A well-respected social care consultant, Tim Dallinger recently shared a thought-provoking post on LinkedIn. He pointed out that a social care provider with only 25 care recipients and 40 staff is spending £50,000 per year on their care management platform, but they are not utilising it to its full potential.
This situation raises important questions:
Having managed care companies and collaborated closely with care providers, I have witnessed firsthand where challenges can arise. When I founded my second care company, I made it clear to our care coordinator, Emily Trott — a talented and dedicated individual — that I did not want her regularly going out on care visits. While she excelled in delivering care, that was not her primary role.
Caregiving is one of the most rewarding and honourable professions, and I was more than willing to step in and provide care when necessary. However, the primary purpose of a care coordinator or office administrator is different. Their focus should be on mastering the care management, handling recruitment related tasks, managing scheduling, ensuring compliance, and supporting staff. If the registered manager and senior office staff are frequently drawn away to provide care, the service risks becoming dysfunctional.
One of the biggest mistakes in setting up a care company or running a small-to-medium-sized business is failing to establish clear roles. For instance, if your care coordinator is out on care visits, who will take care of other responsibilities, such as ensuring that care plans are up to date, monitoring compliance, and analysing trends to improve service delivery?
In many cases, the care management platform is underutilised when office-based staff are frequently called away to deliver care, leaving them with little time or focus to input data, track outcomes, or optimise care delivery. This situation can lead to stressed staff, sluggish growth, unhappy customers, and underused systems.
One significant pitfall when selecting a care management system is choosing the wrong platform from the start. The right software can be as impactful on your service as your most skilled staff if not more, so it is essential to invest time and effort into finding the right solution.
The care management software market is filled with options, yet many providers do not take the time to thoroughly research their choices or assess the functionality of the systems before committing to long-term contracts.
An effective care management platform should provide the following:
✅ Flexibility to adapt to changing needs
✅ Integration of functionalities, including HR, payroll, and compliance
✅ A user-friendly interface for office and care staff
✅ Responsive customer support to ensure optimal usage of the system
Even the most effective care management system can fail if it is not implemented properly. I have observed care companies that invest significantly in a system, only for their staff to receive minimal training. When issues arise, staff often fall back on pen-and-paper methods or disorganised Word documents, which results in incomplete records, poor compliance, and wasted time.
To ensure successful implementation, the following steps are essential:
✅ Thorough and Phased Deployment- Allow staff to learn the system gradually.
✅ Hands-On Training - Provide training sessions rather than relying solely on a manual.
✅ Regular Refresher Sessions done by a competent team member- Follow up with consistent refresher training to reinforce learning and learn from each other as a team member.
If staff do not understand how to use the system effectively, it can become more of a burden than a solution.
In successful care businesses, the care management platform serves as the backbone of operations. In contrast, struggling businesses view it as just another tool managed by someone else or their supplier.
The registered manager should routinely review the following:
✅ Compliance levels
✅ Staff adherence to documentation protocols
✅ Data accuracy and updates to care plans
Designating a system lead—someone responsible for ensuring the platform is fully utilised—can help prevent gaps in usage and accountability.
Many care management platforms offer powerful analytics and insights. However, if users do not know how to interpret the data or how to acton it, those insights become ineffective.
Instead of leveraging data to:
✅ Identify gaps in care delivery
✅ Improve staff efficiency
✅ Enhance outcomes for service users
The information may be overlooked or, even worse, misunderstood.
Here’s how care providers can avoid costly mistakes:
1. Select the right system—thoroughly explore the platform before committing. You can request to see it multiple times, focusing on different aspects each time.
2. Invest in training – Ensure that staff members are familiar with every function of the system.
3. Create accountability – Assign someone to be responsible for system usage.
4. Monitor performance – Regularly review data and outcomes.
5. Align roles properly – Keep your care coordinator and office staff focused on operations, not on care delivery.
A care management platform should simplify tasks for your staff rather than complicate them. It should save time, enhance the quality of care, and improve compliance. If you are at the level of care recipients and staff as Tim highlighted, and you're spending £50,000 a year on a platform, it's time to reassess your choices.
At Careberry, we designed our platform specifically to address the challenges within care settings. Created by a care provider for care providers, our system is intuitive and adaptable, with no long-term binding contracts. If your current care management platform isn't meeting your needs, it is time to find one that does.
Get in touch with us to explore Careberry and find out how it can transform your service!
