Being a care home manager is a rewarding yet demanding job. As a leader, you have to run your home and provide residents with high-quality care.
Whether you’re new to the role and looking for tips on how to start off on the right foot or you’re an experienced care manager looking for ways to improve, check out our top tips on how to be a good care manager below.
Prepare for your CQC inspection
As a care home manager, you’re legally responsible for making sure your home gives its residents safe, high-quality care. You must be able to prove this to regulators, like the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
The CQC monitors five key areas of service (safety, effectiveness, care, responsiveness and leadership). As a manager, you have to make sure your care home passes its inspection to allow it to continue delivering excellent care to residents and maintain a good reputation.
To pass your CQC inspection with flying colours, make sure you have evidence to demonstrate the quality of care your residents are receiving.
Evidence can include care plans and what you’re doing to help the resident be as independent as possible. Make yourself aware of each resident’s background, diet and activity level to prove your home delivers person-centred care.
Try auditing the home to track what you can do to improve quality. Create action plans with timelines and aims, and keep a record of the audits to use as evidence that you’re upholding care standards and constantly working to improve your home.
You’re responsible for the health and safety management of the care home. Make sure there are procedures in place to monitor food safety, the cleanliness of the premises and fire drills.
Be a team player
Happy employees provide high-quality care, so keep your team motivated by recognising personal achievements, and show appreciation for their demanding work. This is important for employee retention.
Support your staff to make sure they’re not under too much pressure. Lead by example and be a team player; work alongside care workers and don’t be afraid to get stuck in by assisting with medical care, food services and other domestic tasks.
Hold regular interactive meetings and get your whole involved in the discussion. Try keeping minutes to use as evidence for your CQC inspection.
Learn more about how to keep your care staff happy here.
Welcome feedback
Part of being a strong leader (as well as a team player) is being open to feedback from your team on how you can improve your management and make their lives easier.
Job satisfaction is important for employees. As a manager, communication and feedback are great ways to ensure team members are content, enthusiastic and ready to deliver top-quality care.
Have an “open-door policy” for both staff and residents, and make it known they can come to you if needed.
Monitor and supervise your staff’s work and offer constructive feedback if necessary. Be honest with your care workers about what’s expected of them and how they can improve.
Recruit staff wisely
As a care home manager, you’re responsible for the recruitment and retainment of care staff. Ensure nurses and carers are suitable for the roles they hold and can provide the care that your residents need.
Review all DBS checks and references, and train staff properly to make sure they’re able to do their jobs to the highest standard possible.
It’s also important to meet staffing demands so no one feels overworked. Try training up other members of the team so you can delegate and share the workload if needed.
Be caring
Perhaps the most important part of good care home management is being compassionate and caring towards your residents. Your primary goal is to protect the safety and wellbeing of patients.
Get to know your residents on a personal level; get familiar with their likes and dislikes. Encourage them to be as independent as possible and listen to their opinions whilst creating care plans to keep them involved.
Use Florence to make your life simpler
Finally, you can use Florence to manage your shifts better for you and your team. Florence can help simplify your role as a care home manager by helping you:
- Fill shifts with your own staff first, maximising your resources.
- Cut agency spending with no hidden fees.
- Train staff easily with 70+ CPD-accredited courses at Florence Academy.
- 24/7 support from a friendly team.
A good care home needs a good manager
As a care home manager, you’re not only responsible for your residents, but also the management of your staff and the daily upkeep of your organisation. Hopefully the tips we’ve shared above will help you make the most of every day on the job.
Hundreds of care homes use us to cut costs, fill temporary shifts and hire permanent nurses, care assistants and support workers. Ready to join them? Click here to book a demo today.
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