diff --git a/cmd/otel-allocator/internal/collector/collector.go b/cmd/otel-allocator/internal/collector/collector.go
index 79453477d0..4fa3f97c01 100644
--- a/cmd/otel-allocator/internal/collector/collector.go
+++ b/cmd/otel-allocator/internal/collector/collector.go
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ package collector
 
 import (
 	"context"
+	"sync"
 	"time"
 
 	"github.com/go-logr/logr"
@@ -27,6 +28,8 @@ type Watcher struct {
 	log                          logr.Logger
 	k8sClient                    kubernetes.Interface
 	close                        chan struct{}
+	eventHandlerReg              cache.ResourceEventHandlerRegistration
+	mutex                        sync.Mutex
 	minUpdateInterval            time.Duration
 	collectorNotReadyGracePeriod time.Duration
 	collectorsDiscovered         metric.Int64Gauge
@@ -63,7 +66,7 @@ func (k *Watcher) Watch(
 	}
 	informerFactory := informers.NewSharedInformerFactoryWithOptions(
 		k.k8sClient,
-		2*k.minUpdateInterval,
+		30*time.Second,
 		informers.WithNamespace(collectorNamespace),
 		informers.WithTweakListOptions(listOptionsFunc))
 	informer := informerFactory.Core().V1().Pods().Informer()
@@ -77,13 +80,15 @@ func (k *Watcher) Watch(
 		default:
 		}
 	}
-	_, err = informer.AddEventHandler(cache.ResourceEventHandlerFuncs{
+	k.mutex.Lock()
+	k.eventHandlerReg, err = informer.AddEventHandler(cache.ResourceEventHandlerFuncs{
 		AddFunc: notifyFunc,
 		UpdateFunc: func(oldObj, newObj interface{}) {
 			notifyFunc(newObj)
 		},
 		DeleteFunc: notifyFunc,
 	})
+	k.mutex.Unlock()
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
@@ -92,6 +97,15 @@ func (k *Watcher) Watch(
 	return nil
 }
 
+func (k *Watcher) isSynced() bool {
+	k.mutex.Lock()
+	defer k.mutex.Unlock()
+	if k.eventHandlerReg == nil {
+		return false
+	}
+	return k.eventHandlerReg.HasSynced()
+}
+
 // rateLimitedCollectorHandler runs fn on collectors present in the store whenever it gets a notification on the notify channel,
 // but not more frequently than once per k.eventPeriod.
 func (k *Watcher) rateLimitedCollectorHandler(notify chan struct{}, store cache.Store, fn func(collectors map[string]*allocation.Collector)) {
diff --git a/cmd/otel-allocator/internal/collector/collector_test.go b/cmd/otel-allocator/internal/collector/collector_test.go
index df4e8cdb9b..27dd68b357 100644
--- a/cmd/otel-allocator/internal/collector/collector_test.go
+++ b/cmd/otel-allocator/internal/collector/collector_test.go
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ func (r *reportingGauge) Record(_ context.Context, value int64, _ ...metric.Reco
 	r.value.Store(value)
 }
 
-func getTestPodWatcher(collectorNotReadyGracePeriod time.Duration) Watcher {
+func getTestPodWatcher(collectorNotReadyGracePeriod time.Duration) *Watcher {
 	podWatcher := Watcher{
 		k8sClient:                    fake.NewClientset(),
 		close:                        make(chan struct{}),
@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ func getTestPodWatcher(collectorNotReadyGracePeriod time.Duration) Watcher {
 		collectorNotReadyGracePeriod: collectorNotReadyGracePeriod,
 		collectorsDiscovered:         &reportingGauge{},
 	}
-	return podWatcher
+	return &podWatcher
 }
 
 func pod(name string) *v1.Pod {
@@ -105,7 +105,7 @@ func Test_runWatch(t *testing.T) {
 	namespace := "test-ns"
 	type args struct {
 		collectorNotReadyGracePeriod time.Duration
-		kubeFn                       func(t *testing.T, podWatcher Watcher)
+		kubeFn                       func(t *testing.T, podWatcher *Watcher)
 		collectorMap                 map[string]*allocation.Collector
 	}
 	tests := []struct {
@@ -117,7 +117,7 @@ func Test_runWatch(t *testing.T) {
 			name: "pod add",
 			args: args{
 				collectorNotReadyGracePeriod: 0 * time.Second,
-				kubeFn: func(t *testing.T, podWatcher Watcher) {
+				kubeFn: func(t *testing.T, podWatcher *Watcher) {
 					for _, k := range []string{"test-pod1", "test-pod2", "test-pod3"} {
 						p := pod(k)
 						_, err := podWatcher.k8sClient.CoreV1().Pods(namespace).Create(context.Background(), p, metav1.CreateOptions{})
@@ -145,7 +145,7 @@ func Test_runWatch(t *testing.T) {
 			name: "pod delete",
 			args: args{
 				collectorNotReadyGracePeriod: 0 * time.Second,
-				kubeFn: func(t *testing.T, podWatcher Watcher) {
+				kubeFn: func(t *testing.T, podWatcher *Watcher) {
 					for _, k := range []string{"test-pod2", "test-pod3"} {
 						err := podWatcher.k8sClient.CoreV1().Pods(namespace).Delete(context.Background(), k, metav1.DeleteOptions{})
 						assert.NoError(t, err)
@@ -187,14 +187,15 @@ func Test_runWatch(t *testing.T) {
 				_, err := podWatcher.k8sClient.CoreV1().Pods("test-ns").Create(context.Background(), p, metav1.CreateOptions{})
 				assert.NoError(t, err)
 			}
-			go func(podWatcher Watcher) {
+			go func() {
 				err := podWatcher.Watch(namespace, &labelSelector, func(colMap map[string]*allocation.Collector) {
 					mapMutex.Lock()
 					defer mapMutex.Unlock()
 					actual = colMap
 				})
 				require.NoError(t, err)
-			}(podWatcher)
+			}()
+			assert.Eventually(t, podWatcher.isSynced, time.Second*30, time.Millisecond*100)
 
 			tt.args.kubeFn(t, podWatcher)
 
@@ -311,14 +312,14 @@ func Test_gracePeriodWithNonRunningPodPhase(t *testing.T) {
 				assert.NoError(t, err)
 			}
 
-			go func(podWatcher Watcher) {
+			go func() {
 				err := podWatcher.Watch(namespace, &labelSelector, func(colMap map[string]*allocation.Collector) {
 					mapMutex.Lock()
 					defer mapMutex.Unlock()
 					actual = colMap
 				})
 				require.NoError(t, err)
-			}(podWatcher)
+			}()
 
 			assert.EventuallyWithT(t, func(collect *assert.CollectT) {
 				mapMutex.Lock()
@@ -434,14 +435,14 @@ func Test_gracePeriodWithNonReadyPodCondition(t *testing.T) {
 				assert.NoError(t, err)
 			}
 
-			go func(podWatcher Watcher) {
+			go func() {
 				err := podWatcher.Watch(namespace, &labelSelector, func(colMap map[string]*allocation.Collector) {
 					mapMutex.Lock()
 					defer mapMutex.Unlock()
 					actual = colMap
 				})
 				require.NoError(t, err)
-			}(podWatcher)
+			}()
 
 			assert.EventuallyWithT(t, func(collect *assert.CollectT) {
 				mapMutex.Lock()
@@ -461,11 +462,11 @@ func Test_closeChannel(t *testing.T) {
 	var wg sync.WaitGroup
 	wg.Add(1)
 
-	go func(podWatcher Watcher) {
+	go func() {
 		defer wg.Done()
 		err := podWatcher.Watch("default", &labelSelector, func(colMap map[string]*allocation.Collector) {})
 		require.NoError(t, err)
-	}(podWatcher)
+	}()
 
 	podWatcher.Close()
 	wg.Wait()