How can I improve shift fill rates in my staffing agency?

Struggling to fill shifts quickly and consistently is one of the most common pain points for staffing agencies. Even more so when you're operating in fast-paced, compliance-heavy industries like healthcare, community support, and hospitality. Whether you're managing a pool of casual workers or juggling last-minute client requests, low shift fill rates can cost your business time, revenue, and credibility.

If you're wondering how to improve shift fill rates in your staffing agency, this guide will walk you through practical, tech-enabled strategies that actually work—particularly if you’re using or considering a workforce management platform like Entire OnHire.

What is a shift fill rate?

Your shift fill rate is the percentage of jobs or shifts that are successfully filled with an available, qualified worker. For example, if you posted 100 shifts last week and only filled 80 of them, your fill rate would be 80%. Most high-performing agencies aim for a fill rate of 90% or higher, especially in critical sectors like aged care, disability support, and hospitals.

Why shift fill rates matter

Improving your shift fill rate leads to:

• More revenue – More filled shifts means more billable hours.

• Better client retention – Clients stick with agencies that reliably fill shifts.

• Increased worker engagement – Fast, fair allocation encourages loyalty.

• Stronger reputation – Fill rate is a key performance metric for many tenders and preferred supplier agreements.

How to improve shift fill rates: 7 actionable strategies

1. Automate job matching with real-time availability

Manually matching candidates to shifts is slow and error-prone. With a smart platform like Entire OnHire, you can automate this process based on real-time availability, location, skillset, compliance status, and preferences.

Pro tip: Use software that auto-suggests the best-fit candidates and allows instant allocation to minimise time lost to manual calls or texts.

2. Use push notifications to alert workers fast

If you're still relying on emails or phone calls to fill urgent shifts, you're falling behind. Entire OnHire enables allocators to send push notifications directly to workers in the EOH Workforce App the moment a suitable shift is available.

We're all hard-wired to check phone notifications! This FREE real-time communication helps casual workers accept shifts with a single tap—speeding up the process and increasing acceptance rates.

3. Incentivise hard-to-fill shifts

Depending on your industry, late night, weekend, or remote shifts may be tough to fill (Maybe those are your most popular!). Offering small incentives like bonus pay, travel allowances, or shift priority for future bookings can make a big difference.

Use your workforce platform to tag and promote these shifts automatically.

4. Maintain accurate worker profiles

Outdated availability or expired credentials can prevent qualified workers from being matched to jobs. Ensure your system regularly prompts workers to update their profiles—and only shows available and compliant candidates when you're trying to fill a shift.

Entire OnHire automatically tracks credentials and flags issues before they become barriers to shift allocation.

5. Leverage auto-rostering and shift templates

Repetitive bookings can be automated. Use templates for regular client shifts, set up recurring jobs, and let the system auto-allocate from your preferred pool of workers. This reduces the admin burden and ensures consistency.

Smart rostering = fewer gaps + faster turnaround.

6. Segment your talent pool

Not every worker is suitable for every shift. Use custom tags or filters to group your workforce by skill, location, availability, or client preferences.

Entire OnHire lets you create intelligent talent pools, so you’re always sending the right shifts to the right people.

7. Track and improve your performance

What gets measured gets managed. Keep an eye on your fill rates by sector, client, and consultant. If one area is lagging, you can investigate why—maybe the pay is too low, or the shift information isn’t being sent out fast enough.

Entire OnHire gives you live reporting dashboards to track fill rates and optimise performance across your agency.

Common reasons for low shift fill rates

Understanding the root cause of unfilled shifts is half the battle. Some common culprits include:

• Slow response times from internal teams

• Outdated availability or expired compliance docs

• Poor shift communication (missing details, unclear instructions)

• Over-reliance on manual processes

• Lack of engagement with casual workers

Using a purpose-built staffing software like Entire OnHire helps you address all of these in one centralised system.

How Entire OnHire helps improve your fill rate

Entire OnHire is an all-in-one workforce management platform built specifically for staffing agencies in high-volume industries. Agencies that switch from manual rostering or outdated software typically see:

• Faster shift allocation

• Higher fill rates

• Reduced no-shows

• Improved candidate engagement

• Better client satisfaction

Our mobile app, automated workflows, real-time availability matching, and compliance tracking all work together to help you fill more shifts, more easily.

Consistency is key

Improving your shift fill rate is about working smarter, not harder. By automating repetitive tasks, optimising your workforce data, and delivering a seamless candidate experience, your agency can dramatically improve its performance and reputation.

Ready to fill more shifts with less admin?
👉 Book a free demo of Entire OnHire and see how we help agencies like yours grow.