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Caring Senior Service founder and CEO Jeff Salter is betting on a mixture of grassroots referrals, hiring mindset adjustments and AI-enabled actions to drive development via 2026.

Salter, who nonetheless operates a number of house care areas, stated hands-on expertise shapes a method aimed toward scaling extra effectively, enhancing caregiver workflows and finally attracting extra purchasers in an more and more aggressive market.

San Antonio, Texas-based Caring Senior Service supplies private care, respite and supportive care, in addition to specialty providers together with take care of Alzheimer’s illness and stroke. The founder-led group operates greater than 50 areas in 21 states.

Salter spoke with HHCN to debate his method to buying extra purchasers, constructing referral pipelines, altering the mindset of healthcare supplier recruitment, and the know-how that can allow these targets.

This interview has been edited for size and readability.

HHCN: What are your prime priorities for 2026?

Saltier: I nonetheless personal and function 5 areas, so I am a unique franchisor than most different leaders within the franchising and residential care business, in that I am nonetheless very a lot rooted within the precise day-to-day work that will get completed and the way we ship providers to individuals. So I run the franchise system with that mentality. That is to not say different CEOs do not care, however I simply have a unique perspective on it.

As a franchisor, one in every of our priorities subsequent 12 months is simply to actually assist us give attention to attracting extra prospects and extra development. To try this, various issues must occur. Before everything, we have to be really engaged in our communities and past and work with referral companions. But it surely additionally means we have to give attention to caregivers and discovering caregivers.

Discovering one of the best healthcare suppliers has all the time been a problem. It is by no means been simple, however admittedly, the final 5 years have been a harder problem for all of us. However I imagine that know-how is definitely going to open up some issues for us, as a result of whereas staff could also be displaced in some areas, I believe there can be a chance for us to have interaction a few of these staff in doing significant work. Casual care work could be very significant. It’s not menial work in any respect.

So [my priorities are] development, acquisition of healthcare suppliers, help after which the general implementation. We aren’t making an attempt to displace individuals with AI and know-how, we’re merely making an attempt to make work higher for everybody concerned: our purchasers, our caregivers after which our staff. So we’re actually going to give attention to AI tasks or know-how merchandise.

What’s your technique for constructing referral relationships?

Now we have the same technique as a system. We’re all following a method just like how we’ll construct these relationships, however actually every location must give attention to what number of sturdy companions they’ve.

We measure success primarily based on repeat referrals, the variety of instances a house care firm calls me with a difficult scenario and wishes me to assist with a affected person of theirs.

We just lately launched some further software program instruments that can assist our gross sales workforce be extra lively. Gross sales workforce members are within the subject speaking to those referral sources and companions. They’re challenged [by the fact] that there’s a lot happening. How do they preserve observe of all of it? So this can be a nice space the place know-how can step in and assist. We’re specializing in various instruments that can enhance their means to handle that giant variety of referral companions.

One in all your priorities is the acquisition of healthcare suppliers. What does the hiring panorama at the moment appear like out of your perspective?

I believe the issue is the strategies firms use; they’re making an attempt to draw the flawed sort of healthcare suppliers, and they’re talking to the present workforce within the flawed methods. Should you change that place, one can find that it loosens issues up quite a bit. You get extra candidates, you converse to extra candidates and also you truly rent extra candidates in case you supply work that matches their expectations.

It is simpler stated than completed, however we have actually targeted on that work and we do not see an issue with the variety of functions we’re getting. We see no drawback with the variety of certified candidates we obtain.

We focus quite a bit on coaching internally to assist our workforce perceive, “Hey, do not preserve in search of what you assume is the right caregiver as a result of it is in all probability proper in entrance of you.” It’s a must to change your mindset to speak to them about assembly them the place they’re. It is a quite common time period, and that is one thing we actually must give attention to.

The final time HHCN spoke with Caring Senior Service, we mentioned your customized know-how stack and implementation. What’s the standing of that implementation and what are your targets on your know-how for the approaching 12 months?

Now we have rolled out our second technology of software program that permits us to handle all our purchasers, our caregivers and all of the scheduling – that is crucial factor. There we spend most of our time tailoring logistics to the shopper and making certain they arrive on time and full the shopper’s anticipated work.

So we have now rolled out all of our areas on the brand new software program, and now we’re shifting from a transition part into the brand new software program migration and really utilizing that software program in a manner that can make some progress.

We pay a variety of consideration to the effectivity of the employees. We used to must put an advert within the newspaper and other people needed to write their names on 25 items of paper to get issues completed. And surprisingly, that also exists greater than not in our business. Ten years in the past, we modified that with our first model of our software program in order that our purpose was for a caregiver to enter her identify into the appliance as soon as and by no means must sort her identify once more.

We combine with voice know-how so that folks can even have voice brokers that may converse forwards and backwards to fill out a progress notice, for instance. We’re shifting to know-how the place the caregiver can reply to a voice agent and say, “I completed my work with Ms. Jones right now and I’ve accomplished all required duties.” After which that type is about to be stuffed out and sensible questions are requested to make clear a number of issues if uncertain. It makes it even simpler for the caregiver to give attention to what’s necessary, which is caring for the shopper, spending time with the shopper and never having to stick to the company’s laborious processes. As a result of that’s what frustrates healthcare suppliers.