Published on 4 Sep 2025

Revitalising service delivery for Asian communities

Projects
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Optimising Asian Family Services’ Management and Service Flow

Asian Family Services (AFS) received new funding from Te Whatu Ora to expand their mental health and addiction support services. We supported AFS through deep staff engagement and practical solutions, enabling them to grow sustainably, while ensuring adequate support to management and workforce.

  • Our mixed-method approach to staff engagement captured diverse perspectives from middle-level managers and staff at all levels, providing a complete picture of organisational challenges and ensuring universal buy-in
  • Recommendations for change provided for mapping out and scheduling the changes in a logical sequence
  • Phased implementation allowed AFS to test changes on a smaller scale first, reducing transition risks and change resistance
  • Evidence-based approaches and clear framework building ensured we tracked improvement and could be sure we were creating lasting positive change.

The challenge: Growth creating pressure

Asian Family Services plays a vital role supporting the mental health and addiction needs of Asian communities across New Zealand. Their new funding from Te Whatu Ora created an opportunity to expand, but also pressure on their existing systems and people.

We designed a workforce survey to help Asian Family Services to understand their peoples’ workload, professional development and job satisfaction and to identify opportunities for improvement. We also interviewed managers and staff in the core service functions to support a deep dive into barriers and enablers for service provision.  All evidence collected helped us prepare targeted recommendations for change.

Combining specialist knowledge with collaborative discovery

We followed a comprehensive four-phase methodology:

  1. Project planning – We examined key documents and set clear, measurable goals
  2. Pain point identification – Through 12 in-depth manager/staff interviews and a workforce survey (67% response rate), we uncovered challenges and opportunities
  3. Recommendations – We created specific, actionable improvements focused on processes and policies
  4. Implementation support – We helped with planning, policy review, pilot testing, staff engagement, and developing performance indicators.

Uncovering pain points and generating targeted solutions

The survey revealed a range of challenges, which we designed solutions for including:

  • Optimised organisational structure and roles - we provided recommendations on restructuring the current organisational roles with a more flattened structure, clearer roles and better service flow.
  • Professional development - staff wanted better training opportunities, especially for managers. We designed structured development plans with focused management training.
  • Performance measurement - the organisation lacked clear frameworks to track service quality and staff effectiveness. We developed evidence-based outcomes and KPIs.

Our work delivered tangible benefits for AFS and the communities they serve:

  • A comprehensive roadmap for improvement based on robust evidence
  • Enhanced capabilities to deliver expanded services while maintaining quality
  • Improved support systems for frontline staff, particularly in clinical counselling
  • Performance frameworks that linked daily work to strategic outcomes
  • Pilot-tested process improvements with built-in feedback mechanisms

By focusing on both systems and staff wellbeing, we helped AFS prepare for expanded service delivery without compromising on quality or staff satisfaction.