Engage: The important role of registered managers as professionals in adult social care

As Skills for Care continues their #ChampioningRMs campaign, Oliver French, Head of National Engagement, Skills for Care, discusses the vital role that registered managers play in care organisations and why this professional role must be fully understood and recognised.

Registered managers are at the heart of their service.

Through their leadership, expertise, and compassion they shape, influence, and enable the provision of great care. The work that managers and their teams do every day changes people’s lives.

It’s easy to start to try to describe the role of registered manager in terms of what they do (although far harder to write a definite list…) – however we mustn’t lose sight of how they manage. The ability to lead with compassion, to provide direction even in the most difficult of circumstances is critical.

Skills for Care data tells us that organisations with a stable registered manager in post achieve higher Care Quality Commission (CQC) scores. Our data also shows that turnover rates are lower in organisations with an experienced manager in post, highlighting the notable impact which managers have on the people in their teams.

The role of registered manager is a complex one, requiring leadership and management expertise; managers must balance operational and strategic responsibilities, as well as managing relationships inside and outside their services.

It’s also an incredibly varied role and we need to recognise the differences and nuances within what it means to be a ‘registered manager’.  Depending on the size, setting and other specifics of an organisation the role of registered manager can look very different and involve different tasks and responsibilities.

In many organisations the registered manager will be the most senior person working for a single service at a single site, or they may also be the owner or director.  Additionally, they may play the role of nominated individual, HR coordinator, recruitment lead, trainer, compliance manager and many others, while in other organisations these roles will be delegated for someone else to lead on. In some organisations registered managers may find themselves more involved with direct caregiving than in others.

The route into this role can also vary hugely between individuals. Many may have worked their way up from a care worker role, while others may join social care as a manager from another sector.

The development of a new Care Workforce Pathway is underway. This work is being led by the Department of Health and Social Care.

The Pathway will set out the knowledge, experience and skills required across different roles in the sector and a career in care.

Following the publication of part one of the Pathway in January 2024, the Department of Health and Social Care and Skills for Care are now working on the next set of roles, this includes registered managers as well as deputy managers.

The Pathway presents an opportunity to present to future and existing managers what is required of the role and routes into it. It will support continued efforts to ensure that registered managers are recognised as the skilled professionals they are.

Being a registered manager is a rewarding role, but it can also be challenging and at times isolating. Skills for Care offers support including local networks, a membership offer, an exclusive podcast, and other resources.

Local networks for registered managers are running across England, many of which use a WhatsApp group to stay in touch between meetings. We also host a Facebook group with over 4,000 registered, frontline and deputy managers. Skills for Care also supports a series of regional deputy manager networks.

Networks provide an opportunity for managers to step out of their service (either physically or virtually), take some time (however short) to reflect and most importantly to connect with others. Many networks invite stakeholders to join their meetings, these could be local commissioners, integrated care system (ICS) representatives, the Care Quality Commission (CQC), and people from other similar bodies. As valuable as these connections are, it’s the connections between managers which are most important.

The registered manager role is unique, in-turn, the opportunity to recognise yourself as one of many, to spend time with people facing the same challenges, people who understand the pressures and rewards of the role, is invaluable.

Throughout March Skills for Care has been shining a spotlight on the important role of registered managers and highlighting the support and resources available.

Find out more: www.skillsforcare.org.uk/championingRMs

Picture (c) Skills For Care.