CIO50 2023 26-50 Alexander Young, Christadelphian Aged Care

Name: Alexander Young
Title: Chief information technology officer
Company: Christadelphian Aged Care
Commenced role: 2017
Reporting line: CEO
Member of the executive team: Yes
Technology Function: 100-200 contractors, 2 direct reports

Over the past two years, Alexander Young, Chief Information Technology Officer at Christadelphian Aged Care has driven technology innovations which have enable the organisation reach new levels of operational excellence.

The three areas of focus improved the organisation’s telecommunications system, finance automation and business intelligence capability..

The first project aimed to address a pressing pain point for the organisation – its telecommunications platform, which was negatively impacting on operations and the phone services provided to residents.

“Our outdated on-premise enterprise PBX systems required costly maintenance and had long lead times for essential configuration changes. The lack of vendor support partners further exacerbated our challenges,” Young tells CIO Australia.

Young led the design and deployment of a cloud-based voice platform which seamlessly supports corporate users, frontline care staff, and resident voice services.

For frontline and corporate staff, old DECT handsets were replaced with smart phones running a voice application over the organisation’s WiFi network.

For residents, Young and his team implemented a platform which accommodated existing handsets while providing the option for upgrading to “seniors” handsets, regardless of the age or type of cabling in the organisation’s buildings.

“The new system offers full redundancy, ensuring business continuity through an active and standby cloud system,” says Young.

“It also provides enhanced call flow architectures, market-leading security measures, and unparalleled reporting capabilities. This implementation alone generated over $500,000 in OPEX savings and significantly reduced the time required for new connections, changes, and moves.”

On the finance automation front, Young implemented a procure-to-pay platform which integrates with Christadelphian Aged Care’s accounts payables processes.

This has “revolutionised” how the organisation processes and approves invoices by eliminating the cumbersome nature of paper-based invoicing and manual approval procedures, while streamlining the entire workflow, says Young.

Collecting data through the technology’s optical character recognition feature has meanwhile enabled the organisation to extract valuable insights and make data-driven decisions, he adds.

Christadelphian Aged Care also embarked on a project to improve business intelligence by upgrading its legacy SQL/SSRS reporting platform into a Microsoft Azure-powered data warehouse, which was marked a significant milestone for the organisation, says Young.

“This transformation introduced powerful automation and dashboard reporting through PowerBI, revitalising our reports and enabling us to effectively convey meaningful stories through data visualisation.”

Overall, these three technology rollouts not only addressed critical pain points within Christadelphian Aged Care but also propelled the organisation to new levels of operational excellence, says Young.

“The cloud-based voice platform, procure-to-pay implementation, and transformation of our reporting platform have revolutionised our operations, improved communication, enhanced efficiency, and provided actionable insights. These achievements underscore our commitment to embracing cutting-edge technology and leveraging its transformative power to drive our organisation forward.”

Keeping technology in the conversation

Achieving these outcomes is not a solo endeavour for Young.

“Having transparent and robust relationships with stakeholders ensures that technology is in the conversation,” he says.

“I’m supported by a tech savvy CEO with a passion for innovation and sustainable outcomes whether it be financial or otherwise.”

Healthy professional relationships and being a trusted advisor help to break down organisational silos and barriers with those who may be less responsive to innovation or change, adds Young.

“This may be due to wanting to be seen capable in their area of expertise and in control with their current toolset. Doing one-on-one sessions with simple clear designs and planning goes a long way to increasing that sponsorship of the business,” he says.

“Having a clearly communicated roadmap and strategy to the wider team and board supports the vision to be a stand-out aged care and retirement living provider leading in technology as it is such a core part of business operations in 2023.”

Meanwhile, Young supports the growth of his team by providing mentorship and professional development opportunities, while he also aims to lead by example to create an inclusive workplace culture.

“Creating an inclusive workplace culture is an ongoing effort that requires commitment, active participation, and continuous improvement from leaders and team members alike,” he says.

“As a leader, I model inclusive behaviour and promote a culture of respect, empathy, and fairness. I demonstrate my commitment to diversity and inclusion through my actions, decisions, and interactions with team members. By following these principles and consistently striving for inclusivity, we create an environment where our IT team can truly thrive.”

Louis van Wyk