During the 2023 South African Mental Health Conference (SAMHC), researchers revealed that mental health illnesses have increased up to sevenfold since the Covid-19 pandemic. The 2023 Sapien Lab Mental State of the World Report shows South Africa ranks 69 out of 71 countries for happiness, has a mental health quotient of 50 (meaning we’re merely enduring life’s stressors as opposed to managing, succeeding or thriving), and, at 35%, has the greatest percentage of distressed or struggling respondents. This emphasises the need for mental healthcare solutions that can help close the treatment gap currently experienced in South Africa. 

The recent collaboration between South African software solutions provider Kohde and Lyra Southern Africa promises to make a significant difference in addressing this mental health crisis. 

Lyra Southern Africa and Kohde have been working together for more than seven years. In May 2024, the two companies set out to develop a platform for a new Executive Wellbeing Centre Lyra Southern Africa was building, which has since opened in Sandton, Gauteng. The primary goal was to create a system that seamlessly captures health data and provides an efficient booking and pre-assessment process by the time doors were set to open. And, with just three months to go, the pressure was on. 

Kohde established a robust foundation on which to build out essential features. The platform had to be user-friendly, secure, and able to generate easy-to-interpret reports personalised to individual users. So, they developed a dynamic form builder as a Content Management System (CMS) to streamline consultations, allowing Lyra Southern Africa staff to conduct structured assessments from which the wellbeing centre can generate detailed health reports.

Next, the team built a user-friendly and seamless booking system through which executives can book appointments, complete pre-assessment questionnaires, and describe their medical history. During follow-up in-person assessments, medical professionals can use the platform to review and capture more detailed and personalised medical information. Once all assessments are complete, the information is distilled into a visual presentation that contains each individual’s mental and physical health information. This thorough and enhanced assessment process increases accuracy and efficiency, allowing Lyra Southern Africa to provide personalised wellness recommendations to each individual. 

Throughout the project, close attention was paid to the user lifecycle and data reporting processes for medical assessments. The team also focused on the need for automation and generating data insights that can be used in health risk mitigation. They went to great lengths to ensure that all health information is securely transmitted, retained, processed, and disposed of in compliance with South Africa’s privacy and data protection laws.

Karen Krige, Operations Manager: Lyra Executive Wellbeing Centre, said

“The Kohde team were given very little time to develop the system and bent over backwards to accommodate our deadlines. They were also instrumental in providing excellent advice regarding digital record keeping.”  

According to Kohde, the power of building this system from scratch is it allows Lyra Southern Africa to deliver a personalised experience with a platform built specifically for their needs and those of their clients. Lyra Southern Africa also has the benefit of being able to scale the platform at every phase of growth, and they can gain valuable insights into subsets of data, which helps identify common areas of risk and implement preventative strategies. Through timely care, executives can address their physical and mental health challenges early, reducing the risk of escalation to more severe conditions that require costly interventions.

A Framework for Success

The strong working relationship between Kohde and Lyra Southern Africa enabled the teams to complete the project within the short time frame. Through thorough planning, flexibility, and trust in their collaboration, along with regular check-ins with Lyra Southern Africa stakeholders, the team could stay aligned with the project’s main objectives. Daily stand-ups on Kohde’s side, combined with two-week sprint cycles and an adaptive approach that evolved along the way, meant the project stayed aligned with both teams’ goals. 

Jaco van Schalkwyk, Director and Head of Design at Kohde, says it’s all thanks to Scrum and an agile approach:

“Because we followed the Scrum methodology, combined with a design-first approach, we were able to change when we needed to change, with minimal impact on timelines.” 

Maggie-May Hosking, Product Owner at Kohde, says clear communication and constant engagement between developers kept the project on track (and fun to work on) right through to completion. She says: “I have this joke where I say ‘feedback’ is my favourite F word. Lyra Southern Africa’s willingness to have regular meetings where they would really engage with the product and provide clear feedback enabled us to deliver successful increments of the product.”

Kohde’s software solutions and their team’s ability to adapt on the fly have opened new markets and opportunities for Lyra in Southern Africa. The extraordinary collaboration is proof that when businesses and their technology partners work closely together, it leads to enhanced innovation, problem-solving, customer-centric solutions, and operational excellence. It creates an environment where both sides can continuously evolve and take pride in building something great together. 

About Lyra Southern Africa

A pioneer in employee assistance since 1989, Lyra Southern Africa has continually evolved to guarantee it meets the current and future needs of businesses locally.

By delivering the full spectrum of employee assistance services to all industry sectors over this time, Lyra Southern Africa has developed the intellectual property and expertise needed to establish an integrated employee wellbeing program and has also assembled an extensive, diverse, and experienced local network of accredited partners.

For more information please contact icas@info.co.za or visit Lyra Southern Africa.