What Is Temp Staffing & How Does it Work?

Last Updated December 16, 2025

Not all businesses need full-time staff year-round. Seasonal demand, sudden vacancies, or short-term projects all require specialized temporary staffing to fill the gaps. With temp staffing, companies bring in skilled workers on a short-term basis through a specialized staffing agency. This option is both cheaper and more efficient than hiring employees in-house.

While it may sound similar to recruiting, temporary staffing is different. Learn how temporary staffing works, why it’s so helpful, and how it compares to other types of staffing.

What Is Temporary Staffing?

Temporary staffing brings in workers on a short-term basis, usually through an agency. Instead of hiring permanent employees, these temp workers fill in the gaps and help manage peaks in demand. Temp staffing is helpful for many situations, including:

• Fluctuations in workload and demand
• Unexpected absences
• Short-term projects

Temporary staffing is just one of several staffing strategies that businesses can use. This arrangement is best for time-limited employment arrangements, giving both employers and workers a flexible option to pick up work as needed.

How Does Temporary Staffing Work?

Temp staffing involves agencies connecting with employers who if immediate temporary hiring needs. Perhaps it’s for a short-term project, to cover holiday or maternity leave, or to manage a seasonal spike in business.

Once a contract is signed, candidates are then identified and sourced by the temp agency. The agency interviews and screens candidates, also handling payroll, training, and compliance-related tasks as they’re being onboarded. Once the agency finds a suitable match, the worker begins working at the company under a temporary arrangement.

While the company supervises the worker’s day-to-day tasks, the temp agency remains the legal employer, managing everything from benefits and payroll to taxes.

At the end of the assignment, the worker usually moves on to a different job or company. In some cases, the company might choose to bring them on permanently, which is a process called conversion.

Why Do Companies Use Temporary Staffing?

Temporary staffing isn’t a fit for all businesses, but many companies rely on this model for the flexibility it offers. Companies will use temporary staffing in several situations, such as:

• Skill-specific support: Many companies need specialized skills for a fixed period of time. Temp staffing fills the gaps to streamline everything from software rollouts and audits to events and product launches.
• Trial employment: Temporary placements allow employers to “try before they hire.” This approach minimizes staffing risks associated with a potentially poor long-term fit.
• Few internal resources: Not all businesses have HR or hiring departments. Working with a temp staffing agency avoids the time-consuming process of recruiting and screening candidates internally.
• Cost control: Instead of investing in recruiting, onboarding, and full-time benefits, businesses can fill roles while keeping expenses under control.

Benefits of Temp Staffing

Temporary staffing benefits everyone, from organizations in need of talent to workers who want flexible career options.

For Employers

Employers enjoy many benefits from working with a temporary staffing agency, including:

• Greater flexibility: Companies can quickly scale their teams up or down without long-term commitments.
• Cost efficiency: Permanent hires are expensive. Temp workers have lower financial overhead and are only active when there’s work to be done. Although staffing service prices differ, they’re still cheaper than hiring full-time workers internally.
• Faster hiring: Because a temporary staffing agency already has a talent pool available, companies avoid the delays of sourcing and screening candidates themselves.

For Employees

Temporary staffing offers time- and cost-savings for companies, but it’s also a great arrangement for workers. From an employee perspective, this arrangement provides:

• Flexibility and variety: Temporary roles let workers explore different industries, gain experience, and choose assignments that fit their schedules.
• Professional development: Temps gain exposure to new tools, workflows, and environments, which can help strengthen their resumes.
• Speedy job placement: Agencies match workers with opportunities quickly, sometimes within days. That’s much faster than traditional job-hunting, which can take months.
• Additional support: Agencies provide guidance, payroll management, and workplace assistance, which reduces uncertainty for workers entering new roles.
• Opportunities for future permanent roles: Many temp jobs evolve into long-term positions once employers find a great fit. It can be a smart arrangement for employees who just need to get their foot in the door.

Challenges Associated With Temporary Staffing

Temporary staffing is convenient, but it does come with some unique risks. Understand these common challenges of temporary staffing to adapt more effectively:

• Finding talent: Temporary staffing agencies are always looking for top-quality talent. Unfortunately, many high-quality candidates are already in full-time roles (or seeking them), so it can be hard to fill some positions. That’s especially true during peak seasons or on short notice.
• Training time: Many temporary workers need onboarding and training time to integrate into a business, which can initially stall productivity.
• Turnover: Temp roles are short-term by design. Unfortunately, this means teams experience frequent turnover, which can affect performance.
• Communication concerns: The agency acts as the middleman between the worker and the company. Without careful management, this arrangement can cause communication breakdowns and misunderstandings.

While there are some temp staffing risks, many companies find the tradeoffs are still worth the productivity and cost savings. Instead of avoiding temp staffing, companies should have a plan in place to maximize temp worker productivity. This way, companies can fully benefit from a flexible workforce model while minimizing the risks along the way.

Temp Staffing vs. Direct Hire Staffing

Temp staffing employs workers through an agency for a short-term assignment. Direct hire staffing (also called permanent placement) occurs when the employer hires a candidate without using an agency.

The challenge is that direct hires take much more time and often entail a higher upfront cost for the employer. Many companies invest a lot of time into this process to ensure they find the right fit, since they’re looking to fill long-term roles. On the flip side, temp staffing is faster and cheaper, but it’s not a good fit for filling long-term roles.

Temp Staffing vs. Temp-to-Hire Staffing

Temp staffing is strictly short-term: the worker completes an assignment, and the relationship ends. Temp-to-hire staffing gives the company the option to bring the temporary worker on as a permanent employee after a trial period.

Temp-to-hire reduces temporary staffing risks for the employer. They get to evaluate the employee’s fit during the temp period before committing to a permanent hire. From the worker’s side, temp-to-hire offers more stability and a potential path to full employment, while temp staffing is better for people who want short-term roles.

In-Summary: What Is Temp Staffing?

Temp staffing isn’t a fit for all situations, but in many cases, this flexible workforce strategy can help employers stay agile. It also gives workers access to short-term work and professional development.

This model offers so many advantages, from scalability to easier access to talent. Still, there are some challenges of temporary staffing that businesses should account for. Partnering with a reputable staffing firm will make all the difference.

Implemented thoughtfully, temporary staffing can be more than a stopgap. It’s a smart and simple way to align workforce planning with business needs, no matter how quickly they change.

Michael McCareins

Michael McCareins is the Content Marketing Associate at altLINE, where he is dedicated to creating and managing optimal content for readers. Following a brief career in media relations, Michael has discovered a passion for content marketing through developing unique, informative content to help audiences better understand ideas and topics such as invoice factoring and A/R financing.