February 24th 2026
With short staffing and tight budgets now part of everyday reality for many providers, new national research shows how data can help make pressures visible more quickly. That visibility gives leaders clearer insight and stronger evidence in governance and commissioning conversations.
Care England and Sona’s new report, Adult social care insights: workforce stability, digital impact and financial confidence (2026), draws on a survey of 318 social care professionals plus interviews with senior leaders across the sector. It paints a picture of a system operating under sustained pressure, where staffing gaps, rising care needs and funding constraints shape day-to-day delivery.
Nearly half of respondents (49%) say they experience short staffing at least sometimes, and 15% say it happens frequently. Services continue to meet regulatory and commissioning requirements, but often through coping mechanisms that carry longer-term risk. When shifts cannot be covered by permanent staff, organisations most commonly rely on overtime (54%) and agency staff (47%), while 23% report leaving shifts uncovered.
According to the research, these patterns are not isolated incidents – they are part of normal operating conditions. The report argues that much of the sector’s resilience is maintained through informal stretch, rather than through systems designed to absorb disruption.
Digital as a stabilising lever
Within that context, digital maturity is described as one of the strongest stabilisers available to providers. Digital tools do not remove workforce shortages or funding constraints, but they change how clearly and quickly those pressures can be seen and managed.
According to the report, digitally mature organisations are better able to spot staffing risks in real time, tell the difference between ongoing pressure and short-term disruption, redesign rotas around care needs, and show the true cost of care. That clarity matters. Understaffing is not always about overall headcount. It is often about whether the right staff are available at the right time. A service can appear adequately staffed on paper while still feeling fragile in practice.
By making workforce stretch measurable rather than hidden, digital systems help boards and senior leaders see patterns that might otherwise go unnoticed. The report recommends tracking indicators such as overtime frequency, uncovered shifts and repeated short staffing as early warning signs of risk.
Strengthening evidence in funding conversations
The report also highlights the gap that can exist between day-to-day reality and system-level understanding. Those making governance and funding decisions may not always see how pressure is absorbed within services.
Digital capability allows providers to link workforce data, rota patterns and delivery information. This makes it easier to show how demand changes over time, what care actually costs, and where pressure is ongoing rather than occasional. Improving transparency around cost and demand is presented as a practical step towards more constructive commissioning conversations.
The report also suggests that financial confidence can reflect an organisation’s ability to absorb pressure rather than resolve it. Clear operational evidence strengthens leaders’ ability to plan, negotiate and invest in a more realistic way.
The workforce is ready
Encouragingly, the findings challenge the idea that care staff resist digital change. Seventy per cent of respondents agree that their organisation’s current technology enables high-quality care, and 66% say the systems they use are easy to use. At the same time, 80% report that time is still lost to manual processes and workarounds.
The report recommends that digital change should be designed around workforce reality, with frontline involvement and a strong focus on usability and integration. Boards and policymakers are encouraged to treat digital capability as essential operational infrastructure and a resilience enabler, rather than as a separate transformation project.
Nearly half of organisations (49%) report having established or transformative digital systems in place, and 80% expect to increase investment in workplace technology over the next two years. The findings indicate continued momentum in this direction.
From hidden strain to informed decisions
At its core, the report argues that resilience in adult social care should come from system design rather than personal sacrifice. Digital and data are central to that shift because they make workforce stretch, demand and cost pressures visible, supporting earlier and better-informed decisions.
Michelle Corrigan, Chief Executive Officer of Digital Care Hub, said:
“This research underlines how important visibility is. When providers can clearly see patterns in workforce stretch, demand and cost, they are better placed to plan realistically and intervene early.
“Digital capability strengthens leadership and supports frontline teams by turning hidden pressure into evidence. That is how we can build resilience into the system rather than over-reliance on goodwill.”
In a sector where staffing fragility and financial strain are part of the operating context, the contribution of digital and data is practical and immediate. Clear insight does not remove pressure. But it does provide a firmer foundation from which to manage it safely and sustainably.
Links
Care England and Sona’s new report, Adult social care insights: workforce stability, digital impact and financial confidence (2026)
Photo by Deng Xiang on Unsplash
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