As a person-centred, people-focussed organisation, effective management in a social care setting with the right leader in place is imperative. But what happens when the manager of a care home or other support service leaves? It’s crucial that providers move quickly to put in place interim measures to secure the right person to ensure the stability of the business and the care it provides.
The importance of social care managers
Recruiting the best person to fill a social care managerial vacancy can take time. It’s not a decision to be rushed or taken lightly either. Multiple studies have shown just how important leadership is in care settings. Securing an interim manager gives you a little breathing space to get your next long-term appointment completely right.
The regulatory bodies of the UK certainly pay particular attention to the quality of management too. In England, it is essentially impossible to achieve an ‘outstanding’ inspection rating from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) without a registered manager in place. The same is true in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Moreover, there are compelling reasons why bringing in an interim care manager makes complete sense.
High impact individuals
Recruiting the ‘right’ interim social care manager will bring immediate benefits. The right type of person is one that can demonstrate a track record of making a big impact in a short space of time. As uncomfortable as it may be, if your service has previously been failing, this will often be in part due to the previous manager. Lots of individuals specialise in ‘troubleshooting’ settings that have experienced difficulties.
Short term project management
If you’re planning a programme of transformational change, then an interim leader with related project management expertise can often more readily lead it than an existing manager. Regulatory change is inevitable in social care. Many long-term managers, unfortunately, become a little stuck in outdated thinking, may lack updated expertise, can be resistant to change and find it difficult to lead and support staff through implementing a new organisational, business and care model.
Your brand is your reputation, and your reputation is your brand
Forgive us if a sporting analogy isn’t quite what you expected here. But elite football clubs these days employ a Sporting Director. Their mission is to establish a philosophy throughout the operation that transcends the inevitable turnover of managers to ensure continuity of the club’s core mission and values. That’s a bit like being a social care provider.
Managers may come and go but establishing a core business ethos, practices and policies ensure continuity of high-quality services. That’s a big element of social care and healthcare branding. Branding isn’t just a nice logo and corporate uniforms.
Branding in social care is as much about reputation as anything else. You know that having a good reputation as a social care provider is priceless. That alone will fill beds, attract new customers and help you recruit and retain staff in a recruitment market that’s facing substantial challenges. A good interim manager will seamlessly slot into and enhance your business philosophy and your brand.
Of course, you have to get your philosophy, your strategy, your policies and procedures – your brand – bang on in order to do this. That’s where HLTH digital come in. Why not get in touch to find out how we can help transform how your care business is perceived?
