Fill Rate

How to calculate fill rate

Start with a clean count of what was asked for. Every job order has a number of positions and a required start date. In the period you are measuring, add up positions requested, then subtract positions the client cancelled before the start date. Cancellations are not your misses.

Then count fills. The strict and most useful definition is a worker who actually started by the required date. A candidate who accepted but did not show on the first shift is not a fill. Some programs allow a grace window, for example a start within 48 hours of the requested date.

Report both versions:

• Position fill rate shows how much of the client's labor need you covered.
• Order fill rate shows how often you completed what you committed to.

For permanent recruiting teams, fill rate is sometimes defined as requisitions filled ÷ requisitions opened in a period. That version needs a time limit, or every requisition eventually looks filled.

Typical fill rate ranges

Honest benchmarks depend on the segment and how strictly fills are defined, but practitioners commonly see:

• Light industrial and warehouse, steady demand: strong suppliers often run 85% to 95% position fill rate.
• Peak season or large ramp orders: 70% to 85% is common, even from good suppliers.
• Clerical and contact center: often 75% to 90%.
• Specialized IT, engineering and healthcare contract roles: frequently 40% to 70%, because suppliers compete for scarce candidates.

In managed programs with several suppliers per order, an individual supplier's fill rate can look low simply because another supplier filled the order first. Look at the program fill rate as well as each supplier's share.

How MSPs and clients use fill rate

Managed programs score suppliers on a short list of metrics, and fill rate usually leads. A typical supplier scorecard includes:

• Fill rate
• Time to submit, how fast the first qualified candidates arrive
• Submittal to interview ratio, a proxy for candidate quality
• Show rate and early attrition, such as workers who leave in the first two weeks
• Compliance, such as complete onboarding documents

Top performers get first look at new orders. Suppliers that stay below the program threshold, often around 70% to 80% over a quarter, get moved to a lower tier or removed.

Fill rate on its own can be gamed. A supplier can hit 95% by sending anyone with a pulse. That is why programs pair it with quality metrics and 30-day retention.

Why fill rate matters in high-volume operations

For a client, every unfilled position has a direct cost. A fulfillment center that planned for 300 pickers and gets 255 either pays overtime to the people it has, ships late or both. A contact center that is 12 agents short for a training class misses its service level for months, because the next class is four weeks away.

For a staffing agency, fill rate is revenue. Positions not filled are hours not billed. A branch filling 85% instead of 75% on the same orders earns about 13% more gross profit without adding a single client.

How to improve fill rate

Most fill problems come from four places: unrealistic orders, slow response, weak pipelines and day-one no-shows.

1. Push back on the order. If the pay rate is below the local market for that shift, say so with data. A $1 increase can move fill rate more than any recruiting effort.
2. Respond in hours, not days. For hourly roles, contact applicants by text the same day and schedule them for an interview or orientation within 24 to 48 hours.
3. Keep a warm bench. Recruit continuously for repeat roles. Workers finishing other assignments are the fastest fills; good redeployment is a fill rate strategy.
4. Overbook for no-shows. If your day-one show rate is 80%, confirm 25% more starters than the order requires, and agree with the client how extras are handled.
5. Confirm and reconfirm. A reminder the day before and the morning of the start, with the address, parking, shift time and who to ask for, cuts no-shows noticeably.
6. Track by reason. Log why each position went unfilled: pay, shift, location, client rejected candidates, candidate no-show. The pattern tells you what to fix.

Common measurement mistakes

• Counting accepted offers as fills. Count starts.
• Including cancelled orders in positions requested, which punishes the supplier for the client's change of plan.
• No time limit. A position filled three weeks late is not a fill for a client who needed people Monday.
• Ignoring early attrition. A 92% fill rate with 35% of starters gone in a week is not a good result.
• Comparing across segments. A 60% fill rate on travel ICU nurses and a 60% fill rate on general labor mean very different things.