We’ve all been there. Someone takes an extended leave, takes a pre-planned vacation the week before your recently-announced owner’s visit, or quits unexpectedly, and – suddenly – you have a position to fill. You may consider calling a temporary staffing company only to dismiss the idea, assuming it will be too expensive. Or, you may not consider calling a temporary staffing company at all. In reality, you’re most likely in panic mode, wondering who you’re going to hire, where you’re going to find them, and – let’s face it – dreading the tedious interviewing and onboarding process.
Here’s the thing: the value of temporary staffing far outweighs the cost. Don’t believe me? Keep reading. Temporary staffing might just be the solution you never knew you needed.
The True Cost of Hiring
If you’ve ever had to recruit and hire someone, you know it’s not as simple as posting an ad and waiting for the perfect candidate to walk through the door. The hiring process is time-consuming. Time is spent creating and posting the ad, sifting through resumes, and conducting interviews. Once you make a decision, the process continues. Let’s not forget the time it takes for the candidate to take their drug test, the background screening results to come back, and all of the onboarding paperwork that must be completed before your candidate even starts. Exhausting.
According to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), it is estimated that the average cost of hiring a new employee is $4,700. On top of that, it takes about 47.5 days on average to actually fill a position. Think about that. That’s 47.5 days of lost productivity. Over a month of lost productivity equates to much more than the cost of simply hiring someone.
What about increased vacancy loss because apartments aren’t ready for move-in? Let’s say you have a vacant apartment that leases for $1500 per month. If you have to wait 47.5 days to fill that position, you’re potentially losing $2298 – $2375 in revenue – and that’s just for one apartment! What about the cost of additional materials and supplies that may be needed to compensate for skill gaps left by an absent or unskilled employee? Consider the cost of hiring outside contractors to complete work that your onsite team could do if only you had the manpower. The average cost of hiring an outside contractor is 20%-30% higher than completing the task in-house.
What happens when you’ve finally hired someone only to discover that it’s not a good fit? Perhaps they don’t possess the skills they listed on their resume. Maybe your new hire doesn’t get along with the rest of your team. What if the candidate doesn’t show up on the first day? It happens! What if they quit before they’ve even had the opportunity to be adequately trained? Research from Zippia estimates that a bad hire costs an average of $14,900! That is in addition to the $4,700 you’ve spent during the hiring and onboarding process. Let’s not forget the cost of additional materials and hiring contractors.
The tangible cost of hiring is really just the tip of the iceberg. The intangible costs could be even more expensive in the long run, including reduced employee morale, less-than-stellar customer service, and increased resident complaints.
The Value of Temporary Staffing
When you consider the cost of hiring—particularly the cost of onboarding, vacancy loss, and the risk of hiring mistakes—temporary staffing starts to look like a more attractive option. While the upfront costs of temporary staffing might seem higher on the surface, it offers flexibility and a number of benefits that can actually save money in the long run.
Numbers always bring things into perspective. On average, let’s say that hiring a temporary employee costs $7,200 for 30-45 days. This seems like a pretty steep price to pay compared to the $4,700 you would spend to hire someone on your own. However, you must consider the true costs of hiring: vacancy loss, lost productivity, expenses incurred for additional materials, or hiring contractors. And if you make a mistake and hire the wrong person – that’s another $14,900 plus the intangibles!
Not only does temporary staffing potentially save you thousands of dollars, but it offers benefits that hiring on your own does not. Temporary staffing saves time—your time. We handle the recruiting process. We screen the resumes, interview the candidates, and make recommendations catered to your property, your needs, and your team’s needs. We can have an experienced candidate onsite and ready to work as soon as the same day! This alone significantly reduces lost productivity.
Hiring a temporary employee mitigates risk. Once you have our chosen candidate onsite, you’re essentially conducting a “working interview.” You will see firsthand if the employee has the skills they claim to possess, learn whether they will be a good fit for your team and company culture, observe how they interact with residents and vendors, and ultimately make a truly informed decision. This information can be invaluable for your community and your team and is impossible to get from a traditional interview. Essentially, temporary staffing allows you to test the waters before making a long-term commitment.
The Advantage of Working With Experts
The Legacy Apartment Staffing team understands the unique challenges that property managers face, and this is why we offer a consultative approach to staffing. We don’t just throw any candidate at you – we work with you to understand your specific needs, company culture, and the skill set required to keep your property running smoothly. We’re experts in the multifamily industry and know what works from hands-on experience. We take time to match you with candidates who have the right skills and the right attitude to become an invaluable member of your team. If it’s not the perfect match, we will work quickly to find the right replacement without wasting your valuable time.
We also take time to ensure that we’re matching the right candidate with the right job. We do this by conducting in-person interviews and learning more about the candidate than what they put on an application or list on their resume.
Are you ready to experience the true value of temporary staffing? Let’s chat about how we can help you save money, reduce turnover, and improve the performance of your property management team. Reach out today to learn more about how we may be the solution you never knew you needed.
The Bottom Line: Temporary Staffing Is Worth It
The true value of temporary staffing lies in the long-term savings and risk reduction that it provides. In the world of property management, where having the right people in place plays a critical role in maintaining efficient operations and resident retention, opting to use temporary staffing can be the key to ensuring that your team stays efficient, productive, and cohesive. Ultimately, the bottom line is that you’re protecting your bottom line.
