If you work in care...

[Goostacean]

... AIBU to ask what makes your workplace or job a great place to be? (Or alternatively, what makes it terrible and could easily be solved if management listened to you!)

I’ve just started running a small Supported Living provision and am trying to both be a good boss and guide my relatively inexperienced manager with how to run a team effectively. I don’t have experience working in care myself. We have a small number of clients so only ever 1 or 2 staff on shift simultaneously.

I would love input on how to make them feel part of a team, supported, and valued, based on the experience of wise MNers please!

You may think it’s not appropriate to work a shift - and you’ve no experience??????

How do you think you will gain any respect from people you are asking to do the job?
Relative being there or not, this is a major red flag as how do YOU know if things are being run correctly and well? It does not matter if you think you have a well qualified manager in place who is doing things. YOU need to KNOW things are being done correctly as ultimately when things go wrong it’s you who is accountable and need to know how to put things right.

Goostacean do you have a manager who doesn't work hands on shifts and you (owner? Or another role) but only 5 people working hands on? In such a small setting that's incredibly top heavy. We have 8 staff, 2 part time housekeeper/ cleaners and our manager supervises 5 settings. Why do you need manager who isn't a hands on team member? I imagine this would grate. The best teams don't need that level of micromanagement, they need a flat structure with individuals all having responsibilities, and more hands on deck for actual shifts. We have 14 clients, mainly support but some care for a minority- nobody bedbound or unable to feed themselves but lots of medication dependant conditions including epilepsy.

You definitely need to do a shift. As you say there is no personal care, there should be very little issue with one of the residents being related to you. Even if you were doing personal care there would be no reason you couldn’t care for the other residents.

Nobody has experience when they start to work in care. Everybody has to learn. Including the management.

Is it normal for managing directors or equivalent to work shifts? Happy to accept it is, but it seems bizarre for me to show up and tell staff how to interact with clients- that’s why I employ the manager! And staff with 15+ years experience, in several cases.

I have a strong hold over the admin and total control over the finances, but I expect her to manage the team. Am I looking at this wrong? I’ve researched and written our Policies and Procedures, so I’m aware of how things should be being done. Perhaps that’s not enough?

(Derailing my own thread...)

On the teamwork side once you've had a couple of team meetings let/ require everyone to take turns running the meeting, including writing the agenda and submitting it in advance (don't change anything unless essential) and taking minutes (2 different people each time) on a rota. The hands on staff own and run the meeting.

Goostacean it's unusual to have a hands off managing director and hands off manager who only shadows if you only have 5-6 staff. Usually those roles only exist in huge nursing homes or chains of supported settings.

In a small independent setting the manager is just a team leader who works alongside and any managing director would just be a few hours per month.

You need to do some work yourself. I’ve been a manager in supported accommodation and the only reason I had any respect is because I was willing to roll my sleeves up and take part. It actually panics me a little that you have no experience of care but will start up this business. Will you have a manager who is appropriately experienced and understand? The best care organisation I worked for the director when starting it out did shifts. It made a visible difference to the ethos of the organisation.

Training. Do you have to have staff regulated? Does your organisation need to be registered? In Scotland we have reams of resources both to support learning and development.

An ethos of person centred care.

Sorry, cross posted with the last couple of replies.

The 5/6 staff include a hands-on manager who is my only full time staff member. There is a part timer and 3-4 bank/zero hours staff. To mention some previous points, we do the rotas 2-4 weeks in advance, so bank staff know when they’re coming in etc. No problems with that or sick leave so far. I am the owner and I don’t have a DBS check currently which would be the main blocker for me being there I suppose, but obviously I can come and go as I please as long as I’m not in sole charge. So far that’s not been possible due to Covid restrictions on childcare (this is a side business for me, I’m currently on mat leave) and from later this year it will be impossible midweek due to my FT role- but I can definitely make the most of the next months to be more hands on.

I worked in community and then residential care for years with different companies/agencies.
Know the job they are doing. Inside out.
Don't micromanage- used to have one senior carer who would follow me around the care home asking "have you checked x, y, z, yet?. It was really demoralising and annoying. Pull me up if it's not done in a timely manner, but at least give me a chance to do it first!
Basically don't be a dick and you'll probably be better than 90% of care work employers.

Staff need DBS but we do not need to be CQC registered as we do not provide personal care.

CQC also registers providers that provide support to people with learning disability or autism, if that counts.

Actually Goostacean I don't think you should be hands on. You're just the administration/ finance role (and the owner but you have no relevant experience). Trust your manager, or appoint one you can trust. You should just be handling finance. You shouldn't be ordering supplies either - just big picture stuff. Your manager should be working shifts though, and doing all the ordering and the rotas.

I'm not sure an inexperienced manager plus experienced bank staff is a good idea (is that what you said). You want a solid experienced team who can run themselves. Your lack of relevant experience means you're not involved day to day but can't run on bank staff.

Your ‘relatively inexperienced’ manger will have to be CQC compliant.
If neither yourself, or your manager are experienced, what are you offering your vulnerable clients?
*assumption of vulnerability due to residential care

It honestly sounds a bit concerning that you have no experience in the care sector and the manager is inexperienced, if you're going to be hands off you need to have a lot of faith in your manager!

I am getting a bit confused about what you offer, is it purely social care, housekeeping that sort of thing, with no hands on personal care at all?
I would expect the owner/MD to visit the clients, know their needs, make themselves known, show an interest otherwise you just become the owner who is only out to make money and doesn't care about the clients or the staff and that causes tension and resentment in the group.
Its not an owners job to tell staff what to do, the job is to guide and support staff, ensure they are up to date with policies, procedures, training, health and safety at work, offer lone working support,.
Does the manager have any care or professional qualifications, you said they were inexperienced, are they going to have the opportunity to develop their management skills and knowledge.
If you have no experience in care how did you write up the policies and procedures. Each client should have an individual careplan and be risk assessed.
I would also get yourself DBS checked.
To make staff feel part of a team they need to feel valued, that their work is important, they are working in a safe environment, have personal alarms and always have someone to speak to if they need help, an open door policy is always appreciated.

I really don’t think it’s a good idea to open a new setting with a manager who is inexperienced. It’s a recipe for disaster.

Sorry posted too soon - how inexperienced is the manager?

Who is liaising with social care, writing care plans, deciding who the facility can take on, funding for placements, resident finances? Who is doing the risk assessments does the manager have experience of all these things?

These are all things that can get you into serious hot water if they are not done according to the law.

I’m sure you have got it all in place. It’s just worrying that a facility is run by people with no or limited experience of care.

An inexperienced manager might find it very difficult and frustrating working for someone even less experienced and knowledgeable but be expected to effectively run the day to day business and do all the physical work and may not stay very long. There are plenty of social and care manager/deputy jobs available that are run by established organisations
.

I would expect an owner/MD to visit the residents, know them and their needs, make sure they are happy and well cared for (ASK THEM!!). Ask staff if they are happy, have everything they need, have any concerns. You can’t be anonymous. That’s just not good in a care setting, like a PP said it makes you just the money maker and the distance can mean that people you should care for just become number on a sheet instead of real people with needs and desires of their own.

Your staff need to know they can speak openly to you and you are not unreachable. What if they have a problem that the manager (who is inexperienced) has not been able to solve or has dismissed? They need to know they can come to you in that instance.

With you have no experience yourself it is a massive concern that your manager is so inexperienced. I’d almost go as far to say potentially dangerous. Even with very experienced ground staff, things can and do go wrong, unsafe practices and cultures can and do develop without strong leadership, which seems to me missing from your setup.

If your staff are not working as a team, how do concerns or even positive things get passed on between shifts? How are patterns in health or behaviour noticed if staff never speak to each other?

I would start holding at least monthly meetings for the whole team, you need not attend but it should be led my the manager. This can be over MS Teams or Zoom or whatever.

Each client should be discussed in turn so staff can raise anything of note that has perhaps been missed in written notes (assuming written notes are kept?). And I don’t just mean concerns, but things like X has taken up a new hobby, or someone in Ys family has had a baby and they are very excited and like to talk about it to carers. Little things that give a more rounded knowledge and understanding of a person to EVERYONE working with them, thangs that can be missed if only one person is there at a time.

It’s also a good opportunity to discuss any changes to the setup or routine that staff may feel are needed (for example, please make sure the gloves are always put back in certain cupboard), and can share ideas for improving support given, enhancements for the home, activities for residents etc.

I think it is a mark of just how inexperienced your manager is that you don’t already have team meetings, (by the sounds of it). I’ve never worked anywhere where all staff working with a particular person of people weren’t given the opportunity to get together on a weekly or at least monthly basis to discuss and review the care of that person/people.

If you have no experience in care how did you write up the policies and procedures. Each client should have an individual careplan and be risk assessed

• Who is liaising with social care, writing care plans, deciding who the facility can take on, funding for placements, resident finances? Who is doing the risk assessments does the manager have experience of all these things?

These are all things that can get you into serious hot water if they are not done according to the law.

I’m sure you have got it all in place. It’s just worrying that a facility is run by people with no or limited experience of care*

^^This

It is all very concerning tbh

Assisted living, retirement living and retirement plus living most certainly
DO need to be Cqc registered.

Yes! Yes it is expected that in such a small business dealing with care (in whatever form) you would be expected to pitch and know exactly how things are meant to be done and can do it.
You may not have to do it often - but often enough that your staff have trust and faith in that you can muck in when needed. Plus they need to know that if you tell them something needs doing - then it needs doing, and this applies to All areas of your business from the manager right down to the cleaner.

I've worked in care almost 40 years now, in most settings.
Bit concerned you have an inexperienced manager , it's your own business and you are hands off , and surely even if you are dealing with the finances of those in your care, you would have a DBs?
I'd maybe suggest you getting one, and working a shift once or twice a month along side staff there , it's also a good time to spend getting to know your clients there.
If you are doing the admin side , does that mean you'll be dealing with care plans , mars sheets etc? Handy to have some knowledge about the actual person in a physical sense.

I worked years ago for a nurse who ran her own small home , 7 residents , an it really shocked me that on the rare occasions she did show her face , she couldn't recall who was who.

I think to be able to manage a really successful small team in this kind of setting, personal experience of it helps hugely with staff respect. You're also able to easily understand any issues that could arise regarding clients within that team too.
It also makes it easier to approach a manager with any concerns too.
Care work is hard , it's a huge responsibility but with good management , good support and training , and happy clients it's so rewarding. I've never been rich financially , it's appalling pay in general , but seeing people I've supported happy and cared for puts so much more into my life than money ever could.

I'm unsure of your setting, is it kind of a large house that your clients all share ?

If so even things like Coshh training , and food hygiene are required for all staff , as well as all the others , but please keep up to date with yearly first aid too - if your staff are alone each shift then it really helps them having all the knowledge and refreshing that it important.

Thanks for all the responses! Going back to the first page... Generally this is all very positive for me- we’re doing a lot of the things that you collectively have said we should be doing. For example, I’m scrupulous with checking timesheets and have ended up adding hours to various staffs’ in the last two months as they’ve under-calculated accidentally. We have regular staff meetings and supervisions scheduled, we’ve just not been operating for very long at all! We definitely have appropriate PPE and enough staff to complete tasks/ support clients, and no issues around travel to different properties.

Tips for me to take on board:

• training (this is my next area to examine in more detail),
• getting an agency as back up (been on my To Do list for a while- must actually DO it)
• active listening to staff (it’s hard to know whether I or the manager are doing this well until there’s a big problem, so I’ll discuss with her how we can check on this. Our staff meeting will no doubt be helpful),
• reminder about appropriate social media usage
• getting a DBS for myself

I very much appreciate what my staff do, as has been suggested, but I think what I’m looking for is a practical way to show that. Christmas bonus??

@ODFOkaren and @ImNotWhoYouThinkIam thanks for your valuable input and so sorry to hear about your terrible experiences.