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Nonprofit

Canteen AU Builds a Reliable Data Collection Process for Young Adult Cancer Support

Tracey Ho

Business Analyst

tracey

Case Study Snapshot

While the nature of their work can be emotional, Canteen holds an invaluable place in the medical and social work communities of Australia. Although it might initially be difficult to see how data collection supports Canteen’s cancer outreach efforts, discovering FormAssembly has been an instrumental part of Canteen’s growth and digitalization. 

Business Analyst Tracey Ho was originally tasked with migrating Canteen’s existing legacy system to Salesforce, and throughout that process, discovered how beneficial and essential FormAssembly is for case management processes.

About

Canteen Australia helps young people find the emotional strength they need to deal with cancer. Canteen supports 12 to 25 year-olds dealing with their own diagnosis, a close family member’s cancer or the death of a loved one. Our services also now extend to parents, because when they cope better with cancer and communicate openly, their children are likely to experience less distress and anxiety. Canteen provides a wide range of support services including:

  • Connection with other young people in similar situations through events and programs
  • Free counseling and individual support
  • 24/7 online support communities for young people and parents
  • Specialist treatment and support services for young cancer patients in hospital and then our teams help them with getting back on their feet

Canteen is Australia’s leading youth cancer charity and works closely with partners, donors, other charity organizations, supporters and referrers.

The Numbers

20+

forms in active use

12-25

main age group of those receiving services

1000+

intake form responses received since October 2021

3000+

records created in Salesforce via connectors

The need

Smart integrations when migrating to Salesforce

“There was definitely a need to have more digital options than having strictly paper processes.”

Replacing a clunky legacy system with modern integration

During Canteen’s migration from its old legacy system, the team decided to work with Salesforce and use apps that were designed specifically for case management. With the old system, there were no options for integrating data from different sources. As the organization migrated to Salesforce, capturing incoming data for service uses and through website forms became important for streamlining the intake process. The new flow of data also provided clarity on when and how to refer applicants for other services or outside partnerships.  

Additionally, Canteen was previously using many paper forms that necessitated picking up the phone and asking for clarifying details in a one-on-one format. Now, staff members can simply ask similar intake questions through conditional form questions, while achieving their goals for fast and accurate consent and participation forms. 

“There was definitely a need to have more digital options than having strictly paper processes,” Tracey said. Relying on manual data, printing, and mailing forms took up a significant amount of time and resources.

The solution

A substantial and practical upgrade for Salesforce web to case

“The [FormAssembly] integration with Salesforce is so strong. Yes, it takes a learning curve to kick off, but once you’ve got it, you’ve got the freedom to create as many records as you could possibly need.“

Expanding possibilities with smarter form features

For forms and data collection, Canteen was previously leveraging tools like Salesforce web to case forms on their website. But these forms had major limits, especially when it came to usability and record creation. Even though FormAssembly is a non-native solution, it provides robust integration and top-notch features that make it a total game-changer. 

“The [FormAssembly] integration with Salesforce is so strong. Yes, it takes a learning curve to kick off, but once you’ve got it, you’ve got the freedom to create as many records as you could possibly need,” Tracey said.

Tracey and her team have appreciated that FormAssembly doesn’t have limitations for:

When compared to other options on the market, FormAssembly’s features and flexibility were major selling points. 

And with FormAssembly’s nonprofit discount, it became easier for Canteen to level up to an Enterprise Cloud plan to get access to more specialized features like Salesforce Dynamic Picklists, which expanded their integration even further.

Learn more about our nonprofit discount. <<

Additionally, the compliance aspect of FormAssembly was a huge perk for Canteen. Data security is especially important for Canteen, because they’re asking quite personal and in-depth questions about medical and cancer experiences. Realizing that FormAssembly was compliant with eSignature made the choice that much easier.

Use Case

Case

10-Form Intake and Case Management Process

After the data is received, Canteen generates a care plan or makes referrals to other alliance partners. With the FormAssembly + Salesforce integration, teams working directly with service users don’t have to go back to copy and paste data into any case notes. As new forms are submitted, they automatically create records of service delivery and case notes based off of the form submissions. This “start to finish” lifecycle reduces the number of clicks and effort, which results in less work for clinicians.

In her role, Tracey often asks, “How can I make the job as easy as possible, so that I can help clinicians focus on relationships with clients?” This means removing manual data entry and automatically creating all the records they need for ongoing report sharing across the team.

There are features and benefits woven throughout this use case, including basic but helpful tools like FormAssembly themes. Well-designed forms help staff ensure that all forms adhere to brand and style guidelines, even with other charities and partners. With tools like input validation (especially for dates), Canteen ensures that the data is clean and accurate. Tracey said that these minor perks are actually major incentives.

“We don’t have to look and think so hard about the look, feel, [and] functionality. FormAssembly does that for us. Instead, we can focus on simplifying the flow to get the right data at the right time.”

case-study-background

What’s Next?

In terms of future expansion, Tracey and her team are excited to continue using the current forms that follow the lifecycle of standard client intake processes. They can easily and quickly collect all the information they need for one particular service area of the organization. As processes continue to flow smoothly, Tracey would love to expand and duplicate FormAssembly in other key areas of the business.

“We’re also looking to totally digitize all programs and events,” Tracey says. This means using forms to power the events that help clients make peer connections, find therapeutic groups, and discover other encouraging opportunities. In every single event or program, staff need detailed consent (for medication, photography, and other permissions), which can become a very involved process. Having our forms digitized also makes it easier for families who are in hospital or away from home to provide this information to Canteen on the go.

FormAssembly features could allow these processes to flow even more seamlessly, allowing Canteen to reach more people who rely on help and support during a critical time.

Don’t just collect data

— leverage it.