Koelsch Communities
"Smart Sourcing pulls together all parts of the recruitment process into one step. Less steps, more time saved and better hires."
Sydney Kuhn,
Koelsch Communities, a third-generation, family-owned senior living organization, needed a more efficient way to attract and hire qualified caregivers across its 40 communities. With high turnover and inconsistent sourcing results from traditional methods, the company turned to Indeed Smart Sourcing to streamline recruitment and improve candidate quality.
Background
Founded in 1958, Koelsch Communities operates nearly 40 senior living communities across eight states. Built on values of dignity, respect and exceptional care, the company is dedicated to providing the finest living experiences for residents. As a growing enterprise in a high-turnover industry, maintaining staffing consistency is key to upholding its mission.
Challenge
Recruiting in the senior living industry is difficult due to constant turnover and the need for reliable, compassionate caregivers.
Before Smart Sourcing, Koelsch relied on referrals, walk-in interviews and job fairs — approaches that produced volume but lacked quality and efficiency.
Key challenges included:
- High applicant volume but low fit, resulting in time-consuming vetting.
- Candidate ghosting and no-shows, slowing down hiring.
- Manual sourcing and filtering, leaving recruiters overwhelmed.
- Dependence on costly staffing agencies for urgent roles.
"We are very blessed to have a lot of applicants in all of our positions. However, are they the right fit, and are they here for the right reasons?"
Sydney Kuhn,
Koelsch Communities
Solution
In 2022, Koelsch partnered with Indeed to implement Smart Sourcing, a tool powered by AI and automation to connect job postings with qualified candidates.
With support from Indeed’s customer success and account teams, Koelsch was able to:
- Upload jobs and instantly receive matched candidates.
- Combine Boolean searches with automated AI-matching for greater precision.
- Streamline outreach and follow-ups through a simplified workflow.
“If we already have value from organic and sponsored applications, imagine the value when we can strategically source resumes ourselves.” — Sydney Kuhn, Koelsch Communities
Results
Smart Sourcing transformed Koelsch’s recruiting process:
- Higher quality hires – Achieved multiple one-to-one hire ratios (sourced, interviewed and hired from one candidate flow).
- Time savings – Automation reduced manual resume reviews and Boolean search complexity.
- Cost efficiency – Cut reliance on third-party agencies, saving hundreds of thousands of dollars annually.
- Exceptional ROI – Averaged over 1,000% ROI on Indeed sponsorship spend.
- Workflow improvements – Simplified processes freed recruiters to focus on top candidates.
“Smart Sourcing pulls together all parts of the recruitment process into one step. Less steps, more time saved and better hires.”
— Sydney Kuhn, Koelsch Communities
