How temp-to-hire works: the 480-hour path from temp job to permanent offer

Your first shift starts at 6 AM. You clock in through a staffing agency, somebody hands you a vest and a scanner, and buried in the paperwork you signed is a phrase nobody stopped to explain: temp-to-hire. You understand the general idea. The job might turn permanent. What you do not know is how it turns permanent, when, or what you are supposed to do between now and then.

What temp-to-hire actually means

Temp-to-hire is an arrangement where you start on a staffing agency’s payroll while working at a client company, and after a set number of hours, that company can move you onto their own payroll as a permanent employee. At LG Resources, that threshold is 480 hours, which works out to 12 weeks of full-time work.

Think of it as a test drive that runs both directions. The company gets to see how you actually work instead of guessing from a resume and a 20-minute interview. You get to see the floor, the supervisor, the schedule, and the culture before you commit your next few years to it. Plenty of people take a temp-to-hire job, work three weeks, and realize the place is not for them. That is not a failure. That is the system doing exactly what it is built to do.

Here is the honest part. A permanent offer is never guaranteed. Nobody can promise you one, and any recruiter who does is telling you what you want to hear. What the data says is that the path is real and it is well traveled. According to the American Staffing Association, 35% of staffing employees were offered a permanent job by a client where they worked on assignment, and 66% of those workers accepted. Roughly half chose staffing work in the first place as a way to land a permanent job. Those are not lottery odds. Those are odds you can move.

Source: American Staffing Association staffing industry FAQs.

The 480-hour clock and how the temp-to-hire contract works

Most staffing contracts across the industry set the conversion window somewhere between 480 and 720 hours. LG uses 480, which is the shorter end of that range. That matters more than it sounds like it does. At 40 hours a week, 480 hours is about three months. At 720 hours it is closer to five. A shorter clock means you reach the decision point faster.

A few mechanics worth understanding before you start counting:

• The clock counts hours worked, not days on the calendar. If you are running 30-hour weeks, or you miss shifts, the 480 takes longer to reach. This is the single most common surprise workers run into.
• The staffing agency is your employer during the temp period. LG handles your payroll, tax withholding, workers’ compensation, and benefits. The client company directs your work, but they do not sign your check.
• Benefits do not wait. LG offers benefits from day one on assignment, including healthcare coverage at $20 per month or less per employee. That is unusual in this industry and it is worth asking any agency about before you accept an assignment.
• If the company wants you before 480 hours, they can usually buy out the remainder of the contract at a prorated fee. That is a conversation between the employer and the agency. It does not come out of your paycheck.

Here is how the three main paths compare:

For context on how common this work is: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics found that 4.3% of workers held a job that was temporary or not expected to last as of July 2023, and ASA reports that about 2.2 million people worked for staffing companies in an average week in 2024. You are not on some odd side road. You are on a main highway.

How conversion actually happens, step by step

Nothing about this is automatic. Hitting 480 hours makes you eligible. It does not trigger an offer. Here is the actual sequence:

1. You reach the hour threshold, or the client asks to convert you early. Either can happen. Strong performers get pulled forward all the time.

2. Your supervisor makes a recommendation. This is the step most workers never see. Somebody on that floor is asked whether you should stay, and their answer carries more weight than anything else in the file.

3. The client opens the position internally and puts together an offer with a wage, a title, a start date, and a benefits package.

4. You accept or you decline. You are allowed to decline. You are also allowed to negotiate the wage, and more people should.

5. The agency releases the assignment and you are onboard with the client. New I-9, new W-4, new handbook, new badge.

6. Your pay starts coming from the client on their pay cycle. Watch this step. Payroll cycles rarely line up cleanly, and a one-week gap in pay is common. Plan for it.

That is the whole machine. Six steps, two decisions that belong to you, and one step (the supervisor recommendation) that you influence every single shift without ever being told you are being evaluated.

Ready to start the clock? Browse open temp-to-hire positions on the LG Resources job board and see what is open near you this week.

Five things that get you converted

We have placed more than 20,000 people over the past decade, and the workers who convert tend to do the same five things. None of them require talent you do not already have.

1. Show up. Every shift, on time, every week. Attendance is the number one reason temps get passed over, and it is not close. Supervisors forgive a slow learner. They do not forgive a no-call, no-show.

2. Learn a second station. If you are on pick and pack, learn to run the scanner gun or the pallet jack. Cross-trained people are expensive to replace, which is exactly the position you want to be in when someone is deciding whether to keep you.

3. Ask for feedback at week four, not week 11. Walk up to your supervisor and ask one question: "What would you want to see from me if this turned into a permanent spot?" You now have a checklist and eight weeks to work through it.

4. Say it out loud. Tell your supervisor and your recruiter that you want the permanent role. Managers are not mind readers, and a surprising number of temps get passed over because everyone assumed they were just passing through.

5. Keep your recruiter in the loop. Your recruiter talks to the client. If you want the offer, they can advocate for you. If you go quiet for three months, they cannot.

And three things that will cost you the offer: skipping safety steps to move faster, treating the assignment as temporary in your attitude as well as your paperwork, and going silent when something goes wrong. Call your recruiter before a small problem turns into a finished assignment.

What a good staffing partner owes you

Not every agency runs this the same way, and the differences matter more than the job posting suggests. Before you accept a temp-to-hire assignment, you should be able to get straight answers to four questions.

• What is the hour threshold, in writing? If nobody will tell you the number, that is your answer.
• Do I get benefits during the temp period, or only after conversion? A three-month gap in health coverage is a real cost, and it should not be a surprise.
• Does this client actually convert people, or do they cycle temps? An honest recruiter will tell you.
• Who do I call when something goes wrong on the floor? You want a name, not a general inbox.

This is the standard LG Resources built the temp-to-hire program around. The 480-hour threshold is stated up front. Benefits, including healthcare at $20 per month or less, start on day one rather than after conversion. And because we fill roughly 250 positions a week across our Salt Lake City, Provo, and Roy offices, your recruiter usually knows from experience which clients hire their temps and which ones do not.

What it looks like when it works

Twelve weeks from now you could be walking into the same building, past the same dock doors, with a badge that has the company’s name on it instead of an agency’s. Same coworkers. Same forklift. Different paperwork, and a different future. You would have paid time off accruing, a wage you negotiated instead of accepted, and a supervisor who already knows exactly what you can do because they watched you do it for three months.

One Salt Lake Valley distribution operation we staff converted eight of the 11 temp-to-hire workers we placed with them last year. The three who did not convert were not fired. Two took better offers elsewhere, and one decided warehouse work was not for him and moved into clerical work. Every one of them left with 480 hours of verified work history and a reference.

That is the part worth holding onto. Even the version where you do not get the offer leaves you further ahead than the version where you sat home waiting for a perfect posting.

Frequently asked questions

Does my pay change when I get hired permanently?

It can go up, stay the same, or shift from hourly to salary, and none of those is unusual. The client sets the permanent wage independently of what the agency was paying you, so treat conversion as a negotiation rather than a formality. Come in knowing what the role pays elsewhere in your market, and ask. The worst outcome is that they hold at your current rate, which is where you already are.

Do I keep my benefits when I convert?

Your agency benefits end when the assignment ends, and the client’s benefits start on their schedule. Many employers have a waiting period of 30 to 90 days for new hires, which means you can end up with a coverage gap right at the moment you thought you were getting more security. Ask about the client’s waiting period before you accept, and ask your recruiter whether agency coverage can bridge it.

What happens if I am not converted after 480 hours?

The assignment either continues on the agency’s payroll or it ends, and your recruiter starts looking for your next placement. It is not a firing and it does not go on your record as one. Often it has nothing to do with your performance. Headcount gets frozen, a budget gets cut, or the permanent role never opens. Ask your recruiter directly what happened so you know whether to adjust anything going forward.

Does overtime count toward the 480 hours?

That depends on the contract between the agency and the client, and it is worth asking on day one rather than week 10. Some contracts count every hour worked, others count straight time only. If overtime counts and you are running 50-hour weeks, you could reach eligibility in under 10 weeks instead of 12.

Can a company hire me before my temp contract ends?

Yes. Most agreements let the client convert early by paying a prorated conversion fee that covers the remaining hours. It is a common request for people who clearly fit, and the cost is handled between the employer and the agency. It never comes out of your wages.

Do I have to accept the permanent offer?

No. Nothing obligates you to take it, and declining does not burn your relationship with the agency. If the wage, the shift, or the fit is wrong, say so. Your recruiter would rather place you somewhere that sticks than push you into a role you leave in six weeks.

Does temp-to-hire work look bad on a resume?

It does not, as long as you list it clearly: the client company, the role, the dates, and the agency in parentheses. It reads as real work history because it is real work history. ASA survey data has found that nine out of 10 staffing employees said the work made them more employable, and hiring managers see temp assignments constantly.

How long after 480 hours does the offer usually take?

Typically one to three weeks, because the client has to route the requisition through their own approval process before anything reaches you. If you hit the threshold and hear nothing for two weeks, that is your cue to ask your supervisor and your recruiter where things stand. Silence is usually a process, not rejection, but you should not have to guess.

Start the clock

If you are ready to put 480 hours between you and a permanent job, talk to an LG Resources recruiter about a temp-to-hire assignment near you. We fill about 250 positions a week across warehouse, light industrial, manufacturing, and clerical roles from our Salt Lake City, Provo, and Roy offices, and we will tell you honestly which of them convert.