Hiring the Right People

Introduction

Hiring in property development and management is not about stuffing chairs with warm bodies. It is about putting the right people in the right seats so buildings stay profitable, compliant, and well run. In this industry, one bad hire can cause missed defect deadlines, late rent collection, angry tenants, safety issues, or a project that runs months behind. The best owners treat hiring like a funnel. You attract the right people, screen out the wrong ones fast, and train the few who make it through so they can work without constant hand-holding.

Concept

The Talent Funnel in property development and management has three parts: Hiring, Training, and The Repellent Job Ad. Each part protects the business in a different way. If you only hire for speed, you create risk. If you train poorly, you lose time, money, and confidence. If your job ad is too soft, you attract people who want an easy desk job, not the pressure that comes with lease-ups, maintenance calls, site meetings, and owner reporting.

#

Hiring

Good hiring starts with knowing the real job. A property manager is not just answering phones. They are dealing with arrears, lease renewals, contractor follow-up, tenant complaints, and compliance dates. A development coordinator is not just “organized.” They are chasing consultants, tracking approvals, and keeping the build program from slipping. Your job ad should show the real pace of the role, the standard you expect, and the problems they will face every week.

Real-World Example: You need a building manager for a mixed-use site with retail, residential, and shared services. Instead of saying “must be a people person,” you write that the role requires daily contractor coordination, out-of-hours issue escalation, defect logging, fire safety checks, and calm handling of tenant complaints. That wording helps serious candidates step forward and pushes out people who want an easy role.

#

Training

Once you hire well, training must be tight and practical. In property development and management, a new hire needs to learn your systems, your site standards, your communication rules, and your legal duties. They should know how your trust accounting works, where compliance certificates are stored, how to use the property software, and when to escalate risk. Training is not a one-day welcome lunch. It is a working system that helps them perform without creating avoidable mistakes.

Real-World Example: A new assistant property manager joins and gets a 30-day onboarding plan. Week 1 covers the property management software, arrears workflow, maintenance approval limits, and emergency contacts. Week 2 covers tenant communication templates, inspection standards, and lease admin. By the end of month one, they can handle routine work with supervision instead of making costly errors.

#

The Repellent Job Ad

A repellent job ad is useful because the right person is often the one willing to do the hard parts of the work. The ad should not sound polished and vague. It should be clear about the pressure, the systems, and the standards. In this industry, that might mean mentioning portfolio size, call volume, after-hours requirements, site travel, defect chasing, or the need to work with strict deadlines. You are not trying to scare away good people. You are trying to stop the wrong people from wasting your time.

Real-World Example: A development manager job ad includes a note that applicants must list three recent projects they helped deliver, the permit stage each project reached, and one challenge they solved with consultants or council. That simple filter shows who has real experience and who is just applying everywhere.

Conclusion

The Talent Funnel helps you build a stronger property business by hiring with intention, training with structure, and using your job ad as a filter. In this industry, the cost of a bad hire is not just payroll. It shows up in tenant churn, delays, compliance misses, contractor mistakes, and owner complaints. When you hire the right people, train them well, and make the role clear from the start, your business runs smoother and your assets are better protected.