How much of your working day is spent trying to find cover for shifts?
When someone calls in sick or a planned shift cannot be covered, it often falls to the manager to sort it out. That can mean working through contacts, trying to find someone suitable and making changes to the rota, all while keeping on top of the rest of the service. What should be a relatively straightforward task can end up taking far longer than expected.
Staffing will always come with its challenges. There will be times when people are unavailable and additional support is needed. The difficulty is when arranging cover becomes such a regular part of the day that other responsibilities have to wait.
The pressure is still there
There has been some improvement in the adult social care workforce. Skills for Care’s latest figures show that the workforce in England grew by 22,000 filled posts in 2025/26, while the vacancy rate fell to 6.2%, its lowest level since 2015/16.
Even so, around 96,000 posts remained vacant on any given day. For care providers, a growing workforce does not mean that every shift will be easy to fill. A service may have a settled permanent team and still need extra support when staff are off sick or demand changes.
For managers, the challenge is not simply finding someone who can work. They need to be confident that the person coming in has the right experience for the service and can meet the needs of the people they will be supporting.
Making the process easier
It may be worth looking at how much time is spent arranging cover and whether there are ways to make the process less reactive. Some staffing gaps can be anticipated, particularly where annual leave or training has already been planned. Others will happen unexpectedly, but having an established process for finding suitable cover can make them easier to manage.
Access to temporary staff can also help when the permanent team cannot cover every shift. The important thing is that additional workers are suitable for the role and understand what is expected of them. This is particularly relevant in services where people have specific needs or require staff with particular experience.
CQC’s guidance on staffing reflects this. Under Regulation 18, providers must ensure they have enough suitably qualified, competent, skilled and experienced staff to meet people’s needs. Filling a shift is only part of that responsibility; the staff on duty must also be able to provide the appropriate care and support.
A good handover helps make sure temporary workers understand the service and their responsibilities before they begin. It also helps the existing team work alongside them and maintain consistency for the people they support.
Giving managers more time to lead
Finding cover is an important part of running a care service, but it is only one part of a manager’s role. There is still a team to support, care to oversee and a service to keep running well. When too much time is spent trying to fill shifts, those wider responsibilities can become harder to manage.
At Halo Staffing, we support care providers when they need additional staff, providing temporary and flexible staffing across health and social care.
If arranging cover has become a regular drain on your time, it may be worth considering whether additional staffing support could make the process easier. The aim is to help you find suitable workers when you need them, without having to manage every part of the search yourself.
Find out how we support you, your staff and those you support by clicking the button below or calling our friendly team on 0800 368 9644 or email us at [email protected]
