How many technicians are needed per unit in apartment management?

Some apartment complexes employ two maintenance technicians per 100 units. Some get away with one for every 500. The ratio ultimately depends on the number of work orders you get and how much time each job takes to complete.

What metrics should I measure?

If you’re figuring out your initial staff for a new apartment complex, I’d suggest starting out with two technicians per 100 units, in addition to your maintenance manager. From there, as time goes on, you can add or subtract staff as needed.

To get a sense for how much your apartment maintenance staff is doing, I’d advise tracking these metrics:

• Number of work orders completed each week
• Average time lapsed between the time work orders are made and their completion
• Average wrench time for each work order

In general, you’ll probably find the majority of work orders don’t take very long—ten to fifteen minutes tops. Those that last more than that are relatively few, but they represent a larger time sink for your technicians and are well worth counting.

How do I decide how many technicians my apartment complex needs?

By knowing how many orders are being completed each week, you can compare total wrench time to your total paid hours. From there, you’ll make an estimate as to how many technicians you actually need on staff.

For example, if each work order takes two or three days to complete but only requires a brief period of wrench time, you’re probably understaffed. The same goes for if your larger orders tend to be left undone while smaller ones are finished promptly.

On the other hand, if you’re completing all jobs in a timely manner and the total work time is significantly lower than your paid hours, you might need to streamline your maintenance team a little.

Conclusion

The main idea is to make sure you have enough technicians to handle tenants’ work requests quickly while also keeping your staff busy enough that they’re not constantly waiting for something to do.