SS Spotlight

You know maintenance support makes sense in theory. The question is why you actually need it—not just for emergencies or busy seasons, but as part of your regular operations. The answer comes down to a mismatch that affects every multifamily property: maintenance workload fluctuates wildly, but traditional staffing doesn't.

The Workload Reality

Here's the pattern at nearly every property:

One week your maintenance tech handles a light load. They finish by Wednesday and spend the rest of the week on preventive tasks. You're paying for full-time capacity you're not fully using. The next week, work orders flood in—appliance failures, plumbing emergencies, routine requests. Your tech works long hours and still ends the week with growing backlog. Summer hits. Turn season means your tech splits time between unit prep and resident work orders. Response times stretch. Reviews mention slow maintenance. They're working extensive overtime and burning out. Then they take well-earned vacation and everything falls apart. Work orders pile up. You field frustrated resident calls. They return to a mountain of backlog.

This isn't a staffing failure. It's a structural problem: you're trying to solve variable workload with fixed capacity.

Why Hiring Another Full-Time Person Doesn't Work

The obvious solution seems to be hiring another full-time maintenance tech. But you've just committed to another full salary plus benefits, insurance, retirement, workers comp, training, and equipment. You're managing two schedules and two sets of time off. Even after doubling your staffing, the fundamental mismatch remains. Light weeks mean paying for capacity you don't need. Heavy weeks still leave you short-handed. Turn season still overwhelms your team. Vacation still creates gaps.

You've doubled your fixed costs without solving the core problem.

The Talent Problem Nobody Mentions

Here's what every property manager knows: multifamily maintenance doesn't attract the best talent.

Skilled tradespeople can run their own businesses or work for trade companies making substantially more money with better career progression. They don't stay in multifamily long-term. What properties typically get: entry-level people who leave once they gain experience, generalists who struggle with complex repairs, career switchers who lack formal training, or retirees seeking less demanding work. This means constant skills gaps, training cycles that end when people leave, quality inconsistencies, and mistakes that make problems worse. The full-time staffing model assumes you can hire and retain skilled professionals long-term. The reality is that multifamily maintenance is a stepping stone, not a destination.

What "Getting By" Actually Costs

Most property managers think they're managing fine. But consider what "getting by" with understaffing actually costs:

When response times stretch from days to weeks, residents notice. They write negative reviews. Some don't renew. Each non-renewal costs you marketing expenses, vacancy loss, and turn costs. Preventing just a couple of maintenance-related move-outs annually likely covers significant supplemental support costs.

Delayed repairs escalate into emergencies. That disposal needing replacement backs up Saturday night at emergency rates. The HVAC unit needing attention fails during a heat wave, forcing premium crisis pricing. Chronic overwhelm burns out your maintenance team. Turnover means recruiting costs, training while productivity drops, knowledge loss, and interim periods of overworked staff or premium contractor rates.

And your own time—hours weekly fielding complaints, coordinating with overwhelmed staff, managing crises, responding to negative reviews. Time not spent on leasing, resident retention, or property improvements.

The Solution: Flexible Capacity

The traditional model fails because it's rigid. You pay for the same capacity year-round regardless of actual needs.

What works is a hybrid model: your in-house team provides core capacity for daily operations and emergencies, while regular supplemental support—perhaps one day per week—provides flexible capacity that scales with workload. During light periods, supplemental support handles routine work systematically while your team focuses on preventive maintenance. During heavy periods, it keeps work orders flowing so your team doesn't fall behind. During vacation, it provides coverage so operations continue smoothly.

The financial comparison is clear. Another full-time hire means substantial five-figure annual cost for capacity you may not consistently need, with full turnover risk and training investment. Weekly supplemental support costs a fraction of that while providing capacity precisely when needed, with flexibility to scale and minimal risk.

What This Model Delivers

Property managers need predictable capacity during unpredictable demand. Weekly supplemental support provides that flexibility without full-time salary commitment.

They need skilled technicians for complex repairs their team can't handle. Supplemental support brings experienced technicians who diagnose efficiently and repair correctly the first time. They need sustainable operations that don't burn people out. Reliable backup capacity creates consistent rhythm instead of the overwhelmed-then-underutilized cycle. They need vacation coverage that actually works. With established supplemental support, time off doesn't create crisis—the supplemental team simply handles the work. They need budget predictability without full-time commitment. Supplemental maintenance provides predictable costs with flexibility when needs change.

Why This Matters Now

The traditional model made sense when maintenance staff stayed for years, skilled tradespeople viewed multifamily as viable careers, and resident expectations were modest. None of that exists anymore. Today means short tenure, better options outside multifamily, higher variable workload, demanding residents, and reputation depending on maintenance responsiveness. Property managers trying to make the old model work are fighting reality. Those succeeding recognize that flexible capacity beats fixed staffing and have built hybrid models accordingly.

What This Means for You

Look at your operations honestly. Your work order backlog. Average response times. Hours your team works during peaks. What happens during vacation. Time you spend managing crises. What reviews say.

If you're seeing substantial backlogs, extended response times, excessive overtime during peaks, vacation creating service gaps, or reviews mentioning slow service—you're dealing with fixed staffing trying to handle variable demand. The solution isn't another full-time hire. That's just a more expensive version of the same problem. The solution is flexible capacity that matches your actual workload—exactly when you need it.

Saturday Maintenance Services provides professional weekly supplemental maintenance support for Twin Cities multifamily properties. We handle work orders systematically, integrate seamlessly with your team, and give you flexible capacity.

Let's discuss what weekly support would accomplish at your property.

Call: (612) 217-0730 | Email: wemakeiteasy@saturday.services