Holding a 90% fill rate through winter
Seasonal pressure meant unfilled shifts and strained client relationships.
A healthcare staffing agency supplying locum nurses and allied health professionals across the Midlands was consistently dropping below 70% fill rates during winter months. Unfilled shifts were damaging client relationships, triggering penalty clauses, and pushing permanent staff into unsustainable overtime.
What the client was up against
Between November and March, demand for locum nurses and AHPs spiked well beyond the internal team’s capacity. With only four consultants, the agency couldn’t handle the volume of sourcing, credentialing, and booking required during peak season. Unfilled shifts were triggering penalty clauses on two framework contracts, straining NHS trust relationships, and leading to a pattern of reactive, last-minute fills that pleased no one. The previous winter’s fill rate had averaged just 68%.
How Audentia solved it
Audentia provided an embedded locum support team of two, operating from November through March, focused exclusively on candidate sourcing, compliance verification, and shift-fill coordination. We sourced from dormant agency databases, professional networks, and direct outreach to qualified candidates not currently registered with any agency. Every candidate was fully credentialed and booking-ready before being presented. We maintained a shared live dashboard tracking fill rates by week, unfilled shifts, and candidate availability by specialty and geography.
Results that lasted
The client maintained an average 91.4% fill rate across the five winter months — up from 68% the previous year. Penalty clause triggers dropped from 11 incidents to just one. The Audentia team sourced and credentialed 87 new locum candidates, of whom 62 completed at least one booking during the engagement. Client satisfaction scores from NHS trusts improved from 3.2 to 4.4 out of 5 during the winter period.
Average winter fill rate (up from 68%)
New locum candidates credentialed
Penalty clause triggers reduced
NHS trust satisfaction (up from 3.2)
Our fill rates in the worst winter months were better than our previous summer performance. The difference was night and day.
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