Could the
POD model be the future?
Shifts in the workforce are bringing about change in staffing to meet demand. By Rob Buffington
Staffing is changing in the HOA industry – no one is surprised to hear this. HOA management has always been a high turnover industry. As people continue to leave and positions get harder to fill, the landscape is shifting dramatically to meet the growing need. Historically, there have been two schools of thought on how duties ought to be divided: the portfolio model and the departmental model. 42
Vision Spring 2022 | cacm.org
Portfolio Model In the portfolio model, the HOA manager is required to wear a lot of hats. As the community manager, they need to be the friendly face of the management company. They need to attend meetings, settle disputes, and be approachable. When it comes time to present financials, they need to be detail-oriented and know how to read and interpret financial statements. With maintenance coordination, they switch gears and have to be aggressive and follow up with vendors, understand the various scopes of work, and, have a thick skin. They need to be an expert administrator so they can track all the meetings, filing deadlines, maintenance work, recurring services, and amenities. They should always be in the office to answer calls and emails.
They should also be on-site to meet with vendors and talk to the board. And this is just for work, never mind the various personal duties they need to budget energy for to keep their home lives as humans running. Many portfolio managers find themselves finishing up work afterhours and losing their work/life balance. The best-case scenario is that you hire someone with three of those skills. You will never find someone that is good at all of those, unless they’re managing a tiny portfolio or have been in place for ten years. For the sake of argument, let’s say that one person can effectively do those things without burning out. Here’s the catch: what happens when they leave or get promoted? Even if they stay forever, what happens if they want to take a vacation? All of that information is in their head, so if they change jobs, get sick, or take a vacation, mistakes and unhappy clients result.
