Research Reveals More About 20,000 Influential People In Adult Social Care
Skills for Care’s research into who registered managers are and what they do has revealed new insights into one of the most influential roles in adult social care.
Despite the crucial role that registered managers play in the provision of good care, relatively little research exists around them or their experiences.
What has emerged from this exploratory research[1][1], with responses from over 800 registered managers, is a picture of a rewarding, yet challenging and evolving role that needs greater recognition in the sector and robust, ongoing support.
Key research highlights
Registered managers are highly committed individuals running a range of services and the personal rewards of the role can be great, with many managers talking about their role as a ‘passion’ not just a job. That means support for this key group of leaders is vital.
The study found that:
- almost 80% of managers felt that their role had changed since they first started. Whilst 73% of these managers said their role was more varied, 83% also acknowledged it was more pressured
- 70% of managers were offered their first registered manager post by an existing employer; the majority hadn’t planned to become a manager (instead taking an opportunity when it arrived)
- a manager’s role is busy and varied. Managers were typically splitting their time between day-to-day operations, working with families and relatives, working with external partners, leadership and business strategy
- over a third of respondents also reported performing tasks not in their job descriptions
- only 20% of managers felt that the role had become better recognised over time.
If there was any doubt as to the importance of registered managers, then in addition to this latest research, we know that, as of June 2018, 92% of providers rated ‘good’ and 100% of services rated ‘outstanding’ overall were also rated as ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ for ‘Well-led’ (one of the CQC’s key lines of enquiry). Supporting the 20,000 registered managers in England is therefore key to providing quality care.
Oliver French, Project Manager at Skills for Care commented: “Our latest research gives us a better understanding of the registered manager role, how it‘s evolving and what support and recognition is needed to recruit and retain this group of managers.
“We already know that the turnover and vacancy rates for registered managers are 23% and 11% respectively, and we expect as many as 10,000 registered managers to retire in the next 15 years. This needs to be addressed by the sector.”
Skills for Care’s research identifies that a clear pathway is needed for the registered manager role. Therefore career planning is vital in ensuring that a skilled and confident group of managers and leaders are in place for the long-term future of adult social care.
Oliver French concludes: “We’re working hard to ensure that registered managers receive the praise and professional recognition they deserve through a number of initiatives. These include our professional membership body, networks where managers can connect at a local level and our succession planning pilot programmes that are testing models of support for aspiring and new managers.”
Find out more
Employers and registered managers can find out more about Skills for Care’s support for aspiring, new and established registered managers at www.skillsforcare.org.uk/registeredmanagers
