Your building manager knows which lift breaks down when it's humid. They know which contractor always runs late. They know which resident complains about everything — and which complaints are actually worth investigating.
When they leave, all of that walks out the door with them.
The average tenure for a building manager in Australia is around 18 months. Some last less. That means most buildings are in a constant cycle of onboarding, learning curves, and handover gaps — losing institutional knowledge every time someone new comes through the door.
If you've ever wondered why your building feels like it's always starting from scratch, staff turnover is probably part of the answer.
When a building manager leaves, the obvious cost is the transition itself — the handover period, the recruitment process, the time it takes someone new to get up to speed. But the real costs go much deeper.
Every building has quirks. The hot water system that needs the valve adjusted in winter. The fire door on level 3 that sticks unless you lift it slightly. The particular sequence for resetting the access system after a power outage.
None of this is written down anywhere. It lives in your building manager's head. When they leave, it's gone — and the new person has to learn it all over again, usually by making mistakes.
Your building manager has relationships with contractors, with the strata manager, with residents, with you. Those relationships take time to build. A new manager doesn't just need to learn the building — they need to learn the people.
Which contractor gives honest quotes? Which resident needs careful handling? What communication style works best with your strata manager? All of this relationship intelligence has to be rebuilt from scratch.
If your building is in the middle of a major project — waterproofing remediation, lift modernisation, façade repairs — a management change is disruptive. The new person inherits a project they didn't scope, with contractors they didn't select, and history they have to piece together from incomplete records.
Projects stall. Momentum is lost. Sometimes things have to be re-done because the new manager doesn't have the context to continue properly.
Every time you get a new building manager, you're spending committee time on handovers, introductions, and getting them up to speed. Time explaining the building's history. Time answering questions the previous manager would have known. Time you shouldn't have to spend.
If you're getting a new building manager every 18 months, you're spending a significant portion of your committee time on transitions instead of progress.
High turnover isn't random. It's the result of systemic problems in how building management companies operate — and understanding these problems helps you identify companies that do things differently.
Building management can be a thankless job. You deal with complaints, emergencies, and difficult personalities. You're often caught between committee expectations and budget realities. Many companies treat building managers as interchangeable resources rather than professionals to be developed.
When people don't feel valued, they leave.
Many building managers are thrown in the deep end with minimal training and expected to figure it out. They're given buildings to manage without the tools, systems, or backup to do the job properly. When problems arise, they're blamed rather than supported.
Good people burn out fast in that environment.
Some companies stretch their staff across too many buildings to make the numbers work. A building manager responsible for eight or ten sites can't give any of them proper attention. They're constantly reactive, constantly behind, constantly stressed.
The ones who care eventually leave to find somewhere they can actually do good work.
This one's uncomfortable but true: some committees are difficult to work with. Unrealistic expectations, constant criticism, hostile communication. Building managers talk to each other — and certain buildings develop reputations.
If your building keeps losing good managers, it's worth asking whether part of the problem is how they're being treated.
Staff retention isn't luck. It's the result of deliberate choices about how a company operates.
Companies that retain staff invest in their growth. Training programs, mentoring, career progression pathways. Their building managers get better over time because someone is actively developing them.
Good companies limit how many buildings each manager handles. They'd rather do fewer buildings well than stretch people thin across too many. This means their staff can actually deliver quality — and aren't constantly burned out.
The best companies actively work to keep their people. They create environments where building managers want to stay — not just for the pay, but for the support, the culture, and the ability to do meaningful work.
You can tell a lot about a company by how long their staff have been there.
When you're evaluating a building management company — or reviewing your current arrangements — ask these questions:
"What's your average staff tenure?" If they can't answer, or the answer is under two years, that's telling.
"How many buildings does each manager typically handle?" More than four or five complex buildings per person usually means stretched capacity.
"What training and development do you provide?" Vague answers suggest it's not a priority.
"What happens when a building manager leaves?" A good company has transition processes. A bad one figures it out as they go.
High staff turnover is a symptom of deeper problems. Companies that can't keep their people usually can't deliver consistent quality to their clients either.
Conversely, companies with long-tenured staff have usually figured something out. Their people stay because the environment is good, the workload is manageable, and they're able to do work they're proud of.
When you're choosing a building management company, staff retention isn't just a nice-to-have. It's one of the clearest signals of whether they'll actually deliver on their promises.
Your building deserves a manager who knows it, who's invested in it, and who'll be there long enough to see things through. That only happens when the company behind them makes retention a priority.
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Dino Biordi
Founder & Managing Director, LUNA Management
25+ years in construction | NSW ABMA Independent Review Panel
A Building Manager oversees the safety, security and maintenance of designated properties and ensures that these properties comply with all applicable regulations. A Building Manager is also known as a Facilities Manager, Caretaker or Resident Manager. They are assisting the Owners Corporation with managing the common property, controlling the use of the common property by non-residents, arranging the maintenance and repair of common property.
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