How do temp agencies manage candidate availability?
The simplest method that works is a weekly record of who is free, booked or off each day, built from each temp's usual pattern plus the changes they mention. Refresh it with a ring round at the start of the week and update it when a booking is made or cancelled, so the desk sees who is free before calling.
Last checked 26 October 2026.
Three states for each day
Keep each day to one of three answers: free, booked or off. Free means they have told you they can work. Booked means you have put them on a shift. Off means they cannot, for any reason, and you do not need to record why.
It is tempting to add mornings, afternoons and nights, or "maybe". Every extra state is one more thing to keep current, and an out-of-date detail is worse than a simple answer. If a temp only does nights, put that in their notes or skills and keep the day itself simple.
A usual week, plus changes
Temps often have a pattern: weekdays only, weekends only, school hours, nights. Record it once as their usual week, then record exceptions against the date, not the pattern. A dentist appointment on Thursday changes Thursday; next week starts from the usual pattern again without anyone touching it.
When a temp tells you their pattern has changed for good, such as a new course or a second job, update the usual week itself.
Where availability goes stale
- Bookings. A shift booked and not marked means the next consultant rings someone who is already working.
- Cancellations. A cancelled shift not freed up loses you a person you could have placed.
- Things temps mention in passing, on another call or in a text, that never get written down.
- Time. Availability you have not checked for a month is a guess. Record when each person was last checked.
The fix is to make bookings change availability automatically and to check everyone at a regular point each week. See how to run a ring round.
Ways of tracking it compared
| Method | Works well for | Where it breaks |
|---|---|---|
| Whiteboard | One office, a small bench, one person booking | Not visible from a phone, no history, easy to wipe |
| Spreadsheet | One person, a few dozen temps | Two people editing at once, bookings not linked to availability |
| Group chats or texts | Quick replies from many people | Answers scattered across threads, nothing recorded per day |
| Shift-claim app | Large banks where temps set their own availability | Usually costs more; some temps never open it |
| CRM with a weekly availability strip | Several consultants sharing one picture | Still needs someone to make the calls |
Tie it to bookings and the rules
Availability is only useful if it stops mistakes. When you book, check that the shift does not overlap another one, including night shifts that run into the next morning, that the person has not said they are off, and that they are not on their seventh day in a row. Working time rules on rest and weekly hours still apply to temps: see how many days in a row a temp can work.
Tempbench, the CRM for UK temp agencies, gives every candidate a weekly strip of free, booked or off with a usual week and date changes. Bookings on the week planner mark the day booked and cancelling frees it. The planner blocks double bookings, overnight ones included, and warns on a seventh day in a row. Candidates cannot set their own availability; your team does.
Questions people ask
How often should a temp agency update availability?
Update it the moment anything changes, such as a booking, a cancellation or a temp telling you about a day off, and check everyone you work with once a week. A ring round at the start of the week covers this week and next, so the desk is working from current answers.
Should temps update their own availability?
It can work for large banks using a shift-claim app, but many temps never open it, and you lose the conversation where you hear about the spare Saturday or the van in the garage. Keeping the call, and recording the answers as they talk, avoids both problems.
Is a spreadsheet good enough for tracking availability?
For one person with a small bench, often yes. It struggles when two consultants edit it at once, or when bookings and availability live in different places and drift apart. That is usually the point to move to a shared system where a booking changes the day straight away.
What should availability record for each day?
Keep it to free, booked or off. Free means they told you they can work, booked means you put them on a shift, and off means they cannot. Put lasting preferences, such as nights only or no weekends, in their usual week or notes rather than adding extra states to each day.
Sources
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