Digital Transformation of Age UK Services: Community Business Project

This report examines Age UK's digital transformation efforts to enhance services for older adults, particularly in light of the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. It highlights Age UK's mission, vision, and organizational strategy, emphasizing the importance of digital inclusion for older individ...Read More

Community Business Project: Digital
transformation of Age UK services
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INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
RESULTS........................................................................................................................................3
DISCUSSION..................................................................................................................................5
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................6
RECOMMENDATION...................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................7
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INTRODUCTION
Digital transformation is defined as a process of adopting digital technology with an aim to
make improvement in organisation processes and to bring innovation and serve customers with
best (Dorrance and Clement, 2021). Present report has been made on Age UK which is a charity
organisation engaged in the services of providing care services of older people while having its
headquartered in London, UK. Present report discusses the digital transformation by company to
encourage older people to use digital platforms.
RESULTS
Company overview
Age UK was founded in the year 2009 and is mainly operating its business operations in
London, United Kingdom and registered as a charity in the same provinces UK. Age UK offer its
services with the help of campaign supporter, volunteers, national and local partners with a wide
network that offer vital form of community support, with an aim to improve quality. Age UK is
an international charity that provide services by running campaigns and conducting research in
order to make life better for older people today and tomorrow. It is the country's largest charity
which is basically dedicated to offering support in order to increase range and quality of life by
enhancing vital support and services (Frennert, 2021). Age UK effectively offering services to
wide amount of older individual. In 2019-2020 with in the challenging backdrop of the
coronavirus pandemic. However, being an independent charity that supports the health and
wellbeing of older individuals living in the provinces of United Kingdom Age UK provide
localised services within their local branch. It has been researched that there were 3.7 million
individuals over those who have never take use of internet this affected. In the time of
coronavirus pandemic in which the lockdown has been imposed by government which lead
towards devastated impact on older generation on their health and well-being, as due to this
pandemic and lockdown number of the services of age UK suspended and company faced
number of challenges in providing. Age UK engaging with older people as they did not use
internet and any form of social media service.
Age UK structure:
It has been evaluated that Age UK, is mainly inclusive around 125 local Age UKs
reaching most of England. Along with this, this charity organisation also has network that
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include Age Scotland, Age Cymru, Age NI and Age International. Age UK offer services and
support in 40 and more than countries.
Mission:
Mission statement of Age UK is to make later life of individual comfortable by providing
and fulfilling their experience while reducing loneliness isolation and offering them right support
and right time.
Vision:
Age UK being countries leading charity is having vision to help every individual in order
to make the most of later life through their compassion, support and advice for older people.
They assure that they provide effective support and help to older people when they need them.
Aim:
Age UK is offering its services with an aim to increase the range and quality of life by
enhancing services and providing qualitative vital support to individuals through their local
partners and wide range of programs across United Kingdom.
Company culture:
Age UK is continuously engaged in the services to work with and for local older people
and make a positive difference to their quality of life and well-being. To fulfil this objective Age
UK is having positive company culture which is having values like collaboration,
professionalism, integrity, quality and communication.
Competitors:
Top competitors of Age UK is Aged, The Stroke Association, RNIB and HSE.
Products and services:
Age UK is having organisational strategy to deliver services in partnership with other
organisation as to ensure that their resources are available to wide range of individuals those who
are in need. This charity organisation is helping people to make them access the support and
offering them help to manage their daily life and continue to live in an independent manner.
However, it has been identified that due to covid-19 their services get affected as number of old
age individual does not know how to use the facility of internet. In this company is having main
objective to overcome the barriers that has been imposed by covid-19 and help older individuals
to be compatible with the digital services. Main objective behind this is to provide their services
help and support among older adults at greater extent.
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Organisational strategy:
Services that have been provided by Age UK is related to handling services and vital
support to people in later life. This charity organisation by partnering with national as well as
local organisation provide knowledge to older people to know about the claim, the benefits that
they are entitled to for example attendance allowance, carrier allowance, pension credit and more
(Lindberg, Bhatt and Ferm, 2021). In addition to this number of other services has been offered
by this organisation in order to provide maximum support to old age individuals.
Most popular digital mediums and/or social media platforms amongst older adults
It has been evaluated that the most common digital or social media platforms among older
individuals is Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
DISCUSSION
Challenges facing Age UK
Age UK is an independent charity which is offering support and care to older individuals
living in the United Kingdom in terms of providing them number of services as to enhance their
health and well-being. Figures has been analysed by Age UK in which it has been found out that
3.7 million and more than individuals of older age does not used internet in their life. This
majorly affected age UK services and the support that they are providing to older generation
during the time period of covid-19 in which number of these services get altered or suspended,
because of the lockdown (Müller, 2021). Age UK conducts number of campaigns and visit older
individuals in order to provide them support and care, but their services get affected in the time
period of lockdown. In this time individual are restricted to stay at their places and avoid
physical contact in order to adhere the government regulation of social distancing. This time
period lead Age UK to face number of challenges in their services that they are offering to older
people.
Furthermore, it has been underlined that due to un-awareness of older individual of the
platforms like Facebook, YouTube, zoom and Twitter created challenge in the front of Age UK
to provide them proper care and support via digital medium. This challenge majorly affected Age
UK to offer these services in a well-defined and effective manner. Furthermore, it has been
identified that due to this lockdown older individual’s mental health get affected due to the
restriction or mobility and movement (Locsin and et. al., 2021). This affected the day-to-day
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activities of going out which impact upon their mental health. It has been identified that covid-19
pandemic duly enhanced the level of anxiety among older individual in which they are taking lot
of stress and anxiety. Thus, it has been identified that due to the lack of awareness of internet
created major challenge in front of Age UK in which they could not able to deliver the services
to large number of individuals.
CONCLUSION
According to the above-mentioned report it has been concluded that digital media is playing
important role is specially in the time period of covid-19 pandemic through which services and
facilities can be delivered to individuals by maintaining social distancing. It is an important step
which can effectively help in transmitting virus that could lead towards affecting individual
physical health. Digital platforms like Facebook, Email, Twitter, Zoom, WhatsApp and many
other platforms play transformational role in delivery. In this it is essential for all organisations
operating the services in any sector to encourage and promote digital Services by overcoming
barrier of skills. In this organisation can provide customised awareness related to the benefit
through which they can get easy and fast facilities and services through these sites. However, in
this it is essential to provide guidance on it issues that require certain skills. However, this can be
effectively overcome with the help of providing training to access the website and connecting
these platforms that can help in offering easy services. With the help of this Age UK can
overcome the barriers and can encourage older adults to engage with digital Services at greater
extent, as this service will lead older individual to get uninterrupted services even during
lockdown, as it has been seen that covid-19 is still existing around the world.
RECOMMENDATION
As per the above analysis it has been evaluated that Age UK is facing number of barriers in
providing the services to their clients. In this it is essential for company to emphasize upon three
key areas that includes skill, access and motivation. In this company is recommended to
encourage older individuals with the help of training to use and access digital platforms like
WhatsApp, Facebook and zoom. This can be provided with the help of telephone calls and face
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to face meet. Furthermore, Age UK is also recommended to provide computer drop-in sessions
to older individuals and order to provide them weekly support to use digital sites like Facebook,
Twitter, Zoom, YouTube, Email and more.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Dorrance, K.A. and Clement, B.D., 2021. Transforming the provision of healthcare through
emerging technology: A strategic transformation. Families, Systems, & Health, 39(1), p.158.
Frennert, S., 2021. Hitting a moving target: digital transformation and welfare technology in
Swedish municipal eldercare. Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology, 16(1), pp.103-
111.
Kwon, I.W.G., Kim, S.H. and Martin, D., 2021. Integrating Social Determinants of Health to
Precision Medicine through Digital Transformation: An Exploratory Roadmap. International
Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(9), p.5018.
Lindberg, J., Bhatt, R. and Ferm, A., 2021. Older people and rural eHealth: perceptions of caring
relations and their effects on engagement in digital primary health care. Scandinavian Journal of
Caring Sciences.
Locsin, R.C and et. al., 2021. Social transformation and social isolation of older adults: Digital
technologies, nursing, healthcare. Collegian.
Müller, M., 2021. The digital transformation of healthcare.
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