The 5 Fundamentals of Property Management: Fundamental 3 - Talent
The Multifamily Ethos Podcast continues its Five Fundamentals of Property Management series with Fundamental #3: Talent.
High-performing teams aren’t built through isolated hiring decisions; they require an intentional talent lifecycle encompassing workforce planning, sourcing, selection, onboarding, development, retention, and succession. When employees understand what success looks like, receive meaningful feedback, and see opportunities to grow, talent becomes a true competitive advantage.
Build the Candidate Experience Before Day One
Recruiting is about more than filling an open position. The Talent Fundamentals framework emphasizes role clarity, prompt candidate communication, structured interviews, realistic expectations, and disciplined hiring decisions.
Guest Amber Edwards, a talent acquisition leader with more than 15 years of experience, says that experience begins well before an interview: “They’re gonna experience you long before they sit down for an interview.” From job postings and employer branding to timely follow-up, even with candidates who aren’t selected, every interaction communicates something about the organization and its culture.
Hire for the Role and the Culture
Finding the right person means looking beyond a résumé. It's important to evaluate skills, values, potential, and job expectations through a consistent selection process, supported by role-related questions and fair employment practices.
“You can’t just look at a skill set. You also have to look at how that person is gonna fit into the organization from values and mission and culture.” ~Carlyle Swafford
Amber shared that recruiters need to understand both the business and its culture so candidates can clearly understand the organization they are considering joining.
Make Onboarding Part of the Talent Strategy
Once the offer is accepted, the work is far from finished. The Talent Fundamentals framework recommends first-day readiness, a structured 30-60-90-day plan, role-based training, ongoing coaching, and visible career pathways.
Carlyle explained, “I think onboarding starts with your first call in an interview.” Candidates are evaluating the organization throughout the process, making consistent communication and intentional touchpoints critical from that first conversation through the employee’s first months on the job.
Retention Starts With Intentional Employee Experiences
Talent attraction and retention shouldn’t be treated as separate initiatives. Jennifer Koster, who brings more than 30 years of operations and HR experience across multifamily, student housing, and senior living, describes them as one continuous strategy. “The organizations that are going to win on talent are the ones that are gonna look at these intentional interactions from before we ever applied through long-term development of their team.”
The Talent Fundamentals framework reinforces that approach through frequent feedback, stay conversations, meaningful recognition, career development, engagement feedback, and succession planning—all designed to help organizations not only attract great people, but give them compelling reasons to stay and grow.
Watch Fundamental #3: Talent on the Multifamily Ethos Podcast to hear Carlyle Swafford, Amber Edwards, and Jennifer Koster explore practical ways multifamily leaders can improve recruiting, hiring, onboarding, development, and retention.
Subscribe to Multifamily Ethos so you don’t miss out as the conversations around the remaining 5 fundamentals: turns, collections, reputation, talent, and leasing.
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