# The 2026 Recruiting Playbook: Less No-Shows and More Conversations — Rachel Gartner

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/home-care-hindsight-7020721/the-2026-recruiting-playbook-less-no-shows-and-more-conversations-rachel-gartner
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/home-care-hindsight-7020721/the-2026-recruiting-playbook-less-no-shows-and-more-conversations-rachel-gartner.md
Podcast: [Home Care Hindsight](https://stenobird.com/podcast/home-care-hindsight-7020721)
Published: 2026-05-19T11:04:53+00:00
Episode link: https://9f9165e2-f6a0-4fa0-9333-b5a984a4b130.libsyn.com/the-2026-recruiting-playbook-less-no-shows-and-more-conversations-rachel-gartner
Audio file: https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/9f9165e2-f6a0-4fa0-9333-b5a984a4b130/HCH_Rachel_Gartner.mp3?dest-id=4694632
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/home-care-hindsight-7020721/episodes/the-2026-recruiting-playbook-less-no-shows-and-more-conversations-rachel-gartner
Duration seconds: 2488

## Resource

Rachel Gartner, CEO of Carework, joins host David Knack to discuss the state of recruiting in 2026. Rachel shares her big mistake of running the old 2025 playbook where relying on free Indeed job postings and scheduling interviews caused massive inefficiencies. She explains how using AI to automatically schedule interviews actually caused her recruiters' live phone time to plummet. Instead of playing phone tag, Carework now uses AI to filter out unqualified applicants and immediately transfer ready caregivers to a live human. Lesson Takeaways: 1. Texting is Out, Calling is In: Texting engages caregivers but lacks commitment. Using AI to call candidates scales efficiently and connects you with applicants who are actually ready to work. 2. Stop Scheduling Interviews: Automated scheduling leads to massive no show rates and lowers recruiter efficiency. Instead, use AI to qualify candidates and transfer them live to a human. 3. Treat Scheduled Interviews as Missed Calls: If a candidate schedules a time, do not wait for the appointment. Call them right away because the first agency to offer a job usually wins. 4. Free Indeed Ads No Longer Work: You can no longer dump free job posts and hope for results. Agencies must sponsor their ads and stay in contact with their Indeed reps. 5. Let AI Handle Unqualified Calls: Recruiters burn out answering unqualified applicants or people ordering fast food. AI filters these out so your team only talks to qualified caregivers. Timestamps: 00:00 — Introduction to the 2026 recruiting playbook 02:29 — Rachel introduces Carework and staff recruiting 06:41 — The big mistake of relying on free Indeed ads 09:57 — Why caregivers are completely comfortable with AI 11:40 — The hot take that texting is out and calling is in 15:55 — Why scheduling in…

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