for capturing data, and what they’re doing with it. Six months into my Hireup journey, I am convinced that bringing a transparent, empirical approach to impact measurement will be the driving force behind transforming the sector for the better.
To keep up to date with Hireup’s impact journey, check out Impact at Hireup and subscribe for impact news via this form.
