How to support retention of your registered managers

Registered managers play a key role within social care organisations. But, the pandemic has brought new and unique challenges to the sector, so providing additional support for registered managers is more important than ever during what is a particularly pressured time for people in this role.

Registered managers play a key role within social care organisations. But, the pandemic has brought new and unique challenges to the sector, so providing additional support for registered managers is more important than ever during what is a particularly pressured time for people in this role.

Despite more people coming into social care at the start of the pandemic, we now have more vacancies than we did before COVID-19, and based on Skills for Care’s engagement with employers and the workforce, our market intelligence suggests that managers are worried this will get worse with mandatory vaccinations as a condition of deployment.

Our data shows that levels of staff sickness have nearly doubled over the course of 2020/21, which means increased demand on other staff and a risk of burnout or staff leaving due to the pressures of the pandemic.

Our estimates show that the vacancy rate for registered managers (11.2%) is higher than that of the sector as a whole.

We spoke with two nominated individuals to gain their insight on how they support and retain their registered managers, especially during these challenging times.

Zoe Richardson, Director of Operations, SJMT 

Integrity, honesty, and a passion for continuously improving and finding better are the key skills and values we look for in a registered manager. They must be a motivator of people and manage people in such a way that it enthuses the team around them to push for better.

Values-based recruitment is essential for hiring registered managers. Getting the right people on board will support retention down the line. We use competency-based questions and try to do interviews and tasks within the setting, including engagement with the people we support.

Peer support is important in embedding new registered managers. We use a buddy system as we have more than one registered manager in our organisation, so creating peer relationships from the start creates a good network.

Capacity is one of the biggest challenges for registered managers right now. They’re required to do more and more, especially since the pandemic.

Their role has multiple facets and it’s important that the organisation and their line manager understands and respects that.

As a nominated individual, I take on certain tasks to free up the registered managers’ capacity, such as local authority reporting and all covid regulation.

All our registered managers receive four-weekly supervisions and three-monthly service audits by the nominated individual to assist with their own continuous improvements. It’s important to keep in regular contact to tackle any issues quickly and maintain job satisfaction.

A standard item on the agenda for supervision is training opportunities. Discussing progression and offering opportunities for learning and development is important for keeping registered managers invested in their role and future with the organisation.

Retention for me is all about value and feeling valued in their role.

I always think that being a registered manager is a very lonely place. Therefore, as nominated individual, it’s my role to support them through the challenges and ensure they get the full weight of their team and other departments in the organisation behind them to enable them to succeed. The culture within our organisation is that we recognise how challenging a role the registered manager has and they receive the support and respect they need and deserve – that’s why our retention is good.

Feeling undervalued and under-supported is a reason for registered managers to leave. It can be a lonely role, but it doesn’t have to be – they need support, positive control, and to feel empowered

Registered managers that are in it for the long haul do their job for the added benefits – the social impact, the value they add; if you have registered managers that are motivated by this, they’ll stay because they want to be a part of people’s journeys.

Value and nurture your registered managers; a good one is worth their weight in gold.

Sarah Ambe, Operations Manager, Catalyst

Retention really starts with recruitment and onboarding.

I went into the sector because I want to make a difference. I want to see people living their best lives and that’s the mission that we’re on. At the recruitment stage, if you’re seeing those types of people, those are the people you want to have in your business.

We put together a robust induction process for new registered managers across a combination of teams.

Registered managers have told us they’ve appreciated spending time with other registered managers from our organisation in different locations, especially if they’re setting up a new service. They also shadow other areas of the business, which starts to create that team bond right away.

Burnout is a challenge facing registered managers right now. I was a registered manager myself before, and during the pandemic it was hard to switch off.

The demanding nature of the role can be challenging, and you need to be available for urgent crises. This means that work/life balance isn’t always easy.

We offer wellness days as part of our annual leave allowance, and we encourage our registered managers to make sure they’re using these.

We also make sure we reward our staff with bonus payments for milestones achieved, and we have social events and gatherings to make sure people have fun too.

Other support we offer includes regular supervisions and catch-ups. We don’t wait between supervisions if someone needs to talk. I talk to my registered managers at least once a week, maybe more, and they know that I’m here to listen and support.

We can also support with counselling if needed and we offer solution-focused hypnotherapy.

Resource can often be the cause of stress for registered managers, and we have an open culture where managers can reach out and say they need more resource. It’s in the best interest of the business, as well as the wellbeing of the staff member.

We have a focus on learning and development at Catalyst. We signpost our registered managers to the Skills for Care resources and networking events, and we currently have one manager doing their Level 7 in Strategic Leadership.

It’s important to have a culture that allows staff to make protected time for learning and development; providing these opportunities can help you to retain staff.

I don’t think we need to expect to see an increased registered manager turnover post-pandemic, if we look after them and give them the support and tools that they need.

Look after your registered managers, listen, work collaboratively, work on peer support, mentoring, coaching, and encourage an environment of continuous professional development.

It’s about creating a company culture, which provides the ability to learn, protected time for learning, and having fun while you do it; it’s hard work and it needs to be appreciated.

Find more information and resources to support retention with our #RetainToGain spotlight.

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