During our calls, meetings and conversations with clients and candidates throughout July, spanning adult care, mental health, learning disabilities, children’s services and complex case management, five clear market trends emerged.
Together, they highlight some of the key considerations currently influencing hiring decisions, candidate expectations and workforce planning across specialist care.
Here are the trends we have been seeing this summer.
1. Case management salaries are becoming increasingly difficult to benchmark
One of the strongest themes we heard this month was the widening variation in case management salaries.
One independent case management provider described the market as increasingly difficult to navigate, citing an example of a non-senior case manager role advertised at £62,000.
For context, we typically place clinical lead case managers with registered manager responsibilities in the £60,000 to £65,000 range. A £62,000 salary for a standard caseload therefore represents a significant outlier, but examples like this can quickly influence wider candidate expectations. Similar pressures are being seen across associate day rates.
For smaller and mid-sized providers, the challenge is particularly acute. Rather than relying on advertised salaries as a benchmark, it is increasingly important to understand what organisations are actually paying for comparable experience and responsibility.
For candidates, headline salaries also need to be considered in context. Understanding the wider market and the terms attached to an offer provides a more accurate basis for comparison.
2. Ownership transitions are increasingly influencing hiring decisions
Ownership and group transitions featured consistently in our conversations throughout July.
One provider is currently transitioning into a national group and has limited flexibility around offers until terms and conditions have been reviewed. Elsewhere, a candidate who remains highly positive about her employer is considering other opportunities following a takeover.
We also spoke to a growing provider moving from around 100 beds towards 300 over the next five years, which is completing a trade acquisition and hiring senior leaders ahead of the next stage of growth.
For employers, transition periods can create significant opportunities while also introducing constraints around remuneration, terms and decision-making. Planning critical hires around these periods, rather than assuming normal flexibility will continue, can help avoid unnecessary delays.
For candidates, changes in ownership can naturally create uncertainty. Clear communication about what is changing, what remains the same and when decisions are likely to be made can make a significant difference to the candidate experience.
3. Benefits are playing a greater role in offer decisions
Salary remains important, but one conversation this month demonstrated how quickly other elements of an offer can influence the outcome.
A therapy candidate was considering two comparable offers. One included 31 days’ annual leave plus bank holidays and a 15-minute commute. The other offered the statutory minimum, with bank holidays included within the overall allowance, alongside a 45-minute commute.
The salaries were similar, but the overall packages were not.
The hiring manager was unable to increase the leave entitlement because doing so would have created an inconsistency with an existing employee on the same contract. An alternative arrangement involving unpaid leave was considered, but ultimately did not bridge the gap.
For employers, this highlights the importance of understanding how benefits compare from a candidate’s perspective, particularly where annual leave is concerned. For candidates, looking beyond base salary and considering leave, commute, flexibility and the wider package can provide a much clearer picture of the overall offer.
4. Founder-led providers are investing in clinical succession earlier
We are increasingly seeing founder-led providers establish a stronger second tier of clinical leadership before a succession need becomes urgent.
One organisation we spoke to is separating operational and clinical leadership to allow its clinician founder to gradually step back over the next two to three years and focus more heavily on growth.
The immediate challenge is creating sufficient clinical depth. As the provider explained, operational cover exists when the operations manager is away, but there is currently no equivalent cover for the clinical director.
Interestingly, they are not necessarily looking for an established senior leader. Instead, they are open to appointing an ambitious clinician earlier in their career who can develop into the role and potentially progress beyond the organisation over time.
This represents an interesting opportunity for both sides. Smaller providers can offer autonomy, visibility and genuine succession opportunities that are often harder to find within larger organisations. For ambitious clinicians, these environments can provide a route into leadership that is based on potential as well as existing experience.
5. In case management, evidencing experience is becoming increasingly important
Another recurring theme was the difficulty providers are experiencing in identifying candidates with genuine case management experience.
One provider told us they had stopped advertising case management positions altogether because of the volume of unsuitable applications. These included candidates from unrelated sectors, as well as individuals with only a few months of relevant experience presenting themselves as established case managers.
For this provider, the key differentiator is an evidenced caseload rather than simply a job title. Their solicitor panels typically expect at least two years’ experience, while their own preference is generally three to five years.
There is also an education gap among clinicians considering a move into case management. Clinical case management and medico-legal case management require different knowledge and experience, and the distinction is not always immediately clear to candidates entering the market.
For employers, this reinforces the importance of effective screening and understanding the detail behind a candidate’s experience, rather than relying solely on titles or application volume.
For candidates, being able to clearly demonstrate caseload experience, solicitor panel exposure and an understanding of medico-legal case management can be more valuable than simply changing a job title.
The common theme
Across all five trends, one theme stands out: the headline information is becoming less useful without the context behind it.
Salary figures, job titles, benefits and organisational structures can all tell part of the story, but the detail increasingly determines whether an opportunity works for an employer or a candidate.
For organisations hiring across specialist care, understanding that detail is becoming increasingly important as the market continues to evolve.
Supporting your hiring objectives and your career growth
If you are hiring across adult care, mental health, learning disabilities, children’s services or complex case management, our specialist care team can provide insight into the current market, candidate expectations and the challenges affecting hiring decisions.
Equally, if you are considering your next career move and want to understand how your experience or an offer compares with the wider market, we would be happy to have a confidential conversation.
Contact Compass Associates to discuss what we are seeing across the Specialist Care market this summer.
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