Should I be the Registered Manager of my own care company?

I’m finally getting to a question that everyone asks themselves when starting up a homecare company.

Can I, and should I, be the Registered Manager?

Because everyone and every business is different, the cop-out answer is ‘it depends’. Over the next few weeks I’m going to try to give a more helpful answer to that very big question.

(Quick bit of background for those who haven’t got as far as researching requirements for starting up a homecare company. Every company needs to be registered with the regulator, and needs a ‘Registered Manager’ – someone legally responsible for the running of the service. Employing this person costs, say, £40k+ annually.)

There’s a range of options:

• Employ a Registered Manager and apply for CQC registration with them once their criminal record check has come back. You may or may not need to pay them during the 3-4 months you’re waiting for your registration inspection interview, depending on their notice period and circumstances.
• Register yourself as the RM for the purposes of the application, knowing you’ll be recruiting an RM in the first few months of registration
• Register as the RM and build a team under you to support you as the business grows
• (There is a 4th option; we have a Registration Service as part of our franchise package. It should save you £12k+ and de-risk your start-up. To find out more, book a quick call) 

Here, we’ll quickly look at the factors involved in making the decision, then the pros and cons. For some franchise brands, there is only one way; hiring an RM before your CQC application goes in. At GoodOaks we take a slightly more nuanced view, as you’ll see. Factors in the mix are:

Your budget:

If you have £100k+ sitting in the bank and are looking to scale and open multiple sites in quick succession, you being the RM is likely to be a growth blocker. If however you’ve got, say, £25k to invest in your new venture, taking on the RM role in the early days could make the difference between a healthy cashflow forecast and non-viable business.

Your background: 

You have to have the right experience, knowledge and skills, and CQC will check this at your interview. In effect, an RM would ideally need to demonstrate a) ‘care’ experience and b) management experience.

Care experience could include healthcare experience, such as being a Nurse, Physio, OT, etc, and isn’t strictly ‘social care’ related. If you tick both boxes, happy days. If you tick one box, talk to us and we can give you some honest advice.

Independent or Franchise:

Two things to say here:

1 – As a franchisor, we have an honest chat about whether we think it’d work for you to apply to register as the RM. We then prepare you for the registration interview; through training, homework, mock interviews and coaching.

2 – In our experience, CQC are reassured by the support that comes with being part of a franchise network. The external Quality Assurance checks, on-tap support, established systems and processes and a proven track record all are significant ticks in the CQC’s risk assessment when deciding whether to register a company.

Your strengths and interests:

You may have all the healthcare and management experience in the world, but if you are pathologically averse to detailed paperwork, regular quality audits or responsibility for compliance, taking on the RM role won’t be for you. One of the joys of having your own business is to be able to shape what you do and how you do it, and taking on a role that you’re not good at and don’t enjoy is both counter-productive and a risk to the business.

So – the answer is: it depends. Next week I’ll put together some pros and cons of each approach to give you the tools you need to make an informed decision, if you haven’t already.

Best wishes, Ben.