How Akari Care Cut Registered Nurse Vacancies by 75%
For Akari Care, a growing operator with 31 homes across the UK, the challenge wasn’t attracting interest, it was turning high application volumes into the right hires, fast enough to keep services running smoothly.
“We never struggled to get applications,” says Michelle Morley, Recruitment Manager at Akari Care. “The issue was finding the right people efficiently, without burning time or budget.”
The Challenge
Like many care providers, Akari Care was feeling the strain of hard-to-fill roles, particularly registered nurses. Each vacancy had a knock-on effect, agency spend increased, rotas became harder to manage, and pressure built across homes.
At the same time, Michelle’s team was manually reviewing hundreds of applications per role, ensuring fairness but losing valuable hours in the process.
A smarter way to recruit
When Akari Care began reviewing their recruitment setup, the focus quickly shifted to data. Not more dashboards but insight that could actually inform decisions.
“We needed transparency,” Michelle explains. “We wanted to understand what was working by role and location, and be able to shift our focus as the business changed.”
Hire Intelligence stood out for its ability to bring everything together in one place, from job board performance to live vacancy data and crucially, for the flexibility it offered.
“It means we can be proactive, not reactive.”
Implementation was seamless. There was no downtime, no disruption, and no pause in hiring activity. Once live, Hire Intelligence allowed the team to:
- Switch campaigns on and off by role and priority
- Direct spend to the homes and positions that needed it most
- Remove manual admin through ATS integration
- Let the system handle distribution and performance in the background
“The ability to turn things on and off is huge,” says Michelle. “It means we can be proactive, not reactive.”
The result: fewer vacancies, lower costs, better reporting
The impact was clear and fast. Within months, Akari Care saw a 75% reduction in registered nurse vacancies, the lowest level the organisation had achieved in over three years.
That reduction didn’t just improve recruitment metrics. It had a tangible business impact:
- Fewer live vacancies across the estate
- Reduced reliance on agency staff
- Significant cost savings
- Recruiters spending more time speaking to candidates, not managing systems
For senior leaders, the difference was equally important. “I don’t talk recruitment speak in board meetings,” Michelle says. “Being able to show clear, simple data makes the conversation much easier.”
Support that feels human
Beyond the platform itself, Michelle points to the relationship with the Hire Intelligence team as a key differentiator. “The passion for the product runs right through the business,” she says. “You feel supported, not sold to.”
Account management remained consistent, transitions were seamless, and senior leadership within Hire Intelligence stayed visible and accessible when needed.
Looking ahead
With vacancy numbers down and recruitment activity stabilised, Akari Care is now focused on using its data even more intelligently. “It’s about building on what we’ve achieved,” Michelle explains. “Working smarter, not harder.”
And when asked whether she’d recommend Hire Intelligence?
“Absolutely,” she says. “Not just for care, it would work in any sector.”