When few caregivers are looking, the agency that reaches them first fills the hours. Care Hero clients hire in a median of 3.1 to 9.4 days.
That range comes from five home care agencies using Care Hero, from a single office in Oregon to Home Instead franchise offices in Oklahoma and Texas. This guide shows their numbers, how one franchise owner's offices grew their hiring, and how fast first contact works in practice. It is written by Care Hero, which builds AI phone screening for home care agencies.
Why is it so hard to staff client hours in 2026?
The people are scarce. In The State Of HCBS In 2026: Policy Upheaval, Staffing Shortages Squeeze Providers (Home Health Care News, November 2026), providers say the limited caregiver labor pool, more than wage rules, is the main thing holding them back.
A small labor pool changes the race. The caregivers who are looking often apply to several agencies the same evening. The first agency to talk to them usually gets the interview, and a referral that comes in on Friday needs caregivers who were screened on Tuesday.
How fast do agencies hire caregivers with Care Hero?
Across five agencies, the median time from application to hire ran from 3.1 to 9.4 days.
Some agencies kept their own numbers from before. Impact Home Health in Kansas used to need 3 to 4 weeks to start a caregiver (Impact's estimate, Jul 2026). With Care Hero the median is 5.7 days. BrightStar Care of Greater Chester County in Pennsylvania took 52 days on average to hire (the office's own figures, Dec 2025 to Mar 2026). With Care Hero the median is 11.3 days. For a deeper look at the steps between application and hire, see how fast a home care agency can hire a caregiver.
How did Home Instead offices hire 275+ caregivers with Care Hero?
Home Instead franchise offices in Oklahoma, Texas and North Carolina have hired 275+ caregivers through Care Hero (hires marked in Care Hero, Dec 19, 2025 to Nov 9, 2026). The biggest share comes from Michael Boyd's three offices in Owasso and Vinita, Oklahoma, and Round Rock, Texas.
Before Care Hero, an applicant at Michael's offices waited about 24 hours for a phone screen, and only on weekdays (the offices' January 2026 estimate). Now the median is 24 minutes from application to phone screen (Care Hero data, Jun 1 to Oct 17, 2026), and the median time to hire is 9.4 days (the offices' own records, Jun 1 to Oct 28, 2026).
Home Instead, Oklahoma & Texas“...my business grew a lot over the last six months.”
How can a home care agency reach scarce applicants first with Care Hero?
Many caregivers don't have a computer. With Care Hero they interview from their phone, any time they have a free moment, with no video call to schedule. Every applicant gets a message within minutes of applying and calls in when it suits them, 24/7.
That matters most in the evening, when caregivers finish their own shifts and look for work. At Michael Boyd's offices, 45% of AI phone interviews happened after hours, before 8 a.m., from 4 p.m. or on weekends (Care Hero data, Dec 19, 2025 to Nov 9, 2026, Central time). A 9-to-5 recruiter would have reached those applicants the next day at the earliest.
You set an automatic score threshold. Applicants above it go straight to interview scheduling. For the rest, your recruiter reviews the scores with the recording, summary and transcript, and decides. HR can then focus on the right candidates.
How do Care Hero's AI phone interviews work?
Here is a real first-round interview.
Turning Availability into a Clear Schedule
Hear the AI make sense of changing availability, confirm the details, and ask the next useful question.
- 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
Read transcript
00:00 · 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
00:06 · Care Hero
Just so you know, this call will be recorded so our team can review. Does that sound good?
00:12 · Candidate
Yes.
00:12 · Care Hero
Great, thank you. How many years of caregiving experience do you have, and what types of settings have you worked in?
00:20 · Candidate
Ten years. I've done home, and I've done facilities.
00:25 · Care Hero
Great. How many hours are you looking for per week?
00:29 · Candidate
Forty.
00:32 · Care Hero
Forty hours per week, thank you. What days and times can you reliably commit to working? Please share your availability for each day of the week.
00:45 · Candidate
I can do nine to five, every day or is there night shift? Eleven to seven.
00:58 · Candidate
No Sunday.
00:59 · 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?
01:10 · Candidate
Yeah.
01:11 · Care Hero
Thanks for confirming. Which types of assignments are you willing to accept: four-hour shifts, twelve-hour day shifts, twelve-hour night shifts, and live-in shifts?
01:23 · Candidate
Hour day fifth and twelve hour shift.
01:29 · Care Hero
Thank you. Just to confirm, are you willing to accept four-hour shifts and twelve-hour day shifts?
01:36 · Candidate
Yes.
01:37 · Care Hero
Are you willing to accept twelve-hour night shifts or live-in shifts?
01:43 · Candidate
Yes. I can do twelve hour night too.
01:46 · Care Hero
I really appreciate you taking the time to chat with us, it was great speaking with you.
01:51 · Care Hero
Thanks again, and have a wonderful day!
01:54 · Candidate
Thank you.
What happens on the call
- 01
The AI introduces itself. It says it is an AI recruiter and that the call is recorded.
- 02
It asks screening questions. Experience, availability, hours, shift types and skills like lift training or dementia care.
- 03
It follows up when an answer is unclear. Lift training? It asks: manual lift, electric lift or both.
- 04
It reads your schedule back to you. You confirm or correct it before the call ends.
- 05
Your team gets the results. Every candidate is scored against your criteria. Those who clear your score book their own interview time.
Real interview recording, edited for length. Candidate and agency names have been removed. Original voices and responses are preserved.
Your turn
Try the AI interview.
Step into a caregiver's shoes and talk to our AI.
What should you do next?
Look at last month's applicants and count how many you spoke to on the day they applied. In a small labor pool, that number decides how many client hours you can staff.
For your agency
Bring Care Hero to your team.
Book a 20-minute intro call to talk about your hiring needs.
Integrity In-Home Care: results from Integrity In-Home Care in Portland, OR; time to hire: Care Hero data, Sep 26 to Oct 29, 2026, small sample. Impact Home Health: results from Impact Home Health, Kansas, with one recruiter; 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); before: Impact's estimate of 3 to 4 weeks to start a caregiver (Jul 2026). BrightStar Care of Birmingham: one BrightStar Care franchise office, Birmingham, Michigan; time to hire: Care Hero data, May 8 to Oct 29, 2026 (hires marked in Care Hero). Premier Comfort Care: one office in California with one recruiter; time to hire: Care Hero data, Sep 21 to Oct 29, 2026 (hires marked in Care Hero). BrightStar Care of Greater Chester County: one BrightStar Care franchise office, non-clinical recruitment; before: the office's own figures (Dec 2025 to Mar 2026; 52 days is an average); time to hire: Care Hero data, Mar 11 to Oct 29, 2026. Home Instead: 275+ hires: hires marked in Care Hero by Home Instead franchise offices in OK, TX and NC, Dec 19, 2025 to Nov 9, 2026. Michael Boyd's three offices (Owasso and Vinita, OK; Round Rock, TX): time to hire: Jun 1 to Oct 28, 2026, from the offices' own records; after-hours share: Care Hero data, Dec 19, 2025 to Nov 9, 2026; screening speed: Care Hero data, Jun 1 to Oct 17, 2026; before: the offices' January 2026 estimate. After hours = before 8 a.m., from 4 p.m. or weekends, local time. Individual results vary. BrightStar Care and Home Instead are registered trademarks of their owners.