For labour hire agencies, these trends present a critical shift. It’s no longer just about sourcing new talent, it’s about keeping the workforce you’ve already trained, placed, and built rapport with. Retention is emerging not just as a feel-good initiative, but as the fastest, most reliable way to meet client demand in a constrained market.
In this article, we explore why retention is replacing recruitment as priority #1 - and how smart agencies are gaining the edge not just by changing how they work, but by changing what they measure.
Why Traditional Tactics Are Breaking Under Pressure
Labour hire agencies are facing a demand-supply mismatch across sectors like construction, aged care, healthcare, logistics, and hospitality. According to Jobs and Skills Australia, hundreds of roles remain in persistent shortage. Meanwhile, casual workers have more options and less loyalty than ever.
Here’s what that looks like on the ground:
- ⏳ Time-to-fill is increasing across high-demand roles
- 💸 Ad spend is climbing, with diminishing returns
- 😤 Clients are growing impatient with slow turnaround times
- 👻 Ghosting and dropouts are on the rise
If your only strategy is outspending competitors on job boards, you’re fighting an uphill battle.
Retention Is the New Recruitment: Here’s Why It Works Faster
A worker who’s already trained, vetted, and proven on-site is exponentially easier to place again, not to mention less likely to churn. Redeploying talent you already know beats starting from scratch every time.
Here’s a quick comparison:
|
Traditional Recruitment |
Retention & Redeployment |
|
Cost per hire: high |
Cost per redeployment: low |
|
Onboarding time: days/weeks |
Onboarding time: hours |
|
Risk of no-shows: high |
Loyalty and reliability: higher |
|
Sourcing channels: saturated |
Talent pool: already built |
|
Limited candidate context |
Full performance history |
|
One-and-done mentality |
Lifecycle workforce approach |
Forward-looking agencies are embedding retention and redeployment into their core fulfilment strategy and seeing results.
Retention Metrics That Matter For Labour Hire Agencies
For labour hire agencies looking to boost redeployment and reduce reliance on fresh sourcing, tracking the right retention metrics is essential. With tools like Vincere’s recruitment analytics dashboards, retention is no longer just a mindset shift; it’s a metric-driven strategy. This section will unpack the five key performance indicators to help your agency retain talent and redeploy faster.
✅ 1. Redeployment Rate (%)
What it is: The percentage of placed workers successfully redeployed to another assignment after their first assignment.
Why it matters: A high redeployment rate means extracting more value from your talent pool and reducing time-to-fill for new jobs.
How to improve it:
- Tag “re-deployable” workers in your CRM based on assignment success, reliability, and client feedback
- Trigger automated reminders to recruiters 5 days before the assignment ends
- Offer incentives or bonuses for returning workers
How Vincere helps:
- Use the Temps & Contractors Dashboard to monitor redeployment and re-utilisation rates in real-time.
- Identify unutilised workers and take proactive steps to re-engage them.
Vincere Temps & Contractors Dashboard
✅ 2. Time Between Assignments
What it is: The average number of days between a worker’s completed assignment and subsequent placement.
Why it matters: Long gaps increase the risk of churn, workers go elsewhere or disengage altogether.
How to improve it:
- Build a “next role” pipeline for top performers
- Automate redeployment prompts before current roles end
- Pre-book talent on recurring or seasonal contracts
How Vincere helps:
- Leverage the Starting/Active Workers View to identify contractors nearing assignment end dates.
- Utilise Saved Searches to create lists of available workers ready for redeployment.
✅ 3. Drop-Off / No-Show Rate
What it is: The rate workers accept roles but fail to show up or drop out before completing the assignment.
Why it matters: No-shows frustrate clients, burn recruiter time, and damage your agency’s reputation.
How to improve it:
- Use confirmation check-ins via SMS before the start date
- Track and flag past no-show behaviour in your database
- Improve candidate experience touchpoints from acceptance to start
How Vincere helps:
- Implement Follow-Up Activities to maintain engagement with candidates between offer acceptance and the start date.
- Use Candidate Status updates to monitor and manage worker engagement levels.
✅ 4. Repeat Placement Value
What it is: The total revenue or margin earned from workers who complete more than one assignment with your agency.
Why it matters: Repeat workers are more cost-effective, need less onboarding, and tend to perform better on-site.
How to improve it:
- Offer premium shift access to loyal workers
- Prioritise high-LTV candidates when filling urgent roles
- Introduce tiered benefits or referral bonuses
How Vincere helps:
- Use the Contractors report in Vincere's analytics to monitor the number of workers with multiple placements, their upcoming availability, and their assignment history.
- Track which workers are generating repeat business by reviewing assignment frequency and billing value in the Temps & Contractors Dashboard
- Use Saved Searches to quickly identify proven, job-ready workers across different roles or industries
Vincere Contractors Renewed Report
✅ 5. Talent Pool Engagement Rate
What it is: The percentage of your database actively engaging with your communications (SMS, email, job alerts).
Why it matters: An engaged talent pool is more responsive, easier to redeploy, and less likely to drop off.
How to improve it:
- Segment your database based on role type, location, and availability
- Personalise campaigns with relevant opportunities
- Regularly clean and update your CRM data to remove stale contacts
How Vincere helps:
- Vincere's Temp and Contractor Dashboard gives you a report list of workers who have not been called in over the last 28 days.
- Implement Follow-Up Activities to schedule regular check-ins and maintain engagement.
Vincere Unutilised Worker Report
Retention Is Your Competitive Advantage
In a labour market where time-to-fill is climbing and sourcing costs continue to rise, the top-performing labour hire agencies are shifting focus from chasing new applicants to maximising the value of their workforce. Retention isn’t just a strategy; it’s your most efficient path to profitability and client satisfaction.
You can make faster, more informed decisions by tracking KPIs like redeployment rate, drop-off risk, and talent pool engagement and leveraging platforms like Vincere to monitor them in real time. You’ll place workers quicker, build stronger relationships, reduce churn, and free your recruiters to focus on higher-value work.
Winning in 2025 and beyond belongs to the agencies that treat casual workers not as transactions, but as long-term assets. Measure what matters, and you’ll fill roles faster, without burning out your team or letting clients down.