Two potential crew members can be unlocked by completing side missions certain Patrick McReary, a skilled gunman, can be hired if rescued from a Police Transporter during a random event. Unlike in GTA V, in GTA Online the crew members will not earn experience or improve their skills for the next heist approach.

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. Like the heist crew members in Grand Theft Auto V, the crew members with higher stats will perform better, while requiring a higher cut and thus imposing a greater expense on the protagonists. During the heist setup, the player is often required to choose crew members from a variety of gunmen, hackers, and drivers, if they are needed in order to complete the specific requirements of The Diamond Casino Heist.