Unit 146: Manage team performance

This unit focuses on how to manage team performance in adult care in a way that keeps people safe, supports staff wellbeing and maintains consistent standards. It brings together planning, quality, communication and day-to-day leadership so that the team can meet priorities even when pressures change.

Managing performance starts with knowing what “good” looks like in your setting. That is where benchmarks come in. Benchmarks can include expected standards for record keeping, medication processes (where relevant), safeguarding reporting, infection prevention routines, response times, or how care plans are followed and reviewed. They may be shaped by organisational policies, regulator expectations, internal audits, and agreed ways of working. Used well, benchmarks are not about blame; they provide a shared reference point so everyone understands the target and why it matters.

You’ll look at a range of quality management techniques that help you monitor and improve team performance. This might include spot checks, audits, observations of practice, feedback from people using the service and families, reflective discussions, supervision notes, incident trend reviews, and team action plans. Quality techniques work best when they are routine and transparent. No surprises. When people know how quality is checked, they are more likely to engage and take pride in improvements.

Adult care rarely stays still, so you’ll also explore constraints on the ability to amend priorities and plans. Staffing levels, sickness, unplanned admissions, safeguarding concerns, changes in people’s needs, equipment delays, and external appointments can all disrupt the best rota. Budgets and contractual requirements can limit what can be changed quickly. Even the physical environment can shape what is possible. Recognising these constraints helps you plan realistically and communicate clearly, rather than promising changes you cannot deliver.

A key practical skill in this unit is allocating and assuring the quality of work. You’ll learn to identify the strengths, competences and expertise of team members so work can be matched to the right person. This means considering qualifications, experience, confidence, and any agreed limitations to practice. It also means avoiding assumptions. Someone may be brilliant at calming distressed residents but less confident with digital records. Another may be highly organised and suited to coordinating appointments or supporting new starters.

Allocating work is not only about getting tasks done; it is about protecting the person receiving care. When work is matched appropriately, risks reduce and outcomes improve. You’ll cover how to allocate fairly and safely, including when to provide extra support, when to pair staff, and when to escalate concerns if competence is not sufficient for a task. Clear expectations prevent confusion. So does making time for quick check-ins.

Identifying areas for improvement is part of leading a team. This unit supports you to spot gaps in performance outputs and standards, using evidence rather than opinion. That might be patterns in late documentation, inconsistent care plan updates, recurring complaints, repeated minor errors, or staff feeling unsure about a particular procedure. Improvement conversations are more effective when they focus on behaviour and impact, not personality. Keep it specific. Keep it respectful.

Amending priorities and plans is another core theme. When circumstances change, you may need to reassign tasks, adjust the rota, reorder workload, or bring in extra support. Good practice includes explaining the reason for changes, confirming who is responsible for what, and ensuring critical tasks are covered first (for example, medication support, nutrition and hydration monitoring, safeguarding actions, or time-sensitive care tasks). Calm leadership makes a difference here. People take their cues from you.

You’ll also consider how to recommend changes to systems and processes to improve quality. Sometimes performance issues are not “people problems” at all. They can be caused by unclear paperwork, duplicated forms, unrealistic scheduling, poor handover routines, or gaps in equipment availability. Involving the team in solutions can uncover practical fixes. Small adjustments—like a clearer checklist for shift handover or a simpler way to flag risks—can reduce mistakes and save time.

Communication runs through everything in this unit. You’ll cover how to explain lines of communication and authority levels, so team members know who to contact, when to escalate, and how decisions are made. That clarity protects people using the service and supports staff to act promptly. It also reduces frustration and “mixed messages” across shifts.

You’ll learn how to communicate individual and team objectives, responsibilities and priorities in ways that suit the audience and timescales. Not every message needs a meeting. Some things are best shared in a handover, others in writing, and some in a private conversation. The method matters. A rushed corridor chat about a serious concern is rarely appropriate.

Practical example: in a care home, an audit shows inconsistent fluid intake recording on night shifts. Rather than assuming staff do not care, you might explore what gets in the way—time pressure, unclear forms, or people needing support at different times. You could then agree a simple process: assign responsibility, provide a quick refresher, and review the records together after a week. Improvement becomes a shared task, not a punishment.

Support is part of performance management too. This unit includes providing support when team members need it and agreeing a process for feedback on work progress and issues. People perform better when they can ask for help early without feeling judged. You’ll probably recognise this in your setting when a new staff member tries to “manage alone” and then makes avoidable mistakes. A quick check-in and a clear plan can prevent that.

Finally, you’ll review the effectiveness of team communications and make improvements. That might include evaluating handover quality, how messages are shared, whether actions are followed up, and whether staff feel able to raise concerns. Consistent communication supports consistent care. It also creates a healthier team culture.

The links on this page take you through each learning outcome in detail, so you can build a practical understanding of benchmarks, quality techniques, allocation, planning and team communication—ready to apply safely and fairly in your own workplace.

1. Understand the management of team performance

2. Be able to allocate and assure the quality of work

2.1 Identify the strengths, competences and expertise of team members
2.2 Allocate work on the basis of the strengths, competences and expertise of team members
2.3 Identify areas for improvement in team members’ performance outputs and standards
2.4 Amend priorities and plans to take account of changing circumstances
2.5 Recommend changes to systems and processes to improve the quality of work

3. Be able to manage communications within a team

3.1 Explain to team members the lines of communication and authority levels
3.2 Communicate individual and team objectives, responsibilities and priorities
3.3 Use communication methods that are appropriate to the topics, audience and timescales
3.4 Provide support to team members when they need it
3.5 Agree with team members a process for providing feedback on work progress and any issues arising
3.6 Review the effectiveness of team communications and make improvements