5 questions to ask before hiring a Registered Manager

One of the trickiest parts of starting a homecare business? Hiring a Registered Manager… when you’ve never been one yourself.

You’re sat there thinking:
“How do I assess whether this person actually knows what they’re doing?”

Because a confident interviewee ≠ a competent Registered Manager.

So instead of relying on CVs and gut feel, here are a few questions that test what really matters: how they think under pressure, and how well they understand compliance in the real world.

1. “A care visit has been missed, the client is fine but the family is upset. What do you do next?”

Simple question. Lots going on underneath.

You’re listening for:

• Immediate response (client safety first)
• Communication with family
• Internal investigation
• Documentation

And crucially… their decision making re. whether it is a notifiable incident.

2. “Can you talk me through when you would submit a CQC notification?”

This is where people get found out.

Strong candidates won’t just list examples, they’ll show:

• Awareness of thresholds
• Confidence in grey areas
• A bias towards transparency

Weak candidates either guess… or avoid the question entirely.

3. “If CQC were inspecting in 48 hours, what would you focus on?”

This is one of my favourites.
It tells you how they prioritise.
Do they go straight to:

• Care plans and risk assessments
• MAR charts
• Staff files and training
• Recent audits and actions

Or do they stay high-level and vague?

Good Registered Managers know where the skeletons are most likely to be hiding. Great Registered Managers understand what CQC are most worried about and focusing their inspections on.

4. “How do you make sure your service is actually compliant, day to day?”

Anyone can say “we follow the regulations”.

You’re looking for systems:

• Audits
• Spot checks
• Supervisions
• Feedback loops

Compliance isn’t a one-off event. It’s what happens on a random Tuesday afternoon.

5. “Tell me about a time something went wrong. What did you do afterwards?”

Because things will go wrong.
Missed visits. Medication errors. Complaints.

You’re hiring for what happens next:

• Do they learn from it?
• Do they change the process?
• Do they evidence that learning?

That last bit matters more than people think.

One final tip.

Give them a short scenario to respond to in writing.

For example:
“A missed visit has occurred and the family has complained. Draft your response and outline your next steps.”

You’ll quickly see:

• How they communicate
• How structured their thinking is
• Whether they understand what needs to be recorded and reported

It’s often the most revealing part of the whole process.
If you’re new to the sector, you’re never going to feel 100% confident assessing a Registered Manager.

But you can design an interview that makes it very hard to bluff.
And in this role, that matters.

If you’re thinking this through right now and want a second opinion, just reply. I read every email.

Yours,
Ben