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Letter from the President
By CHRISTY RODRIGUEZ, 2022 HAA President
AS I WRITE THIS COLUMN, IT’S MID-JANUARY AND OUR FRONTLINE TEAMS ARE WORKING HARDER THAN EVER BEFORE. We are all feeling the burden of the labor shortage that has been compounded by the spike in positive COVID-19 cases. I want to first say to our onsite teams and supplier partners, we see you, we appreciate you and we need more of you. During the pandemic, people are reassessing their core values. In addition to the “Great Resignation” we are also experiencing what is called “the big quit.” People are quitting their jobs more than ever before and asking themselves big questions like “What do I really want to do?” And people are taking those leaps into completely new careers. As an industry, we are struggling to find new talent. This burden is putting downward pressure on the frontlines and customer service is being impacted. We must recruit new talent into our industry. How will we navigate this challenge as an association? As leaders, we have to continually go inward and reflect on what we can control and release what we can’t control, both in the short term and long term. We have to measure ourselves and our teams to incremental goals because the massive amount of change is burning people out. Please remember, you are not alone. We are all connected and we’re all experiencing these challenges together right now. There is a vast and robust network of your peers within the Houston Apartment Association. Don’t forget the power of that network. Lean into each other. That’s the beautiful thing about HAA – when you’re a member of this organization, all of the fence lines go away. We’re all in this together. Owners and suppliers alike, we are in this industry together. We’re in the midst of this historical time, but I compel each of you to leverage the incredible resources and people you are surrounded by. As HAA members and volunteers, we have access to tools, people and resources from HAA, the Texas Apartment Association and the National Apartment Association. We aren’t just HAA strong, we are TAA strong and NAA strong. Right now, we have to meet each other where we are with kindness and patience. Remember, there is power in our multifamily network, we must keep tapping into it.
www.haaonline.org
February 2022
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