Managing a property—whether it’s an apartment building, office space, or shopping center—is a demanding job. You have to manage various responsibilities, from maintaining tenant satisfaction to ensuring legal and financial compliance. Many of these tasks are predictable, but unexpected issues—such as emergency repairs or tenant disputes—can easily add to the workload. This leads to a situation where there’s more work than there are hands to do it.
Some companies try to solve this by using floating staff—employees who move between different buildings or roles depending on what’s needed. While this can help, it often stretches workers too thin, and they might not always have the specialized expertise required for technical tasks. That’s where temporary staffing comes in.
What is Temporary Staffing in Property Management?
Temporary staffing, often through a staffing agency, involves using short-term employees to fill specific roles within a property management team. Instead of hiring full-time staff for every position, you employ temporary workers to help with seasonal needs, special projects, or unexpected staff absences. This ensures operational efficiency without overburdening the core team.
What Makes the Temporary Staffing Model Effective?
Temporary staffing is more than just a quick fix for short-term vacancies—it’s a strategic tool that enhances operational efficiency, prevents burnout, and ensures property management teams can meet both routine and unexpected demands. Here are five ways this model is particularly effective in property management:
1. Filling Skill Gaps with Specialized Expertise
Property management involves many responsibilities, from leasing and tenant relations to maintenance, security, and legal compliance. However, not every property management team has full-time specialists for every need. Temporary staff can fill these gaps by providing expertise in HVAC, plumbing, and electrical repairs, ensuring maintenance requests and emergency issues are handled efficiently.
2. Enhancing Flexibility and Scalability
Workloads can fluctuate throughout the year. Leasing offices can experience increased applications during peak moving seasons, while maintenance demands may increase during extreme weather conditions. Instead of overstaffing year-round, temporary staffing allows you to scale your workforce up or down based on demand.
Temporary workers can be brought in for seasonal leasing spikes, short-term projects like renovations, or to cover emergency staff absences. This flexibility ensures properties maintain operational efficiency without committing to unnecessary long-term hires.
3. Preventing Burnout and Improving Productivity
Overworked employees are more likely to experience stress, decreased job satisfaction, and reduced productivity. Studies show that high turnover in property management is often linked to burnout caused by excessive workloads.¹ Temporary staffing helps distribute tasks more evenly, allowing full-time employees to focus on their primary responsibilities without overloading them.
4. Cost-Effectiveness Without Sacrificing Quality
Hiring full-time employees for every role isn’t just expensive—it comes with many hidden costs. Benefits, paid time off, payroll taxes, recruiting, training, and lost productivity during onboarding can add up quickly. In fact, the actual cost of an employee is often 40% higher than their base wage when you factor everything in.²
Temporary staffing helps cut these costs while keeping your team fully supported. Instead of paying for full-time salaries year-round, you can bring in temp workers only when you need them—whether it’s for a busy leasing season, unexpected staff shortages, or special projects. This means no wasted payroll expenses and unnecessary overtime since temp staff can step in before your full-time team gets overworked.
Another significant advantage is that some recruiting agencies handle HR responsibilities, including workers’ compensation, payroll taxes, and onboarding. This reduces administrative burdens for property management teams, saving time and money.
5. Speed and Ease of Hiring
Unlike full-time hires, which require a lengthy recruitment and onboarding process, temporary staff can be sourced quickly through a staffing agency. These agencies provide pre-screened, trained professionals who can step in immediately, reducing downtime and ensuring continued operations.
This is particularly beneficial when a key employee resigns unexpectedly, a compliance audit is approaching, or a major project requires additional hands-on short notice. Since staffing agencies handle recruitment, background checks, and paperwork, you can focus on your core responsibilities while ensuring staffing needs are met without delay.
How to Use Temporary Staffing Effectively
Temporary staffing can be a game-changer, but only if it’s done right. Simply bringing in temp workers without a plan can lead to confusion, inefficiencies, and extra costs. To truly get the most out of temporary staffing, you need to be intentional about when, where, and how they use it. Here’s how to make it work:
1. Choose the Right Roles for Temporary Staffing
Not every job is a good fit for temporary staffing. You need to figure out which tasks need extra hands for a short period versus those that require long-term expertise. Temporary workers are best used for leasing support, maintenance projects, administrative coverage, and compliance inspections. Being strategic about where temp workers are placed allows you to fill gaps without creating unnecessary costs or complications.
2. Work with a Staffing Agency You Can Trust
The quality of your temp workers depends on the agency you partner with. A good staffing agency should understand the real estate industry and provide pre-screened, experienced workers who are ready to hit the ground running.
Look for an agency specializing in real estate and property management staffing, as they’ll better grasp the required skills. Also, check their screening process—does this property management staffing agency verify experience and run background checks? And how quickly do they respond to concerns? A responsive staffing agency that can quickly provide trained workers when needed is essential, especially for urgent situations.
3. Set Clear Expectations and Provide Training
Even if a temp worker has experience, they still need to understand how your property operates. A structured onboarding process will help them get up to speed quickly and perform their job effectively.
To do this, clearly outline their responsibilities so they know exactly what’s expected. A brief orientation covering key procedures, company policies, and property rules can prevent misunderstandings. Make sure they have access to the tools they need, whether it’s property management software, maintenance equipment, or security protocols.
This little upfront effort in training goes a long way in making sure temp workers integrate well and contribute effectively from day one.
4. Keep Communication Open and Provide Supervision
One of the biggest mistakes one can make with temporary staffing is assuming that temp workers don’t need guidance. Even skilled temps need direction to ensure their work aligns with company standards.
Assign a supervisor or point of contact who can answer questions and provide feedback. Regular check-ins help address issues early and ensure temp workers stay on track. Encouraging collaboration between temp staff and permanent employees also improves teamwork and helps temp workers feel included.
5. Use Temporary Staffing as a Hiring Pipeline
Temporary staffing isn’t just a quick fix—it can also be a great way to find long-term employees. Many property management companies use temp workers as a trial period before offering full-time roles.
The best way to tap into this advantage is to pay attention to high-performing temp workers who fit well with your team and work culture. If they prove to be reliable and capable, consider offering them a permanent position. If you don’t need full-time employees, you can keep a list of strong temp workers for future hiring needs. This way, you’ll already know who you can count on when the next vacancy comes up.
6. Regularly Review and Adjust Your Strategy
To make sure temporary staffing is working as intended, consider tracking key performance indicators like cost savings, workload balance, and overall efficiency.
Compare temporary staffing costs to hiring full-time employees to see if it’s the best financial decision. Monitor how temp workers are affecting the workload of permanent staff—are they reducing burnout and improving efficiency? Get feedback from both temp workers and permanent employees to identify any areas that need improvement.
If things aren’t running smoothly, adjust your strategy. This might mean refining job roles or improving onboarding. Regular evaluations ensure that temporary staffing remains a valuable and effective solution.
Read more: Mastering Property Management: From “Beginner” to “Expert”
Trust The Liberty Group to take care of your temporary staffing needs.
For nearly 50 years, The Liberty Group has been providing staffing solutions focused on helping property managers and companies find the right people to fill their vacancies. Whether you need leasing agents, maintenance technicians, or administrative support, we connect you with top-tier, pre-screened professionals who are experienced and ready to work at different property management jobs.
Whether temporary, temp-to-hire, direct hire, rapid hire, or executive search–our staffing services will match you with the perfect fit. Need payroll services, too? We’ve got that covered!
Contact us today and let us handle the hiring so you can focus on running your properties.
References:
- Flores, Gloria. “Effective Strategies Residential Property Managers Use to Reduce Workplace Burnout and Increase Workforce Retention” Walden University, June 2024, scholarworks.waldenu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=17282&context=dissertations.
- Navarra, Katie “The Real Costs of Recruitment” SHRM, 11 April 2022, www.shrm.org/mena/topics-tools/news/talent-acquisition/real-costs-recruitment