Fall-Off
What a fall-off is in staffing and recruiting, how placement guarantees handle it, how to calculate fall-off rate, and how agencies prevent failed placements.October 4, 2026
3 min read
Running an Agency
Written by the NextCrew team
Definition
A fall-off is a placement that does not hold: the candidate never starts, or leaves before an agreed point. In direct hire it means the candidate leaves inside the placement guarantee period, which usually triggers a replacement, credit or refund. In temporary staffing it means a Crew Member drops off an assignment after accepting it.
What causes a fall-off?
Most fall-offs start before day one. The candidate made a commitment, then something beat it. The usual causes are predictable, which is why most fall-offs are preventable:
- A counteroffer from the current employer, the most common cause in direct hire.
- A competing offer that paid more or started sooner.
- A mismatch between the job described and the job found on day one.
- Silence between acceptance and start date, when no one confirms the details.
- Logistics, such as commute, childcare or a schedule that never worked.
How do you calculate fall-off rate?
Divide the placements that failed by all placements in the same period. Fall-off rate = fall-offs ÷ placements in the period × 100. For direct hire, measure each period only after its guarantee window has closed, or the rate will look better than it is. For temporary assignments, count Crew Members who accepted and then dropped off before the assignment ended.
Illustrative example: an agency makes 40 direct hire placements in a quarter with 60-day guarantees. Once every guarantee has expired, 3 have fallen off. The fall-off rate is 7.5%, and each one cost a replacement search or a credit.
| Direct hire fall-off | Temporary fall-off | |
|---|---|---|
| What fails | The permanent hire | The assignment |
| When it counts | Inside the guarantee period | Any time before the assignment ends |
| Cost to the agency | Replacement, credit or refund | Backfill effort and an unhappy client |
| First fix | Stay in touch between offer and start | Confirm and remind before every job |
How agencies reduce fall-offs
- 1Ask about counteroffers early
Before submitting, ask what would make the candidate stay where they are.
- 2Confirm the details in writing
Pay, schedule, location and start date, sent the day the offer is accepted.
- 3Keep contact until day one
A short check-in between acceptance and start catches doubts while there is time.
- 4Check in during the guarantee
A call in week one and before the guarantee ends surfaces problems the client has not mentioned yet.
Bottom line: a placement is not finished at acceptance. It is finished when the guarantee ends or the assignment is complete.
How NextCrew fits
For temporary assignments, NextCrew notifies Crew Members on assignment, reminds them 24 hours before with a one-tap acknowledgment, and shows the job as understaffed the moment someone cancels, so the backfill starts early. See job management and scheduling.
Frequently asked questions
Related terms
- Placement fee: the fee a guarantee protects.
- Conversion fee: what a client pays to hire a temporary Crew Member.
- Backfill: replacing someone who fell off.
- Submittal: where a placement starts.
- No-show: a missed job, not a failed placement.