The best hiring tools reach every caregiver applicant within minutes, any hour. Impact Home Health hired 300 caregivers with Care Hero and one recruiter. (Hires marked in Care Hero, Apr 2 to Oct 29, 2026.)
This guide is for independent, non-medical home care agencies. It covers the four types of hiring tools, what changed at three independent agencies, and how Care Hero's AI phone interviews work. It is written by Care Hero, which builds AI phone interviews for home care agencies. If you own franchise offices, see our guide to the best AI recruiting software for home care franchises.
What are the best hiring tools for a non-medical home care agency?
The ones that close the gap between the application and the first conversation. Most agencies already have a job board and somewhere to keep applicants. The step that breaks is the first screen.
A caregiver applies at 9 p.m. after her own shift. If nobody reaches her until the next afternoon, she has often taken another job or stopped answering. So the question to ask of any tool is simple. How fast does each applicant reach a real first screen, and who does the work?
What types of hiring tools do independent agencies use?
Four types: job boards, applicant tracking systems, text screening and AI phone interviews. Each one does a different job, and many agencies use more than one.
- Job boards such as Indeed bring in applicants. They do not talk to them.
- An applicant tracking system (ATS) keeps every applicant and hiring step in one place. Many add screening forms and scheduling.
- Text screening sends questions by text, and applicants answer in writing on their own time.
- An AI phone interview sends every applicant a message within minutes. The applicant calls in when it suits them and answers your own screening questions out loud. Care Hero is this type.
Which tool handles the first screen after hours?
Job boards and an ATS collect applications all night. But someone still has to reach each applicant, and that usually waits for the morning.
Caregivers often apply and talk outside office hours. At Platinum Care Group in Illinois, 41.5% of AI phone interviews happened after hours, when no recruiter is at the desk. (Care Hero data, May 15 to Oct 29, 2026; after hours = before 8 a.m., from 4 p.m. or weekends, Central time.) A tool that only works while your recruiter is in the office misses those people.
What changed at Impact Home Health, Premier Comfort Care and Platinum Care Group?
All three are independent agencies. Each added Care Hero to the job boards and hiring steps it already had.
Impact Home Health, Kansas: 300 caregivers hired with one recruiter
Before Care Hero, it took Impact 3 to 4 weeks to start a caregiver. (Impact's estimate, Jul 2026.) With Care Hero, the median from application to hire is 5.7 days, and the agency has hired 300 caregivers with one recruiter. (Care Hero data, Apr 2 to Oct 29, 2026; hires marked in Care Hero; time to hire for hires within 90 days.) In the first month, hires rose 23% with the same recruiter. (Office records, Apr 14 to May 14 vs. Jan 1 to Apr 13, 2026.)
“Overall, the sentiments are really good for my team and the results have been good as well. We've been getting a lot more interviews completed than we were expecting.”
Premier Comfort Care, California: interview no-shows from 64% to 40%
Premier has one recruiter. In its first 28 days with Care Hero, interview no-shows fell from 64% to 40%, and candidates who showed up rose from 17 to 37. (Office records, monthly average Jun to Aug 2026 vs. Sep 21 to Oct 18, 2026.) The median from application to hire is 8.6 days. (Hires marked in Care Hero, Sep to Oct 2026.)
“...honestly, it's been a very powerful tool as far as minimizing all the tedious work... And then also just making it one platform.”
Platinum Care Group, Illinois: from 25 to 30 hours of phone screening to interviews done within the hour
Before Care Hero, Platinum's recruiter spent 25 to 30 hours a week on phone screening. (The recruiter's own estimate, May 2026.) Now applicants interview without waiting for her. 43.3% of applicants who completed the AI phone interview finished it within 1 hour of applying, and 41.5% of interviews happened after hours, when no recruiter is at the desk. (Care Hero data, May 15 to Oct 29, 2026.)
“It's been really good at capturing information that caregivers say during screening. I can focus more on capturing information during the interview.”
How does an AI phone interview fit with Indeed and your ATS?
It sits between the application and your recruiter. Applicants keep applying where they apply today.
Care Hero connects to your Indeed account, so every applicant is reached within minutes of applying, day or night. It also works alongside the applicant tracking systems agencies already run, including ApplicantStack, Paylocity, Hireology and WellSky. Scheduling syncs with Google Calendar and Outlook. Candidates who come in through your website, a career fair or a walk-in can be added by hand. Care Hero is not an ATS and does not ask you to replace one.
Within minutes of an application, Care Hero sends the applicant a message with a number to call. The applicant calls in at any hour and answers your agency's own questions in a short AI phone interview. Your recruiter gets a summary, a score and a recording.
Clients can set an automatic score threshold. Applicants above it go straight to interview scheduling. Below it, the recruiter reviews the scores and decides. HR can then focus on the right candidates instead of phone tag. The in-person interview, background checks and onboarding stay with your team. For Indeed in particular, see the best AI tools for Indeed caregiver hiring.
How do Care Hero's AI phone interviews work?
Your applicants hear from Care Hero within minutes and can interview any time of day. Your team gets a scored summary, transcript and recording, and knows who to move forward first.
- Motivation
- Drawn to caregiving by caring for her mother, then her daughter and past patients
- Lift training
- Yes, both manual and electric lifts
- Alzheimer's and dementia
- Yes, completed certification courses at a previous job
Care Hero: Hi there! Thanks so much for taking the time to speak with us today. My name is Alex and I'm an AI recruiter. Just so you know, this call will be recorded so our team can review. Does that sound good?
Candidate: Yes.
Care Hero: What drew you to caregiving, and what do you enjoy most about it?
Candidate: What drew me to caregiving is that I love to help others, and it just honestly makes my heart so warm and happy to know that I'm able to be that person to make somebody's day or just make something easier for them. I learned it for my mother, and I pretty much took that with me on to everyday life, helping with my daughter and also with my patients that I've had in the past.
Care Hero: Do you have training on a Hoyer lift or another mechanical lift?
Candidate: Yes.
Care Hero: Was that training on a manual lift, an electric lift, or both?
Candidate: Both.
Care Hero: Do you have prior Alzheimer's or dementia training or experience?
Candidate: Yes. I took a few courses every other month to get my certification at my previous job.
Care Hero: I really appreciate you taking the time to chat with us, it was great speaking with you. Thanks again, and have a wonderful day!
- Experience
- 10 years, in homes and facilities
- Hours wanted
- 40 hours a week
- Availability
- Monday to Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., possible overnight 11 p.m. to 7 a.m., no Sundays
- Shifts accepted
- 4-hour and 12-hour day shifts, 12-hour night shifts
Care Hero: Hi there! Thanks so much for taking the time to speak with us today. My name is Alex and I'm an AI recruiter. Just so you know, this call will be recorded so our team can review. Does that sound good?
Candidate: Yes.
Care Hero: How many years of caregiving experience do you have, and what types of settings have you worked in?
Candidate: Ten years. I've done home, and I've done facilities.
Care Hero: How many hours are you looking for per week?
Candidate: Forty.
Care Hero: What days and times can you reliably commit to working?
Candidate: I can do nine to five, every day, or is there night shift? Eleven to seven. No Sunday.
Care Hero: I have Monday through Saturday, nine AM to five PM, with possible overnight availability from eleven PM to seven AM, and no Sundays. Is that correct?
Candidate: Yeah.
Care Hero: Which types of assignments are you willing to accept: four-hour shifts, twelve-hour day shifts, twelve-hour night shifts, and live-in shifts?
Candidate: Four-hour and twelve-hour shifts. Yes, I can do twelve-hour night too.
Care Hero: I really appreciate you taking the time to chat with us, it was great speaking with you.
Recorded with the caller's knowledge. The demo line is an AI recruiter; calls may be recorded to improve the service.
- 01
A caregiver applies.
Your job posts and sources stay exactly as they are. Nothing new for your team to learn.
- 02
Care Hero responds within minutes.
The applicant hears back right away and starts their phone interview by calling in whenever it suits them: nights, weekends and holidays included. Our AI recruiter asks questions for you.
- 03
Know who to talk to first.
Every candidate is scored against your criteria, with a summary, transcript and recording. Candidates who clear the score you set book their own interview time on your calendar, so your team just shows up and decides who to hire.
Impact Home Health, Kansas, one recruiter: hires and time to hire, Care Hero data, Apr 2 to Oct 29, 2026 (hires marked in Care Hero; time to hire for hires within 90 days). First month: office records, Apr 14 to May 14 vs. Jan 1 to Apr 13, 2026. Before: Impact's estimate (Jul 2026). Premier Comfort Care, one office in California with one recruiter: no-shows and candidates who showed up, office records, monthly average Jun to Aug 2026 vs. Sep 21 to Oct 18, 2026 (reviewed Oct 19, 2026); time to hire, Care Hero data, Sep 21 to Oct 29, 2026 (hires marked in Care Hero). Platinum Care Group, Chicagoland, Illinois: recruiter time, the recruiter's own estimate (May 2026); after-hours share and time to interview, Care Hero data, May 15 to Oct 29, 2026. After hours = before 8 a.m., from 4 p.m. or weekends, local time. Individual results vary.