The Hidden Powerhouse of Property Management
Why Supporting Your Maintenance Team Should Be a Top Priority
In property management, maintenance professionals are the hidden powerhouse behind resident satisfaction and renewals. On schedule or on call, they keep units and common areas clean, comfortable, and market ready. As the daily “face” of your community, their performance directly influences NOI, online ratings, and renewals. Supporting maintenance with training, clear on-call policies, and growth paths creates a durable advantage.
Why Maintenance Is the “Hidden Powerhouse”
Maintenance professionals are a key factor in resident satisfaction and retention. On schedule or on call, they work hard to ensure that units and common areas are clean, comfortable, and market ready. They’re the heartbeat of your operation and the first responders your residents rely on when something goes wrong.
For residents in multifamily communities, maintenance technicians are often the “face” of the company. How they are perceived directly influences NOI, customer ratings, and renewal rates. Supporting the maintenance team with what they need to be successful delivers a consistent strategic advantage.
NAA Survey & Podcast Highlights
In 2024, the National Apartment Association (NAA) more than 500 maintenance professionals across the country, representing a wide range of positions. The initial goal was to understand the on-call challenges for maintenance technicians. The results were surprising.
Michelle Childers, VP of Industry Relations at 海角乱伦社区, and Chris Caramanica, Director of Facilities at WinnCompanies, discuss the NAA Maintenance Survey results in this episode of The MRO Show.
Maintenance Career Concerns
When looking for new positions, maintenance professionals rank benefits and compensation as their top priorities. But, as the data was mined deeper, it became clear that career advancement was the #1 concern.
Maintenance professionals increasingly view their roles as long-term careers. They want growth paths, upskilling, and leadership opportunities. However, organizations do not always provide structured advancement pathways. Unsure of their prospects, experienced maintenance pros tend to look elsewhere, leading to high turnover.
Training and skill development are also key concerns, especially “soft skills” such as communication, teamwork, and leadership. Maintenance professionals want training in conflict resolution, resident communication, and mental health awareness. These skills are essential for improving workflows, team relationships, and resident interactions.
In addition to structured career ladders and training pathways, maintenance pros are looking for fair compensation and well-defined on-call policies and procedures.
“When expectations are clear and growth is real, teams stay—and residents feel the difference.” — Insights from NAA survey discussions
Clarity On Call
When maintenance professionals receive clarity, respect, and consideration, they deliver excellence. This is especially true when it comes to being on call.
Being on call isn’t just about answering a phone. It’s about constantly being in a state of readiness. It affects sleep, personal time, family obligations, and overall work-life balance. When expectations are unclear, the stress of the unknown becomes one of the biggest drivers of burnout and turnover in maintenance teams.
There are 3 critical factors here:
- Clearly communicated appreciation
- Transparent expectations
- Clear after-hours “emergency” call policies
When technicians feel heard and appreciated, loyalty increases. When they don’t, this leads to higher turnover, lower morale, decreased productivity, and longer response times—conditions that cause poorer resident experiences.
When maintenance technicians feel valued and management expectations are clear, everyone wins—the team, the residents, and the company.
Pro Tip: Publish a resident-facing on-call FAQ—what qualifies as an emergency, response times, and how to submit non-urgent requests.
5 Steps to Improve Maintenance Retention
- Respond to feedback from maintenance teams. Find out what they need and provide it when possible.
- Build and communicate a formal maintenance career ladder. Include pathways from porter → tech → supervisor → regional roles.
- Develop ongoing training cycles. Offer regular technical training, soft skills training, and leadership development.
- Implement or refine after-hours emergency policies and train staff at every level and communicate standards to residents.
- Normalize mental health conversations. Provide support tools and reinforce empathy and safety.
The Bottom Line
Maintenance professionals are the backbone of multifamily property operations. They protect your assets, your residents, and your brand 24/7. Supporting them, listening to them, and investing in their career development will deliver a strong competitive advantage.
FAQs
How can I measure the impact of maintenance on NOI?
Track work-order time-to-close, make-ready days, review scores, and renewal rate by property; correlate trends to training and on-call policy changes.
What’s a good starting point for a career ladder?
Define titles, competencies, pay bands, and required certifications for each level; publish internally and review twice yearly.
Why do maintenance teams power property management results?
They shape daily resident experience. Faster, friendlier fixes improve reviews and renewals, protect assets, and shorten make-readies—direct levers for NOI.
What on-call policies reduce maintenance turnover?
Document emergency definitions, rotation rules, response SLAs, and compensation. Share with residents and staff; review quarterly and adjust based on feedback.
How do career ladders improve retention?
Clear paths (porter → tech → lead → supervisor → regional) plus training and pay bands keep pros engaged, lowering churn and hiring costs.
Which trainings matter most?
Pair technical refreshers with soft-skills: communication, conflict resolution, safety/mental-health awareness, and frontline leadership.
