case study
How Serene Home Care’s leadership regained 25 hours per week
Location:
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Role filled:
Administrative Assistant
Industry:
Home Care
In this post
Hear from Jean
The challenge
Serene Home Care was in a familiar stage of growth. The work was expanding, but so were the demands on leadership time. In fact, they found themselves balancing quality initiatives, staff communication, administrative projects, and day-to-day operations. They knew they needed a sustainable way to create more capacity while keeping costs manageable.
Like for many agency owners, Ericka had some hesitation about bringing on a remote team member for the first time. She was very clear that she did not want a disconnected contractor handling isolated tasks. The concern was less about capability and more about fit: whether someone outside the office could realistically step into the rhythm of the agency without creating extra coordination work or slowing down already established processes.
The solution
Serene Home Care partnered with SallySupport to bring in a dedicated remote Support Specialist, Jean, who was embedded into the agency’s day-to-day operations from the start. She was introduced as part of the internal workflow, participating in regular communication channels and working closely with both leadership and office staff.
During the first 30 days, Jean supported a variety of initiatives, including:
- Quality management projects
- Process improvement documentation
- Administrative support
- Staff communication and follow-up
- Phone and text outreach using RingCentral
- General operational assistance
Results after 30 days
A team member, not just a remote contractor
One of the biggest successes was how quickly Jean became integrated into the company culture. She built strong relationships with leadership and office staff while quickly learning the agency’s processes and expectations.
What began with natural hesitation around bringing in a remote team member quickly shifted once day-to-day collaboration began. The initial concern about distance and fit faded as communication and alignment with the team became consistent in practice. According to the owner, Ericka,
“I feel like she’s a core part of the team already.”
Increased administrative capacity
Jean quickly progressed from training and shadowing into meaningful contributions across the business. The owner noted that the VA understood projects quickly, worked collaboratively, and was able to assist with quality management initiatives and operational tasks with minimal supervision. Her work quickly became independent and proactive, creating much-needed capacity for the team.
Crucially, this translated into a noticeable reduction in the day-to-day administrative load sitting with leadership. Instead of spending time helping their team to catch up on tasks or following up on details, leadership was able to step out of constant “maintenance mode” and refocus their attention on higher-value priorities.
“It’s actually given me a little bit of freedom”, said Ericka. “We see the value in partnering with SallySupport, it allows us to be able to work on the business by creating time to engage in the community.”
Proactive communication built trust early
Strong communication became one of the defining characteristics of the relationship. Just like with any team member, remote or not, Jean completes daily reports and provides proactive updates to keep the team informed on her work. She also meets regularly with her manager to review priorities, discuss tasks that require additional input, share feedback, and receive critical updates that may impact her work. This steady communication cadence helped establish clarity across day-to-day tasks. Leadership was able to stay informed on progress without needing to request status updates.
Over time, this created a more predictable flow of work and made delegation easier, with fewer follow-ups required to maintain alignment. The impact extended beyond leadership. Office staff regularly commented on Jean’s initiative and willingness to stay ahead of tasks. According to Ericka:
“My staff here, they like her. They work with her well. They say she’s asking before we even tell her. She’s on it.”
Client feedback
The owner described the experience as exactly what she had been looking for when searching for administrative support. She highlighted Jean’s fast learning curve and how quickly things fell into place. Jean was able to understand both the operational side of the work and the people behind it, which made collaboration feel seamless across the team.
Overall, the experience aligned closely with what the agency needed at this stage of growth: dependable, sustainable support that reduces pressure on leadership without breaking the bank.
The SallySupport difference
At SallySupport, our goal is to help home care agencies strengthen their operations by adding dedicated remote professionals who work alongside local teams, increase capacity, improve responsiveness, and allow leadership to focus on growth.
For Serene Home Care, that meant finding a team member who could quickly integrate into the organization and begin creating value within the first month.
Hear from Jean
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