Happy Holidays! Give Your Agency the gift of a Strategic Plan for 2026
- Candyce Slusher
- Dec 22, 2025
- 3 min read
Annual planning is your chance to step out of survival mode and get more intentional about how you run the business.
Day to day, it’s easy to stay reactive. Schedules change, caregivers call out, referrals come in fast, and compliance tasks stack up. Without a clear plan, you end up putting out fires instead of moving forward.
This planning process below is meant to help you slow down, look at the full picture, and make smart decisions based on regulations, staffing realities, and where you actually want to go next year.
Here’s the framework to guide your planning!
1. Strategic Direction and Priorities
Before you talk about how things will get done, you need to be clear about where you’re going.
This year, you should:
Pick 1–3 clear goals for the year (like stabilizing staffing, increasing private pay, preparing for sale, or expanding services).
Be honest about what you’re not going to chase so you don’t stretch your team too thin.
Make sure your goals line up with your mission, payer mix, and comfort level with risk.
If everything feels urgent, nothing gets done well. Focus matters.
2. Regulatory and Compliance Planning
Compliance can’t just be something you deal with when there’s a problem. As part of your planning, you should:
Look back at surveys, complaints, incidents, and any plans of correction. Basically, check before the checkers come!
Check for new or changing rules, including state regulations, wage laws, and training requirements.
Build a compliance calendar so audits, policy reviews, and required checks don’t sneak up on you.
The goal is fewer surprises and less last-minute scrambling.
3. Financial and Operational Forecasting
Your plan has to be based on real numbers, not best-case scenarios. You should:
Review last year’s revenue, margins, overtime, and write-offs.
Set realistic census and revenue goals by payer type.
Budget for known costs like wages, benefits, insurance, technology, and training.
Take an honest look at your rates and whether they still make sense.
Understanding what actually happened last year helps you make better choices this year.
4. Workforce Strategy (Recruitment, Retention, and Culture)
Staffing impacts everything you do, so it has to be planned intentionally. This year, you should:
Look at turnover trends and why caregivers are leaving.
Strengthen your recruitment pipelines, including referrals, professional recruiting services, and community partnerships.
Budget for retention efforts like raises, bonuses, recognition, and growth opportunities.
Review your onboarding, supervision, and communication to make sure caregivers feel supported.
The goal is less constant hiring and more stability.
5. Quality, Risk, and Client Outcomes
Quality isn’t just about compliance—it affects your reputation, referrals, and long-term success. As part of planning, you should:
Review incidents, grievances, hospitalizations, and client feedback.
Identify high-risk services or situations.
Set a few clear quality improvement priorities.
Decide how you’ll track and review quality throughout the year.
Strong quality systems protect both your clients and your business.
6. Marketing and Referral Development
Marketing works best when it’s planned and realistic. This year, you should:
Identify your strongest referral sources and where you need to improve.
Set clear outreach goals and ownership.
Review your branding, website, and messaging.
Make sure what you promise lines up with what you can actually staff and deliver.
Sustainable growth only happens when marketing and operations stay aligned.
7. Systems, Technology, and Infrastructure
Your systems should make work easier, not harder. As part of planning, you should:
Review your scheduling, EVV, billing, payroll, and documentation systems.
Identify pain points that slow you down or frustrate staff.
Plan small, phased improvements instead of trying to fix everything at once.
Even a few smart upgrades can make a big difference.
8. Leadership Capacity and Succession
Your agency can’t grow if leadership is stretched too thin. This year, you should:
Look at leadership workload and where decision fatigue shows up.
Identify what can be delegated or better supported.
Plan for coverage and continuity, including unexpected situations.
Strong leadership systems give your agency more stability.
Pulling It All Together
This plan isn’t meant to sit in a folder and collect dust. To keep it useful, you should:
Keep planning focused and realistic.
Balance growth with compliance, staffing, and sustainability.
Clearly document decisions and who owns them.
Check in on progress quarterly and adjust as needed.
When you plan on purpose, you spend less time reacting and more time leading—and that’s what sets your agency up for a stronger year ahead.
👉 Are you thinking about starting your own agency or can we assist with their strategic planning? Go to SlusherConsulting.com and let’s get your agency ready for 2026!
Slusher Consulting will be in Houston, January 14, 2026 for an in person QAPI Workshop! This would be a huge gift to your agency as part of your strategic planning for 2026.
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