Staffing shortages have long plagued the condo management sector and a tough labour market isn’t entirely to blame. The problem appears to be intricately tied to how the industry attracts and retains talent.

The invisible career path

Property management remains largely invisible to people entering the workforce. University students often can’t describe a condo manager’s responsibilities. While fields servicing the industry, such as law or engineering, more familiar career choices, condo management often draws little recognition.

Many working managers will say their career happened by chance: a receptionist promoted when a position opened, a bookkeeper stepping in after a manager left, or someone referred through a personal connection. So, how can the industry build a more structured and sustainable pipeline of talent?

The condo sector offers positions where skilled managers can earn six figures, oversee million-dollar budgets, and genuinely improve resident’s quality of life. Yet it competes for talent with industries that actively recruit on campus, have clear career paths, and are well-known to young professionals.

The industry needs to make people aware that this career exists. Condo management companies can engage with local colleges, attend job fairs, and create meaningful internship programs. BOMA (Building Owners and Managers Association) chapters across the country have already started this work, but individual companies also need to invest in building the pipeline.

Looking beyond the usual suspects

An important characteristic of the industry, one that deserves honest discussion, is that a large number of the condo management workforce, especially on-site staff, are newcomers to Canada. For instance, in condo buildings across Calgary and Edmonton, concierges, cleaners, and maintenance workers often speak English as a second language (ESL).

Many of the most reliable, hardworking staff members are immigrants seeking stable work and career opportunities. However, the industry is finding these workers more by chance than by strategy. Many applicants are hired through sites like Indeed, but that’s luck, rather than deliberate recruitment.

What if companies actively built intentional partnerships with organizations that support newcomers settling in Canada? Groups like the Catholic Immigration Society in Alberta are already working with skilled immigrants who need Canadian work experience and opportunities. Many of these individuals have degrees, professional backgrounds, and a strong work ethic—they just need someone to give them a shot.

Smart management companies will begin building relationships with immigrant settlement agencies, offering entry-level positions with clear advancement paths, and creating supportive environments for ESL staff. This might mean being patient with initial language barriers, providing mentorship, or offering English language training support.

If companies do this well, they build loyalty. The individuals who receive a real opportunity when they are new to Canada are often the ones who stay, grow with the company, and become top managers five years down the road.

What should companies be hiring for?

For years, the industry hired condo managers from the residential sector or based on whether they understood reserve fund studies, could read engineering reports, and knew the Condo Act inside and out. Those skills still matter, but they are no longer the factors that determine someone’s success.

The condo managers who thrive today have strong soft skills. They can de-escalate a board meeting that has gone sideways, explain complex building issues without being condescending, and manage the emotional labour of dealing with residents who treat every home problem like an emergency.

A more effective approach is to flip the evaluation criteria. Rather than hiring someone with perfect technical knowledge and hope they can develop people skills, organizations should prioritize individuals with emotional intelligence, strong communication skills, and genuine empathy, and then provide training on the technical aspects. Technical knowledge can be learned; patience and professionalism under pressure are much harder to teach.

Candidates with experience in hospitality, customer service, or other roles requiring professional conflict resolution are often well-suited for condo management. For example, a former hotel manager who handled angry guests at 2 a.m. may be better prepared for condo management than someone with a degree in facilities management who has never had to say ‘no’ directly to a client.

A retention crisis

Often, companies celebrate hiring a capable condo manager, only to see them overwhelmed six months later and gone within eighteen months.

This happens because the industry expects one person to serve as accountant, engineer, mediator, project manager, HR specialist, and therapist—typically for $65,000 to $75,000 a year. Burnout is inevitable, yet it continues to take the industry by surprise.

Condo management companies that are successfully retaining staff are doing a few things differently. First, they’re paying appropriately. In Alberta’s current market, companies aren’t keeping good managers on a base salary below $80,000. In Ontario, a good condo manager is looking for approximately $95,000 to $100,000 minimum because they must be licensed and know they are in demand. While some companies are still advertising salaries as low as $60,000, the average ranges from $70,000 to $90,000 for managers with three years of experience, with some paying up to $110,000 to $115,000 for those with seven years of experience.

Second, successful companies provide real support. This includes administrative help, access to technical experts, scheduling board meetings during working hours, and giving managers the ability to actually manage, rather than only showing up when everything is on fire.

What matters most is that they set realistic expectations with boards. In a 200-unit condo where the board expects the manager to respond to emails at 9 p.m. and attend committee meetings on weekends, the building will continue to churn through managers until it finds someone willing to accept these unreasonable demands; someone with no boundaries or other job options.

What actually needs to change

The staffing crisis in condo management will not be resolved overnight. Progress, however, can begin with an honest assessment of what the role requires, fair compensation, real support, and active recruitment, rather than just posting jobs and hoping for applicants.

Condo management must redefine its reputation as a ghost profession that people stumble into and become a profession that people actively choose. Achieving this will require increased visibility, intentional recruitment strategies, including partnerships with immigrant settlement organizations, clear career pathways, and treating the work as the professional career it truly is.

This industry offers promising career opportunities; it now needs to fulfill that promise through concrete steps to support growth, recognition, and long-term retention.

David Little is the co-founder and director of recruitment for Alberta at Foresight Recruitment Group. foresightrg.com