Hire to Thrive

Hosted by Rachel Gartner

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Latest episode

Aug 2026

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EN-US

About the show

Where home care hiring is reimagined. Join Carework Founder and CEO Rachel Gartner every Wednesday to hear everything your home care agency needs to know about caregiver recruiting. With national data on home care hiring, insight from thought leaders across the U.S., and more, Rachel will help your team meet your hiring goals. If you need more hires to thrive, you're in the right place.

Listen to episodes

17 recent

August 12, 202613 min

Welcome Back to Hire to Thrive!

Rachel Gartner discusses the resurgence of the Hire to Thrive podcast, focusing on AI's role in home care, caregiver-first values, and industry innovations. She shares personal builder experiences, lessons learned from AI implementations, and insights on vendor selection and technology integration. Key Topics: AI's role in home care and recruiting Caregiver first values and industry impact Lessons from AI implementation mistakes Spotlighting trustworthy vendors Using technology to improve caregiver experience Addressing burnout and leadership challenges Future of job boards and recruiting strategies Questions or concerns? You can email Rachel at rachel@careworkus.com Learn more at https://www.careworkus.com/

August 20, 202426 min

Boost your applicant-to-hire conversion rate

Rachel, CEO of Carework, discusses the issue of requiring documents before the interview in the home care agency recruiting process. She shares practical strategies to reduce applicant drop-offs, remove unnecessary barriers, and simplify your hiring process—all while keeping the caregiver’s experience front and center.

August 6, 202423 min

Three main causes of the hiring bottleneck

Rachel discusses the recruiting bottleneck that many home care agencies face, which hinders their growth. She identifies three main causes of the bottleneck: not enough staff to handle the increase in applicant volume, a lack of a foundational recruiting process, and a paper-based or tedious hiring process. She provides solutions to address these issues, including implementing a clear hiring process with accountability, streamlining the hiring process, and considering outsourcing recruiting to a specialized team like CareWork.

July 24, 202425 min

4 Tips To Create Awesome Job Ads

Rachel Gartner, CEO and Founder of Carework, tackles the costly mistake of reusing old job ads for home care agencies. Discover why updating and customizing your job ads is essential to attract top talent. Rachel shares examples of ineffective ads and offers practical tips for creating standout listings. Learn the importance of clear job titles, detailed descriptions, transparency about pay and benefits, and showcasing what makes your agency unique. Finally, get Rachel's recommendations for regularly reviewing and adjusting your job ads to keep them effective and relevant. Don't miss these insights to boost your recruitment success! 4o

July 9, 202417 min

Building a Caregiver-First Hiring Process

Rachel Gartner discusses the importance of a caregiver-first mindset in the hiring process for home care agencies. She emphasizes the need to center the caregiver's needs and experience, rather than focusing on weeding out potential bad hires. Rachel provides examples of how to implement a caregiver-first hiring process, such as not requiring extensive paperwork before the caregiver steps foot in the office and shifting the risk of wasted time from the caregiver to the agency. She also highlights the importance of foundational beliefs and culture in shaping the hiring process.

June 24, 202421 min

Home Care Hiring: Virtual Or In-Person Interviews? Let's Talk About It!

In this conversation, Rachel Gartner discusses the benefits of remote versus in-person interviews for agencies. She emphasizes the importance of looking at data points such as interview show-up rates and the percentage of applicants completing the hiring process. Rachel explores the pros of remote interviews, including flexibility, accessibility, and efficiency. However, she also highlights the cons, such as lower commitment and the lack of in-person relationships. On the other hand, in-person interviews allow for personal connections, skill demonstrations, and better assessment of interpersonal skills. Rachel also introduces the concept of straight-to-orientation, where agencies skip the interview step and go directly to orientation. She provides insights into when remote, in-person, or straight-to-orientation interviews may be suitable for different agencies.

January 8, 202420 min

Setting Goals for Success: A Guide for Home Care Agencies Setting Goals in 2024

Rachel Gartner is the founder and CEO of Carework, a company that provides support and training for home care agencies. With her expertise in home care recruiting, Rachel helps agencies set and achieve their goals to thrive in the industry. Summary: Rachel Gartner, founder and CEO of Carework, shares valuable insights on setting goals for home care agencies in 2024. She emphasizes the importance of tracking recruiting metrics and setting quantifiable goals based on data. Rachel also highlights the need for regular check-ins to ensure progress and motivate the team. Additionally, she discusses the significance of adjusting goals when necessary to maintain the long-term health and sustainability of the business. Key Takeaways: Track recruiting metrics to set realistic goals and identify areas for improvement. Set quantifiable goals based on data to provide actionable steps for the team. Conduct regular check-ins to assess progress and make necessary adjustments. Give praise publicly and criticism privately to maintain a positive and motivated team culture. Be willing to adjust goals if they jeopardize the well-being and sustainability of the business. Need more in-depth input? Click here to schedule a FREE, no-obligation consult with one of our home care hiring experts.

December 21, 202319 min

Going from Burnout to Balance: Promoting Well-Being in the Home Care Industry

Rachel Gartner, founder and CEO of Carework discusses the importance of promoting well-being in the home care industry and shares personal experiences of burnout. She emphasizes the need for compassion and offers strategies to support caregivers and office staff. These strategies include recognizing signs of burnout, conducting regular check-ins, providing stress management training, and managing workloads effectively. Rachel highlights the significance of leading with compassion and taking care of oneself to better care for others. Key Takeaways: Home care is a challenging industry that can lead to burnout for caregivers, recruiters, leaders, and agency owners. Compassion and support are essential in promoting well-being and preventing burnout in the agency. Recognizing signs of burnout, conducting regular check-ins, providing stress management training, and managing workloads effectively are key strategies for promoting well-being. Leading with compassion and practicing self-care are crucial for caregivers and leaders to provide the best care and support. To learn more about Carework, schedule a call here with one of our experts today.

November 17, 202324 min

Building Career Paths: Caregiver Career Paths to Improve Retention and Growth in Home Care Agencies

"We want to show them their future with your agency." Rachel Gartner discusses the importance of creating career paths for caregivers in the home care industry. Rachel emphasizes the need to invest in caregivers' long-term goals and show them a vision for their future with the agency. By providing a clear career path, agencies can increase caregiver engagement, promote from within, and build a caregiver-first mindset and culture. Rachel advises agencies to create a well-defined career path, share it with caregivers, and provide resources for them to pursue growth opportunities. In doing this, agencies can retain caregivers, foster leadership development, and drive agency growth. If you're looking to hire more caregivers, Carework can help. Learn more here .

September 19, 202315 min

Unlocking Growth: Scaleable Recruiting & Retention Pt. 2

In this episode of the Hire to Thrive podcast, Rachel Gartner discusses the importance of having a scalable recruiting and retention process for home care agencies. She emphasizes the need to understand the financial value of each caregiver hire and set agency growth goals based on average hours worked per hire. Rachel also highlights the importance of using metrics as levers to track progress and make data-driven decisions. She provides insights on how to scale retention by implementing effective communication strategies, meeting caregivers' needs, and building future leaders within the agency. Rachel concludes by discussing the downward spiral that many home care agencies face and how investing in the recruiting pipeline can switch the trajectory to an upward spiral. Key Takeaways: Understand the financial value of each caregiver hire by knowing average retention, hours worked, and profit margins per hour. Set agency growth goals based on current growth objectives and average hours worked per hire. Use metrics as levers to track progress and make data-driven decisions for scalable growth. Implement effective communication strategies to improve retention, such as regular check-ins and addressing caregivers' needs. Build future leaders within the agency by providing career paths, training, and support. Invest time, effort, and money into the recruiting pipeline to switch from a downward spiral to an upward spiral. Download the workbook here . Learn more about Carework .