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WINNING THE WAR FOR TALENT
HOW HOA MANAGEMENT EXECUTIVES CAN STAY AHEAD
By Dee A. Rowe, CCAM
In today’s market, the war for talent is fierce — especially in the HOA management industry. Executives must stay ahead of the curve to remain competitive, retain existing talent, and attract new high performers to the industry and, more specifically, their company. However, staying ahead of the competition can be a difficult task. This article explores the strategies HOA management executives can use to win the war for talent.
Strategies For Finding And Recruiting Top Talent
The CID management industry is at a crucial tipping point. The first Certified Community Association Managers to be sworn in have or are retiring. Shifting attitudes in the workforce caused in part by the COVID-19 reshuffle and remote work explosion and exacerbated by the competing problematic trends of hustling until burnout or quiet quitting have changed the recruitment game for even the best and biggest management companies. So, how can you, an HOA executive, stay competitive and keep winning the war for talent? What attracts new talent to this essential but demanding profession?
Consider these three suggestions from a February 2023 article by Energage on TopWorkplaces.com:
• Create job descriptions that accurately describe the role and expectations. This may seem counterintuitive, and it may be tempting to make the position seem less demanding than it is. Nevertheless, camouflaging the difficulty will only cause problems later.
• Advertise what sets you apart. Does your company host an annual charity drive? Work a four-day work week during the summer so employees have more fun in the sun? Have the best health insurance plan on the market? Say so!
• Build “brand awareness” for your company. Like it or not, every management company has a “brand.” Do you know what yours is? Do others? Ensure industry people know who your company is and what makes you great. You can have a phenomenal company culture, but it will only benefit you by retaining current talent if no one else knows about it.
It is vital to not only attract new talent but also to find individuals that fit within the culture and values of your organization. Utilizing a combination of methods, such as wordof-mouth, posting on social media and job boards, candidate database searches, and industry networking, can allow HOA executive teams to find the right talent for their organization.
Retaining Your Top Performers
In addition to attracting new managers to the industry and your company, retaining top performers is equally important. Perhaps more so. To do this, focus on creating an exceptional employee experience. It is a complex, demanding, and often thankless job. You will keep skilled employees on your team if you balance out the negative aspects with positive ones. But how? I took an informal social media poll of approximately 30 managers in Southern California, and below is what they said was most important:
MOST IMPORTANT
20% Flexible work hours
17% Terminate clients creating a hostile work environment
15% Minimal in-office work requirements for managers
11% Informal dress code except when meeting with clients
10% Opportunity to grow professionally
8% Appropriate levels of support from staff and supervisors
5% Excellent health/ dental/vision insurance
HOA executives can better ensure their top performers stay put by offering above-average salaries, exceptional insurance and time off benefits, and flexible or remote working arrangements. Paying for education and disciplining or terminating abusive clients also goes a long way toward keeping people on your team. Additionally, providing a positive work environment, facilitating growth and professional development, and emphasizing an open line of communication between executives, managers, and support staff can foster employee loyalty, enthusiasm, and commitment.
Another factor that should have been on the poll list is adopting technology that allows employees to work smarter, not harder, such as automated collection reporting tools or chatbots that can answer homeowner inquiries. If your company operates in the Stone Age in comparison to your competitors, that could be why you’re having a hard time retaining talent. In today’s world, embracing efficiency and automated processes is not optional.
The war for talent rages on in the HOA management industry as seasoned managers approach retirement and shifts in the job market make the long hours, late nights, and angry homeowners’ sometimes abusive behavior less than attractive to workers entering the workforce. HOA management executives must proactively recruit the best available new talent, onboard effectively, and retain the existing top performers. To stay ahead of the curve, executives should develop a supportive and positive company culture, offer exceptional benefits such as above-average health insurance coverage or more personal time off than most, and stand up to clients who create a hostile work environment. Those who do not adapt will likely get lost in the shuffle and lose the war for talent. Make sure that does not happen to your organization and to the HOA management industry by adopting best practices for employee recruitment and retention today.
Community Colleges: A Window to New Hires
Like many management company owners, Taryn Martin, CCAM, noticed that the industry struggles to attract new people. So, when a professor in the real estate department at Santiago Canyon College reached out to her to learn more about property management, she jumped at the opportunity.
This fall, Martin and some of her staff worked a booth at the first career fair held at the college campus specific to real estate to get the word out about Revolve Property Management.
“I am trying to encourage the younger generation in college and open their eyes while informing them of our industry,” she said. “Real estate is an appealing career. However, what’s a little more appealing about our industry is that every position has a set salary or hourly rate. You are guaranteed an income coming in. Your limit is what you put into it.”
“A lot of these kids were very excited about the opportunity because a lot of them don’t know about our industry,” she added. “They don’t just need to be a real estate agent taking real estate classes.”
Martin said being at the career fair was beneficial in getting her company name out there and building awareness for community management as a career. She fielded a lot of interest, making her hopeful of turning some students into potential employees. Her accounting rep and her vice president came along with her as well.
“I wanted to show the different opportunities,” she said. “You don’t have to be a community manager. You can work in our accounting department or collections.”
President of Cardinal Property Management, Farrah Esquer, also had a booth at the career fair. Esquer said she hired two community managers who were past real estate students at the college, so having that connection has been very helpful.
“We offered information about potential positions and how they can get into the industry.” She said she has an interest list from students who visited her booth and can reach out to them in the future should she have an opening.
