Any crew member that survives a successful heist will earn experience, potentially improving their skills while not increasing their cut, if they're chosen for a future heist. Likewise, hirelings with lower stats will cost less, however their lesser performance quality will likely make for a more challenging mission for the player, if not suffering a casualty and losing part of the take at worst.

Generally, crew members with higher stats will perform better, while requiring a higher cut and thus imposing a greater expense on the protagonists. He may choose from a variety of gunmen, hackers, and drivers, if they are needed in order to complete the specific requirements of a given heist (excluding The Merryweather Heist and Blitz Play).

During setups, the player is often required to choose crew members when Michael selects personnel.