Most people know what a nurse or a social worker does and will have some understanding of what is needed to become one of these frontline health or social care professionals. But ask the same group of people whether they know what a registered manager is and how they qualify for the job, and the questioner is likely to be met with blank faces.
Registered managers are a largely unknown workforce outside of adult social care, even though they hold one of the most pivotal and influential roles within the sector. “The buck stops with the registered manager,” explains Georgina Turner, Skills for Care’s interim director of sector development – engagement. “The experiences that people have of the sector are influenced by the registered manager as well as the day-to-day culture in the workplace.”
There are 23,000 registered managers in England. Every adult care service registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) regulator must have its own registered manager. They have overall statutory responsibility for making sure care standards are met and that there are enough skilled staff recruited and trained to deliver quality care. But the post also comes with leadership responsibilities.
“It’s not a role that is easy to categorise and there isn’t something comparable outside the sector,” says Turner. “But a good indicator of the fact it’s a multifaceted job is that we’re now seeing occasions where the role is split. In some organisations, a registered manager will be looking after care provision, staff development and day-to-day aspects, while in another they might have a more strategic role – overseeing a number of services for the same organisation and taking on business development. That said, it’s worth remembering that most managers are still responsible for a single service at a single site.”
Now Skills for Care, the membership organisation for registered managers, wants to raise the professional profile of the role and help providers support deputy managers, team leaders, senior care staff and others to take that next step up the career ladder. It also hopes the move will prompt organisations to take on succession planning, as approximately 10,000 of today’s registered managers could retire in the next 10 years. Also, the vacancy rate for the role is 11.8% – compared with 8% across the sector. Turner says: “A survey we carried out last year found that 70% of registered managers were offered the role by their existing employer – many hadn’t planned to become a registered manager. When you put that in the context of staff turnover, the number of SME providers, and consider that it’s a complex job, then the role really shouldn’t be something that you just fall into.”
New Skills for Care online resources, designed to help providers develop the role, create definite career paths and support those already doing the job, are due to be launched in June.
Providers will be able to find existing material for registered managers in a single place. This includes the Lead to succeed development programme, the 11 professional standards they are expected to meet and details of the Skills for Care national support network for registered managers. Advice for registered managers around how to recruit, retain and develop their staff will also be included. The results of Skills for Care’s two successful development projects – the Aspiring manager and the New registered manager programmes – have helped shape the material. And £3m of Department of Health and Social Care workforce funding has also been set aside for providers to spend on developing the registered manager role this year.
The Home Group housing association and care provider won national recognition for the support it gives registered managers in the 2018 Skills for Care Accolades awards.
So what does Home Group do that sets it apart from others?
The organisation has its own national network of registered managers who meet every two months to discuss problems and issues. Registered managers have access to clinical supervision with a mental health nurse or psychologist, if needed, to reflect on practice or deal with stress. There are regular registered manager group meetings where CQC expectations are discussed alongside what they do well or need to improve on.
Home Group’s HR team develop registered managers’ recruitment skills, professional performance and give them the tools they need to have “challenging conversations” with staff who are failing to come up to scratch and identify where they need help.
Home Group registered manager Deb Duggan says the support has been invaluable: “Being a registered manager is a huge responsibility. CQC makes it very clear that I am the responsible person and if something goes wrong it has the power to send me to prison. But here I feel valued, supported and listened to. If there is a gap in staff knowledge or I need extra support, it’s recognised.”
Rachael Byrne, Home Group’s executive director of new models of care, predicts that boosting the profile of registered managers could be good news for the sector as a whole: “I think if people see the complexity and depth of the role, it may improve their view of care and assure families and friends that quality and safety are paramount.”
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