FIVE YEARS AGO, a job opening for a community association manager position with Hunt Management Inc., AAMC, in the Milwaukee area, would receive at least a couple dozen applicants within a few weeks. In more recent years, however, applications have dwindled to two or three per week, and most do not meet the necessary qualifications.
“We've been fortunate to be able to staff our needs and keep our managers at a workload that's manageable while growing (operations)," says Jeffrey S. Hunt, CMCA, AMS, PCAM, president and general manager of the company and a veteran of community association management for 39 years. “But the problem in bringing in additional associations is that I need somebody to manage them."
Hunt is far from alone in his quest to find and train community managers.
There are around 355,000 community associations in the U.S. as of 2020, according to estimates from the Foundation for Community Association Research. Roughly 4,000 new homeowners associations and condominiums are built each year. The demand for professional community management to help boards fulfill their obligations to the association and its residents is high and will maintain an upward trend.
Unfortunately, not enough individuals are entering the community management profession, leading to a shortage of candidates to fill job opportunities. The problem became evident a few years ago and likely has only been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, management companies and community association boards are competing for candidates with companies across several industries, meaning they'll need to work harder than ever before to locate, hire, and retain managers while supporting their professional growth.
OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE
In 2020, the Foundation sought to measure the extent of the community manager shortage, as well as benefits and challenges of the profession, by fielding two separate surveys in December to community management professionals.
Nearly 200 management company CEOs and hiring managers shared their recruitment strategy and other insights from the hiring process, while more than 500 community managers revealed what attracted them to the profession, what they like most about their role, and identified areas for potential improvement.
The majority (97%) of association management executives and hiring staff believe there is a shortage of community managers, according to the Foundation's recent report, Attracting Talent to the Community Association Management Industry. Sixty-three percent report they have current openings for community managers, with around 59% specifying that they have between two and six open positions.
Some management company executives have taken steps to address shortages in the profession by leading an initiative to bring college students into community management, seeking out candidates from different fields and industries with relevant experience, and reevaluating work arrangements and existing benefits.
LOCATING CANDIDATES
Part of the difficulty in filling community manager positions is the lack of awareness of the profession, limiting possible candidates to those who already are familiar with community associations or know someone in the field.
Community managers who responded to the Foundation's survey say they entered the profession most often by referral from friends or relatives working in community management (27%), followed by job search websites (19%), and referral from another employee (17%). Only 7% learned about an open position through a college career center, a recruiter, or a state employment department.
“It's almost like we have this finite number of community managers that happen upon the field because they knew or were recommended by someone," says Melanie Peck, CMCA, director of operations at TMMC Property Management in Castle Rock, Colo., and 2021 president of the CAI Rocky Mountain Chapter.
Providing the opportunity to learn on the job is another way to overcome the shortage. Fifty-two percent of CEOs and hiring staff say their company has a training program designed to promote current employees to community manager roles, while 23% have internship programs for college students, according to Attracting Talent.
Recognizing the need for a pipeline of community managers, the Rocky Mountain Chapter partnered with Arapahoe Community College in Littleton, Colo., as well as workforce development agencies in the state, to establish the first apprenticeship program for prospective community association managers in August 2020. “Part of what the apprenticeship program is trying to do is educate people out there that this industry exists," Peck says.
The two-year, paid apprenticeship program combines coursework through the college with up to 40 hours per week of on-the-job training at participating management companies where apprentices are assigned a mentor. Those who successfully complete the program obtain a certificate in business administration, an apprenticeship certificate from the Colorado Department of Labor, and professional credentials.
The apprenticeship program addresses some of the shortcomings of training new managers by taking time to develop their skill set and knowledge in areas such as laws and regulations, finances, organizational management, governance, property maintenance, and resident relations, says Denise R. Haas, CMCA, AMS, PCAM, CEO of 5150 Community Management in Englewood, Colo.
“As a management company owner, it's been encouraging to have (the apprenticeship program) help enhance training to provide a well-rounded individual to put in front of our communities," remarks Haas, a past president of the chapter.
Peck hopes that the apprenticeship program leads to an even greater emphasis on education to benefit managers who are new to the profession. “If we advertise that education and say it's going to develop a strong working knowledge of the manager position, I think that would help attract additional talent because it gives them the confidence to know that they are going to learn on the job," she explains.
While Hunt says he has been fortunate in maintaining a full roster of managers to cover his client associations, he also is considering a partnership with a local trade school or community college in Wisconsin to set up an internship program or similar on-the-job training. “I'd be more than willing to mentor a young person … and help them succeed in the industry," he notes. “It's something on the radar."
OPENING DOORS
Community management can be a good fit for individuals with varying knowledge, skills, and qualifications and who are at different stages in their career. Some management companies and boards may prefer candidates with the necessary experience and skills to perform their work, but 42% of CEOs and recruitment staff surveyed by the Foundation report hiring both inexperienced and experienced candidates to fill community manager roles.
Kirk Gassen, CMCA, AMS, CEO of Gassen Company, AAMC, in Eden Prairie, Minn., says his company typically looks for people with customer service experience. “At the end of the day, we're really a customer service company working in the community association industry. The better we can take care of our clients from a customer service perspective, the higher our client retention is," which also leads to higher manager retention, he notes.
Gassen requires that new managers receive education from CAI and work toward achieving credentials, which the company covers as part of their professional development. He adds that he has hired individuals who showed an interest in community management or were in the process of obtaining credentials even if positions were currently filled.
“We're always in need of great people, so if I've got someone who is that dedicated and ready, I have them come and work for us," he says. “I've had that happen two or three times, and it's always paid off ."
Peck, who worked as an art consultant and then as an office manager with TMMC before her current role, says her background helped her rethink the company's approach to recruitment by, for example, focusing on skills that someone in an administrative role would possess that would translate to community management. This approach also served to bring in more potential candidates to the apprenticeship program.
“As a high level administrative assistant or office manager, you have to be extremely versatile, know a little bit about everything, and work with people from different departments," she explains. “So rather than saying that we want an apprentice or a community manager, we say we want a person with these baseline skills. Looking at it from that approach is how can we attract different talent."
APPEALING BENEFITS
CEOs and hiring staff say in Attracting Talent that new community managers are not just seeking adequate compensation and benefits. They're also looking for a role that offers them flexibility in how they work and opportunities for professional advancement.
The top three benefits that CEOs and hiring personnel say must be offered to recruit and retain managers are a strong benefits package (67%), covering costs of professional development such as education courses or credentials (61%), and the flexibility to work remotely partially or fully (60%).
Increasing benefits is one way that Gassen aims to attract new managers, based on their motivations for being in the profession. “It makes sense to pay well to keep staff, but we also understand that higher pay is not everyone's motivation. (We need to) know what people's motivation is and then compensate them that way," such as with additional time off, he says.
Aside from competitive benefits, Hunt appeals to candidates by sharing the company's reputation in the region, including its track record of supporting community managers and maintaining a proper workload for those overseeing multiple properties. “The last thing we need is for a manager to burn out and run the risk of losing those client associations. I'd rather have a little more controlled growth while keeping our managers (working on) a profitable portfolio, not a burdensome (one)," he explains.
The COVID-19 pandemic allowed Hunt to reevaluate work arrangements, providing more flexibility for community managers and staff to complete their tasks remotely while maintaining their usual level of service and team collaboration. “Work-life balance is more important than ever, and if working remotely contributes positively to attracting and retaining qualified, service-minded managers, I am all for it," he says.
Gassen transitioned his company to a hybrid work model; community managers were able to work remotely part of the time before the pandemic. “Managers have to come (to the office) once a week, and then they can come in whenever they want as long as they're performing at the level that we need," he adds.
The company also has started offering virtual meeting packages to association boards, which leads to savings on their management fee, Gassen explains. He says that the package, although relatively new, has been well received by community managers and by most associations renewing their management contract.
REWARDING PROFESSION
Despite its challenges, there are many factors that make community management an appealing profession. According to Attracting Talent, problem-solving is the main contributor to job satisfaction for 84% of community managers, followed by variety in their tasks each day (73%), and helping people (72%). In addition, 60% of those surveyed say the opportunity to lead brings them a sense of accomplishment.
The profession's job stability also can be appealing. “Community associations are being built all the time, and boards need more help than ever before," says Hunt. “Many of our new clients are self-managed associations that quickly realize that they can't or don't want to (manage on their own) anymore, and that's not changing."
Gassen finds fulfillment in helping people solve their problems and take care of their largest investment: their home. “You can get a lot of satisfaction and pride from increasing property values and creating a true community in the association. You'll meet a lot of people and develop great friendships, and it's not the same job every day," he says.
Haas enjoys helping a community get better every day. “Even when I leave that community years down the road, I know that I have helped them move to a better place," she says.
Peck likes that the profession is about helping people and that no two days in the job are the same. “There's no monotony in this job. Every single day I learn something new," she says. “That I can become a more knowledgeable person just coming to work every day is extremely desirable."
Kiara Candelaria is the associate editor of Common Ground™ magazine and editor of Community Manager newsletter.