Don’t Let December Undo Your Year: A Home Care Holiday Growth Plan

Your schedule is full. Your team is busy. Your agency is moving toward its annual goal. Then December arrives, several families pause care, a caregiver requests time off, and a large client’s services end. Suddenly, the year looks different.

During Approved Senior Network’s October 7, 2026 Mastermind, Dawn Fiala, Annette Ziegler, and Lisa Marsolais shared lessons from their years in home care. Their message: the work you do in October can help soften a year-end revenue dip and prepare your agency for January.

Why a full schedule can change quickly

The speakers described several pressures they encountered during the holidays: families visiting and taking over some care, clients traveling, caregiver vacations, and changes in referral activity. The loss of a client can also have a significant effect, especially when that person received many hours of care each week.

These patterns will vary by agency and market. But when several changes happen together, waiting until December to respond leaves less time to replace lost hours and arrange coverage.

1. Follow up with the families you already know

Before spending more to generate new inquiries, review the opportunities already in your CRM. Who asked about services but never started? Who postponed an assessment? Who completed an assessment but needed more time to decide?

Circumstances change. A family that was not ready in August may need help in October. Reconnect with a useful question: “When we last spoke, your dad was managing with help from family. How is that arrangement working now?”

Give every open inquiry a clear next step and an owner. “Follow up soon” is easy to forget. A scheduled call on Tuesday gives your team something specific to complete.

Also review current clients’ changing needs through your normal supervisory visits and caregiver communication. When someone needs additional support, discuss an appropriate care plan with the client and family.

2. Keep showing up for referral partners

Dawn, Annette, and Lisa described holiday periods when fewer competing agency representatives were making visits. In their experience, staying active created opportunities to connect with referral partners who had previously been difficult to reach.

Maintain your outreach and make each visit useful. Ask about upcoming discharges, offer a short educational meeting, or share a practical handout about the support families may need after returning home.

Be specific about the care you can actually staff. A referral partner needs a clear answer about your availability and a reliable next step. Confirm capacity with scheduling before promising a start date.

And acknowledge every referral promptly. You do not need a final answer to say, “I received your message. I’m checking availability and will update you this afternoon.” Silence leaves the referral partner wondering whether to contact someone else.

3. Plan holiday schedules with families early

A change in holiday plans does not always mean the family no longer needs help. A client visiting relatives on a regular care day may still need assistance with meals, laundry, or personal care earlier that week.

Start the conversation before the schedule becomes crowded. Ask who is visiting, which parts of the routine family members will handle, and where caregiver support would still help. Offer alternate days when they fit the client’s needs and preferences.

For example: “Since you’ll be with your daughter on your usual care day, would an earlier visit that week help you get ready?” Explain any applicable holiday charges before the family decides.

When services pause for travel, document the expected return date and schedule a check-in. A temporary pause should have a clear plan for discussing the restart.

4. Build caregiver coverage before you need it

Growing demand only helps when your agency can deliver the care. Collect caregiver availability early, identify uncovered shifts, and develop backup options before the holiday week arrives.

Help families become comfortable with more than one qualified caregiver when possible. Explain how a backup caregiver can learn the client’s routine and support continuity when the regular caregiver is unavailable.

Dawn also shared examples of holiday recognition and incentive programs she had used. The broader point was to recognize the people who make coverage possible. Communicate your agency’s holiday pay arrangements clearly and thank caregivers for the work they do.

5. Get outreach, scheduling, and recruiting working together

Dawn described focusing on clients who needed longer shifts or around-the-clock care as one way she built revenue before December. That approach requires recruiting and scheduling to be involved from the start.

If your agency is pursuing 12-hour shifts or 24-hour care cases, the recruiting team needs to know which shifts, locations, and skills are needed. A 24-hour care plan also requires a properly staffed schedule across caregivers.

Hold a brief weekly meeting to review upcoming assessments, likely starts, changing client schedules, open shifts, and recruiting needs. Every team should be working from the same picture of demand and capacity.

6. Help visiting families make a plan before they leave

The holidays can also bring new inquiries. An in-person visit may reveal difficulties that were less obvious during phone calls: trouble keeping up with meals, household tasks, or daily routines.

Prepare referral partners for the family who says, “We can help while we’re here, but we’re leaving next week. What happens then?” Explain how your agency can assess needs and help organize support.

When possible, arrange an assessment while the family is still in town. Include the older adult in the conversation and give everyone a chance to discuss concerns. A clear plan can help the family move forward before returning home.

What your team can put in place this month

• A scheduled next step and assigned owner for every open inquiry.
• Consistent referral outreach with accurate information about availability.
• Early conversations with clients about holiday schedules and travel.
• Documented caregiver availability, coverage gaps, and backup options.
• A weekly meeting connecting outreach, scheduling, and recruiting.
• Confirmed follow-up dates for paused services and potential January starts.

You cannot predict every change December will bring. You can give your agency more time to respond, help families plan, and reduce the opportunities lost to slow follow-up or unclear communication.

For a month-by-month staffing checklist, see avoiding the December home care revenue dip. For turning holiday visits into conversations with families, see holiday marketing for home care agencies.

For practical support with referral development, follow-up, and agency growth, learn more about GoCarePro® training from Approved Senior Network® at asnhomecaremarketing.com/gocarepro.