How Visiting Angels of Omaha and Norfolk Transformed Recruiting and Boosted Monthly Hires

How Visiting Angels of Omaha and Norfolk Transformed Recruiting and Boosted Monthly Hires

When Julie and Phil Labadie started Visiting Angels Omaha and Norfolk, they knew there would be challenges and discoveries they had never encountered before. 

Despite strong leadership and a solid reputation in the community, Visiting Angels of Omaha and Norfolk struggled to attract and secure enough qualified caregivers to meet demand. In a market with just 3% unemployment, competition for available caregivers was fierce.

The Labadies experimented with other recruiting methods. But after an exclusive two-day workshop with Augusta co-founder Samuel Sanchez, they dropped their other services completely.

After fully implementing Augusta — and rethinking how they approached hiring — Visiting Angels Omaha saw a dramatic shift:

• Average monthly hires more than doubled after only one month
• Interview attendance improved
• Internal stress levels dropped across the team.

The Heart Behind the Business

Visiting Angels Omaha began as St. Jules Home Care, founded by Julie and Phil Labadie. Julie’s background as a nurse as Phil’s experience running his own advertising agency led them to starting a home care agency, where they could combine their skills to help their community. 

They eventually converted to Visiting Angels and expanded into Norfolk, Fremont, and the greater Omaha area, building a trusted brand across their community.

Business boomed with the agency’s caregivers working around 2,400 hours per week across their service area. But as their client base grew, so did the pressure to hire.

The Challenge: “Nothing Was Working.”

“After a while, we were going flat on caregivers… nothing was working.”

The problem wasn’t that caregivers didn’t exist, it was that they were already working somewhere else. In a competitive job market – unemployment resting around 3% – every agency was fighting for the same limited pool.

They adopted Augusta after a strong recommendation from fellow Visiting Angels owner Louise Murphy, who saw a 37% increase in interview show-up rates after using Augusta.

Early on, however, results were inconsistent. One of their two locations was thriving on the platform, while the other lagged behind. This led them to continue experimenting with recruiting systems, never settling on one.

What would it take to replicate success?

The Turning Point: Understanding the System — and the Caregiver Mentality

Meghann, the only HR member of Visiting Angels Omaha, had been with Phil and Julie for two years when they invited Augusta co-founder Samuel Sanchez to deliver a two-day workshop about recruiting.

A chance encounter with Sam on one of Augusta’s Job Board webinars had led Phil to a realization: Visiting Angels Omaha and Norfolk were utilizing a fraction of Augusta’s power. 

“[Sam] got me all excited, and I said, you know what? I’m calling that guy. I’m going to bring him out here.”

Shortly after, Sam flew to Nebraska and spent two days onsite with the entire agency.

Dropping the Old System

Meghann had experienced the stress of recruiting firsthand. It was the devil she knew: she knew to expect frequent no-shows, constant caregiver churn, and quotas she could barely meet. 

“I could have 80 interviews scheduled in a week, which was overwhelming in and of itself, but maybe only 10 of them actually made the interview,” she recalls. “Like, it almost, not that it became a joke, but it almost became a joke.”

After Sam’s workshop, however, her work life took a 180° turn. Two small changes from the old system to Augusta created massive differences:

In-Person Interviews

When Sam visited, he emphasized the importance of in-person interviews and how they connect to the caregiver mentality.

In-person interviews allow for a better connection between applicants and recruiters. Applicants feel supported, and recruiters know they’re talking to a real person – plus, candidates who show up for in-person interviews are more likely to be the caregivers who show up to their shifts.

While Augusta supports both video and phone hiring, Augusta’s customers hire the majority of their caregivers from in-person interviews. 

Post-Interview Job Offers

Meghann’s face lights up: “it’s my favorite part.” 

One of the bigger changes that came about after the workshop was that Visiting Angels Omaha began offering candidates a job directly after their in-person interview.

The average caregiver is applying to 10, 15, even 20 agencies at once. Many caregivers are financially sensitive and the certainty of having a job means a lot to them. In competitive markets like Omaha’s, the agency that responds fastest, and removes friction, wins. 

Augusta does the work of screening applicants so only qualified candidates – those who are geoqualified and who meet the agency’s basic needs – reach the interview stage. That means that every Augusta applicant who walks through the door is more qualified than 70% of applicants.

Meghann can now afford to spend more time with each applicant, using her 6 years of HR experience to judge whether or not they would be a good fit for the agency at this time.

Her interviews frequently run longer than scheduled, so she can get to know the applicant better and get a sense of where their heart is. “If I feel comfortable talking to you, you’re going to be a great caregiver.”

The Results: 110% More Hires

Ever since Visiting Angels Omaha started giving job offers at the end of interviews, they now see caregivers go from application to orientation in an average of 9 days.

Of the 12 caregivers they hired in January, none have churned.

Beyond raw hiring volume, the agency experienced:

• Improved interview attendance
• Higher-quality applicants
• Reduced time wasted on unqualified candidates
• Lower stress levels for schedulers
• Stronger internal alignment between department

After adjusting their agency’s approach to hiring, Visiting Angels – Omaha and Norfolk were finally able to see the repeated recruiting success they had been looking for. With Augusta’s support, they built a stronger, more reliable hiring funnel to better help their community.

“And the applicants are becoming better and better.”

Work Smart, Hire Better

You’re 22x more likely to hire people who are qualified with Augusta. If you’re ready to turn your agency into a beacon for high-quality caregivers, schedule a consultation, contact us at hello@augusta.care or 844-202-1133.

For more information on Visiting Angels – Omaha visit https://www.visitingangels.com/omaha/home. For more information on Visiting Angels – Norfolk, visit https://www.visitingangels.com/norfolk_ne/home.