Moving Forward in the Community Management Industry

MOVING FORWARD

IN THE COMMUNITY MANAGEMENT INDUSTRY

BY KEVIN HEMPEL

AT A TIME WHEN OUR INDUSTRY IS FACING A GROWING SHORTFALL OF QUALIFIED COMMUNITY MANAGERS AND SUPPORT STAFF, WE WONDERED WHAT IT MIGHT TAKE TO RECRUIT NEW INDIVIDUALS TO THOSE ROLES AS WELL AS TO RETAIN THE TOP PROFESSIONAL TALENT THAT WE ALREADY HAVE.

Nothing scientific here, but we began our informal research by asking a few industry stalwarts three simple questions: what brought the professional into the industry? What does it take to succeed? Why do you think some current professionals are choosing to move on to other opportunities?

The responses provided some interesting insight about people who work in our industry. Those that think of their “job” as career-focused tend to get fulfilled by the day-to-day tasks and making a difference in the world more so than those who don’t. These types of workers tend to see challenges as things to understand, a time to learn and opportunities to grow.

We see it every day in our business lives. Find your passion, live it to the fullest and pay attention to work life balance. Some call this a generational thing and some even call it crazy to think; however, there are a select few that figure this out. They use it to form a plan and a way to live out the rest of their life, both personally and professionally. They create a mindset that serves as a road map to shape their future environment, and they generally feel a greater sense of fulfillment in life and in their jobs.

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Moving Forward

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Our first interview was with Laura Ravazza, an association manager at Homeowners Management Company. She currently holds her CCAM certification and was recently recognized as one of the top managers in our industry. We spoke to her last month to get some further insight on what drives her.

Current Status within the Industry

Property management since 2004

“I am more than confident saying property management is my passion! I love being able to take on a property that needs a more personal touch, then watch the community grow and flourish.”

Goals I Try to Achieve

“To play a key role in mentoring my properties to be the best they can and set continuous improvement goals. This means working to build a sense of community, resolving problems in a way that is most beneficial for all members and navigating the diverse complexities of each property.”

What I Believe For Success

Even the most difficult property can be turned in the right direction with proper guidance and patience and by taking immediate action and collecting information through research to resolve issues and mediate risk. I pay great attention to the important issues such as accounting as well as inaccurate budgets, lack of reserves and lack of member information as these can all hurt a property. It is important to work diligently with the boards to create clear and precise information. This allows members to feel much more comfortable talking with management and working through problems.

“We all have a journey ahead of us. It’s very important now for us to work through some of the bigger items on our long list of problems. This has inspired me in how I treat all of my communities and reinforced my belief that when you generate positive energy you can build communities of which everyone can be proud to call home.”

We also checked in with Fredy Peccorini who reported from out in the field. Here is what he had to say about his experience within the industry:

Current Status within the Industry

Property management since 2008; past employer Common Interest Management Services

“What brought me into the industry? I answered a Craigslist ad, and I considered it luck. Prior to working for CIMS, I had worked for a spa company for almost eight years.”

Goals I Try to Achieve

“I’ve always tried to minimize board and HOA liability while keeping the values of the properties at a high level through maintenance upkeep. With board assistance, we have worked hard to stay in line with the HOA operating budget, which allowed us to keep our reserves at a high level.”

What I Believe For Success

“I believe in education through organizations such as CACM, CAI and ECHO. A great mentorship process from our leaders also is very valuable. Without these types of needs being fulfilled, managers can feel overworked, underpaid and underappreciated, which will allow their eyes to be open to finding better opportunities elsewhere.”

We also reached out to Robin Romo who just completed the MCAM certification. She also holds CAMEx, CMCA and AMS certifications as well as many others. Our conversation was short, but right off the bat we could tell she is a passionate leader who gives her all for this industry and her life profession. Here is was she had to say:

Current Status within the Industry

Property management since 2003, Chief Operating Officer at CitiScape Property Management Group, LLC

“I was working as a regional director of catering through a major hotel firm and in charge of setting up an annual association meeting. The meeting turned out great, but the process in the beginning was a disaster. It was all fixed before management came for the day; however, it was an event that sticks in my mind. When my contact for the event found out about what had happened, he said he loved the way I handled it and offered me a job. At the time I said, what the heck, lets try it! For me, this career happened totally by accident.”

Goals I Try to Achieve

“Once working in the industry, I quickly realized that my skills needed to be honed even more, as extra care needed to be taken due to the high visibility of homeowners. My passion is for hospitality and customer service. So what I love about the industry is that every day is a challenge. Every day is a learning opportunity. I mean think about it… In one position you can learn about construction, law, finances and the psychology of people. I recognize that I have picked up so many practical skills in the industry. This is why I stay, and I love it so much, I couldn’t imagine leaving it.”

What I Believe For Success

“I believe that generally speaking a lot of people do not feel compensated for the “job” that they are doing. It’s unfortunate that the number of high-paying opportunities are few and far between. People really enjoy working in this industry, but there is also an issue with the work/life balance. That’s tough to find. It’s important to understand that you have to accept that this is the way it is – you have to make the best of it.”

Last, but most definitely not least, we had the opportunity to chat with Lisa Esposito about her take and adventure in the industry.

Current Status within the Industry

Property Management since 1989

“I had worked for a successful builder and found an opportunity to work in the industry as a controller. After I applied, all the pieces came together. I started as a controller for an HOA management firm, then served as President of Massingham, with my final position as VP at Bay Area Properties with a goal of standardizing their systems and bringing in a new software program.

Goals I Try to Achieve

“I’ve always had a belief in templates and best practices. Then I enhanced my training to include policy governance. Serving as a director of CACM allowed me the opportunity to operate under a policy governance environment, and I was able to modify what I learned to fit toward helping association boards operate more efficiently. My foundational belief always stayed true through all my positions: The best results for boards come from understanding their roles and how a board should function, which allows managers to excel in carrying out their roles.”

What I Believe for Success

“I believe retention is always challenging. In our industry the nature of the beast is night meetings and unrealistic expectations. This seems to be an issue in all management companies. The pay scales are improving, but notoriously the compensation for the volume of work and the potential for unpleasant situations create an atmosphere of insufficient pay for the job. I believe these are the underlying reasons that managers do move from one company to another and eventually in order to stay in the industry seek employment with a related service provider. Success in our industry can contribute to always learning and bringing forth systems.”

Overall, we found some consistent themes running through these interviews. While there is not one way to arrive in the industry, once here, success comes through time, hard work and passion. In discussions with several other industry professionals – with various credentials, experiences and backgrounds – we found similar scenarios of enjoyment and an eagerness to learn and educate. We found it is very important to give back, not only with what you already know but with what others teach you. As the industry grows and changes, there is both a need and strong potential to develop many more career-orientated individuals. It is up to us to do so for the betterment of our communities and industry lifestyles.

Keven R. Hempel is the Founder of True North Services Inc. in Livermore.

Congratulations to Jayme Morris! First recipient of the Dan Kocal Scholarship Award for exhibiting outstanding character, ethics and leadership in community management.

Jayme Morris, CCAM exemplifies the qualities and motivating. She exemplifies the vision of Dan of a true leader. “Every day, I endeavor to guide, Kocal in that she works diligently to empower coach and support my team and to create a work her staff, her boards and the communities she environment that honors an entrepreneurial spirit and manages.” shapes future leaders,” she wrote in her application. “You don’t need to supervise a staff to be viewed Having entered the industry 14 years ago, Jayme has as a leader,” said Tracy Kreiss, CACM’s director managed apartment communities, retail commercial of education & credentialing, “We ask the spaces, HOAs and most recently is working with judges to evaluate applications based on how developer clients. “She demonstrated the applicant exhibits outstanding character, incredible initiative and a strong dedication, ethics and leadership in their essay and and was promoted to regional manager The deadline letter of recommendation. In addition of The Management Trust – Transpacific, to apply is to experienced leaders, we encourage ACMB (now The Management Trust December 1. new managers who see community – Southern California, ACMB) in 2013, management as their career to apply.” supervising two assistants and six managers,” Jayme will use the scholarship to pursue said Tiffany Lynch, CAMEx, CCAM, division vice a Specialty Certificate in New Development president. “She leads by example and many people Community Management, and later plans to find her enthusiasm and dedication both inspiring pursue her Master of Community Management

(MCAM) certification. In memory of Dan Kocal, CCAM and his commitment to professionalizing our industry, in 2015 CACM established the Dan Kocal Scholarship, which offers full tuition for manager members pursuing one of CACM’s credentialing programs: • Certified Community Association Manager (CCAM) certification • Certified Association Financial Management (CAFM) certification • Specialty Certificate in High Rise, Large Scale, Portfolio or New Development Community Management • Master of Community Association Management (MCAM) certification

The Dan Kocal Scholarship recognizes professionals who exhibit outstanding character, ethics and leadership in community management. CACM also offers education scholarships to community manager members seeking financial assistance for individual courses. Scholarship applications can be downloaded at www.cacm.org.