GE Appliances research features challenges of staffing and labor shortages in the multifamily market

Parks Associates today announced new research in partnership with GE Appliances revealing that staffing shortages and overall labor pressures have had an outsized impact on the multifamily market. The research found 24% of property owners and managers report being understaffed for maintenance operations and almost half report difficulty both retaining and hiring staff. In addition, 34% of property owners and managers note challenges in completing unexpected maintenance and repairs.

The white paper Solving Multifamily Maintenance Demands with Smart Appliances addresses how smart appliances can overcome these challenges and benefit property managers, maintenance staff workers, and residents by improving the efficiency of appliances and adding new features and functionalities such as maintenance monitoring, automation, and remote control.

The international research firm surveyed 100 property owners, property managers, and maintenance managers to ascertain the key issues they face with their maintenance staff, current appliances, and how they assess the value proposition for smart appliance solutions.

“With nearly a quarter of property owners and managers reporting being understaffed and nearly half reporting issues hiring and retaining staff, many properties are finding it difficult to service tenants’ appliances in a timely manner,” said Kristen Hanich, research director at Parks Associates. “Technology will play an important role in the future for operational savings and efficiencies and the resident experience as well.”

“These are fascinating insights, and we believe our Smart HQ Pro capabilities are uniquely designed to help property managers do more with fewer people,” said Jeremy Miller, senior commercial director of smart home solutions for GE Appliances. “By giving property owners and managers a single, intuitive solution, they are empowered to proactively manage and control their fleet of appliances while applying precision diagnostics to make servicing easier than ever before.”

The white paper details the perceived value proposition of smart appliances to multifamily property owners and managers as well as the drivers and barriers of smart appliance adoption. Parks Associates’ MDU survey finds that a significant number of property owners report difficulties maintaining and servicing their appliances:

• 34% of property owners and managers note challenges in completing unexpected maintenance and repairs
• 33% of property owners and managers report issues around their staff’s ability to repair appliances
• 32% of property owners and managers report challenges keeping up with appliance warranties
• 31% of property owners and managers have difficulty keeping up with general maintenance of appliances

About Parks Associates

Parks Associates, a woman-founded and certified business, is an internationally recognized market research and consulting company specializing in emerging consumer technology products and services. Founded in 1986, Parks Associates provides business intelligence and research services through its proprietary methodologies developed over decades, including quarterly surveys of 10,000 internet households.

The company's expertise crosses many industries: home security and smart home, streaming video, broadband and pay-TV services, digital media and platforms, gaming, Wi-Fi and home networks, connected health, support, consumer electronics, home control systems, energy management, and tech solutions for the multi-dwelling (MDU), small-to-medium business (SMB), and commercial building markets.

Each year, Parks Associates brings thousands of leaders together for its webinars and annual events. The firm hosts the annual executive research and strategy conferences CONNECTIONS™, Connected Health Summit, Smart Energy Summit, Smart Spaces, and Future of Video. https://www.parksassociates.com

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