Staffing Solutions 101: When Should You Hire Temporary vs. Permanent Admin Staff?

July 24, 2025

At first glance, it may seem that the light industrial, legal, accounting, and healthcare industries have little in common. However, they all face the same persistent challenge: securing and retaining reliable administrative staff.

Skilled admin staff are essential in every organization. However, there is a high demand for talented administrative staff, and the best tend to stay in their current positions. This is just one reason why embracing strategic staffing solutions, such as hiring temporary admin workers, is so important.

But when should you hire temporary admin staff over permanent workers? When does the flexibility of temporary admin staffing outweigh the stability of permanent placements? This guide covers temporary staff advantages, permanent staffing solutions, and more to help you find the best fit for your organization.

Understanding Temporary vs. Permanent Admin Staff

Before getting into the details of temporary vs. permanent admin staff, here are some quick definitions of both for clarity:

What are Temporary Admin Staff?

Temporary admin staffing is the process of hiring clerical workers for a finite period. These workers are technically employees of the staffing agency, although they work at your company. Temporary admin staff can cover employee absences, assist with specific projects, or help manage seasonal workload peaks, among other assignments.

What are Permanent Admin Staff?

Permanent admin staff, on the other hand, are the individuals you hire directly onto your company’s payroll for an indefinite period.

Benefits of Hiring Temporary Admin Staff

Hiring temporary admin staff is an excellent solution for immediate challenges and short-term needs. Here are the advantages of temp staffing:

Flexibility and scalability: Sectors such as light industry or accounting tend to have busy seasons and fluctuating workloads. Temporary staff allows you the flexibility to scale your administrative team for large manufacturing orders or tax season.
Cost-effectiveness for short-term projects: Certain tasks require a substantial amount of effort over a brief period. Think of document review in a legal department or a data entry project. Hiring clerical workers temporarily is a cost-effective solution, as it avoids the long-term admin staffing costs such as payroll, benefits, and onboarding.
Access to specialized skill sets: Temporary staffing solutions provide immediate access to a pre-vetted pool of talent with the niche skills you need for a specific task.

Benefits of Hiring Permanent Admin Staff

Of course, there are some advantages to permanent hires. When you find the right people, you can build a long-term administrative team of institutional experts in your organization. Some of the benefits of hiring permanent admin staff include:

Consistency and stability: A permanent team member can become like family. The stability they offer ensures that critical institutional knowledge is retained and that daily operations run smoothly.
Long-term relationship building: Permanent administrative staff become a familiar face to clients, vendors, and the rest of your team. Stronger, more meaningful work relationships tend to develop between long-term employees.
Nurturing internal talent and growth: Hiring clerical workers with a long-term vision allows you to invest in their professional development. A promising administrative assistant today could become your office manager tomorrow.

Factors to Consider When Choosing Temporary or Permanent Staff

So, which is better for your organization, temporary or permanent admin staff? It really depends on the role and the current state of your company. Consider these factors to find the most effective staffing solutions at any given time:

Budget constraints: If you can’t commit to a long-term salary and benefits package, temporary admin workers are one of the best financially flexible staffing options.
Nature and duration of projects: Ongoing tasks tend to be better served by permanent workers, but temporary admin staff are ideal for projects with a clear end date.
Organizational culture and needs: If a particular role can benefit from long-term relationships, look into a permanent hire. Consider temporary staff for more task-oriented functions.
Future staffing goals: A permanent hire is an investment in your company’s future growth. On the other hand, a temp-to-hire arrangement can be a great way to test a candidate’s fit before making a long-term commitment.

Your Partner for Smarter Staffing

Temporary admin staffing provides flexibility and immediate access to specialized skills. Permanent staff are great for building relationships and retaining institutional knowledge. Which is right for you? Ultimately, the question of permanent vs. temporary employees is not an either/or decision. The most effective staffing solutions often involve a strategic blend of both.

You don’t have to make these decisions alone. Snelling Staffing is here to be your partner for hiring clerical workers and your other office staffing needs. To get started, contact Snelling Staffing today.