Almost every building uses agency staff at some point. Done thoughtfully, agency coverage keeps residents safe during a vacancy, a surge, or a leave of absence. Done by default, it becomes an expensive habit that can affect continuity of care and morale. The difference between the two is usually visible in the data, if you look at it the right way.
This post outlines how to tell whether agency use is working as a bridge and how to build a plan around it.
Start with the share, not the spend
Dollar figures matter, but they obscure the pattern. First look at agency hours as a share of total hours worked, by week, role and unit. That tells you how dependent you are and whether dependence is rising, steady or falling.
A bridge looks like a bump: agency share climbs when a few positions open, then falls as hires start. A habit looks like a plateau or a slow climb that never reverses.
The views that matter
Agency share by role
Nurse, aide and other roles each have their own labor market. A building might be well staffed on aides but dependent on agency for licensed nurses. Splitting by role helps you aim recruiting where it counts.
Agency share by unit and shift
If agency staff are concentrated on nights or weekends, the root issue is probably schedule design or shift appeal, not general hiring.
Open positions versus agency hours
Place open positions next to agency hours. If a position has been open for a long time while agency fills the gap, the question becomes why it remains unfilled: pay, schedule, location, process speed, or something else.
Repeat agency staff
Some agency staff return often and know your residents and routines. That continuity can be valuable and may point toward conversion opportunities, where permitted by agreements. Look at who is working repeatedly and how many hours they work.
Link agency use to outcomes you care about
Compare agency share against other signals in your own data: call-light response, overtime, turnover and resident or family feedback. You may find that some units perform equally well with high agency coverage, while others struggle. Do not assume; test it in your own building, and treat any patterns as prompts for questions rather than proof.
Build a bridge plan
When agency use is intended as temporary, give it an end date and a path.
- Name the gap. Which roles, units and shifts are open?
- Set a target share for each role and a date to reach it.
- Identify actions. Examples: faster hiring steps, a referral program for staff, schedule changes that make hard shifts more appealing, or float pool development.
- Review monthly. Is the share trending toward target? If not, which action stalled?
A hypothetical building might decide to reduce night-shift agency share for nurse aides over a quarter by revising night differentials and improving onboarding. The dashboard then shows whether the share is moving, week by week.
Watch retention as closely as recruitment
Hiring faster does not help if new staff leave quickly. Track 30, 60 and 90-day retention of new hires alongside agency share. If people leave early, look at orientation, preceptor support, scheduling and workload on the unit. Reducing agency dependence is often a retention project in disguise.
Be careful with contract details
Agency agreements vary, including rates, minimum shifts and conversion terms. Keep those with your finance and legal teams. The analytics role is to show hours, shares and trends clearly, so those conversations rest on facts.
Communicate fairly with your team
Employees notice when agency staff are paid differently or when they carry extra responsibilities for orienting temporary colleagues. Being transparent about why agency is used and what the plan is to reduce it respects your team and helps retention.
What to review monthly
- Agency share by role, unit and shift
- Open positions and days open
- New-hire retention at 30, 60 and 90 days
- Overtime share, so reducing agency does not simply push hours to overtime
- Progress against the bridge plan
Where CarePulse fits
CarePulse combines payroll, scheduling and HR data so agency share, open positions and retention sit side by side. If you would like to see how your own agency trend looks in that view, we can walk you through it in a demo.