How to Use Temp Staffing as a Pipeline for Permanent Hospitality Hires

August 22, 2025

How to Use Temp Staffing as a Pipeline for Permanent Hospitality Hires

 

Many businesses use temp hospitality staffing to improve services during extremely busy seasons. For instance, a restaurant might bring on some food service temp workers during the holiday season. The increased number of weddings and concerts during summer often mean that companies turn to short-term event venue staffing solutions.

What happens after the busy season ends? Many businesses just let their temporary employees go.

That could be a mistake. Instead of seeing these employees as completely temporary, you could create a temp-to-perm employee pipeline that helps your business become more successful.

The Hospitality Hiring Challenge

The hospitality industry has a notoriously high turnover rate. Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) shows that hospitality had the highest turnover rate of all industries in 2021 and 2022. 

Those high rates were partially driven by the COVD-19 pandemic. However, the industry maintains a higher-than-average turnover rate in other years. For example, BLS notes that the overall economy had a 5.6 turnover rate in 2023. The leisure and hospitality industry's rate was 7.2.

What are some of the hiring challenges businesses in hospitality face? Common issues include:

  • Inconsistent scheduling that drives away reliable workers who have other life obligations, such as caring for children and aging parents
  • Seasonal peaks and event-based surges that attract people intentionally looking for temporary work
  • Inadequate pay and benefits that encourage workers to seek better opportunities
  • Late shifts that don't align with the common "9-to-5" schedules most people work
  • Inadequate training that makes people feel stuck in their positions, so they don't see opportunities for growth

Depending on your business, you might find it impossible to address some of these issues. For instance, a bar needs workers to work late. Hotels need employees who can arrive early before guests wake up.

You can, however, look for people who don't mind — or even enjoy — the factors that other workers dislike.

What Is a Temp-to-Perm Hiring Pipeline?

A temp-to-term hiring pipeline can help you find these workers and develop them into full-time employees.

A temp-to-perm hiring pipeline involves adding temporary workers to your schedule when you need them most. You can also think of your busy season as a way to identify top performers without making an upfront commitment. 

Instead of hiring a full-time employee you haven't worked with, you can use the testing period to determine which people can contribute the most to your staff. When you spot someone who excels, train them to fill other positions, watch them grow, and track their level of interest. It's a great way to find reliable workers who will stay with your business for years.

Steps for Building a Temp-to-Perm Pipeline

That might sound like a complicated process. Let's break it down into a few steps:

  • Clarify which roles are best suited for temp-to-perm positions
  • Work with a staffing partner to vet workers for long-term positions
  • Provide clear pathways and timelines to full-time status so workers have control over their careers
  • Gather feedback from supervisors and team leads so you know how temp-to-hire workers progress
  • Track conversion rates and adjust onboarding processes (every business will need a slightly different approach)

Hospitality Roles That Benefit Most From This Approach

Building a temp-to-perm pipeline can work for most positions in the hospitality industry. However, hospitality roles that tend to benefit most from this approach include

  • Housekeeping and guest services
  • Food prep, kitchen assistants, and banquet staff
  • Event set-up, cleaning crews, bartenders, and ushers
  • Front-of-house support 

These roles are essential to improving guest experiences and streamlining processes. If you have a core staff of committed, knowledgeable workers, your hospitality company is on a path to success.

Why Staffing Partners Make This Work

Making a temp-to-perm pipeline work depends on finding suitable candidates. That's one reason why it makes sense to partner with a staffing agency that can verify an applicant's work history, skills, and career goals.

Relying on a staffing partner also helps when you need to scale up or down based on demand. Choosing the right partner could even mean that you benefit from onboarding and training support.

Snelling Staffing is here to help make your hiring process more effective than ever. Contact an office near you to learn more about how we can coordinate with you to build a temp-to-perm pipeline in the hospitality industry.