As we hit the halfway mark of 2024, it’s a perfect time for management company executives to take a fresh look at their business strategies and ensure they’re set up for continued growth and success. And while communities are busier than ever managing pool schedules and peak violation season, now is also an important time to reflect on business goals. Are you hitting your growth and profit plans, or are you falling behind? If you’re not where you expected to be, what can you do to get back on track?

To fully understand how to get to your goals, it’s important to take a step back and review the big picture – the community association management industry in of itself. At CINC, we make this reflection easy through our State of the Industry Report. The 2024 State of the Industry Report offers valuable insights to help us navigate the changing HOA/COA landscape and expectations of homeowners, board members, and community and property managers. By focusing on redefining risk, roles, and revenue, executives can strategically enhance their management company’s operations and results. Let’s dive into these sections of the report to reflect and reassess business goals for the remainder of the year.

Redefine Risk: Keeping Communities Safe and Financials Secure

The tragic third anniversary of the Champlain Towers South condo collapse serves as a somber reminder of the importance of risk management in our industry. This event has heightened awareness and urgency around safety and compliance, making it imperative to prioritize risk assessment and mitigation. And because of new legislative measures put in place around the country – in particular in South Florida – management companies need to not only mitigate new requirements, but do so in a manner that keeps their organizational profitable. That’s why deferred maintenance remains a top concern within our industry, according to our recent LinkedIn poll.

Key Actions:

1. Conduct Comprehensive Risk Assessments: Regularly evaluate the structural integrity and safety of properties under management. Engage third-party experts to identify potential risks and recommend corrective actions.
2. Enhance Safety Protocols: Update and enforce stringent safety protocols and emergency response plans. Ensure that all staff and residents are well-informed and trained on these procedures.
3. Invest in Technology: Utilize advanced monitoring and maintenance technologies to proactively address potential issues. Implement systems that provide real-time data and alerts for better risk management, and utilize these seven features from CINC to help curb deferred maintenance.
4. Communicate Transparently: Maintain open and honest communication with boards about risk management efforts and safety measures. This builds trust and confidence among your boards and homeowners and ensures that everyone is aligned in keeping risk reduction a top priority.

Redefine Roles: Drive Manager Well-Being through Empathetic Leadership and Mobile Tools

We recently reviewed Calm’s 2024 Voice of the Workplace Report, which highlights significant trends in employee mental health and the critical role that executives play in shaping the workplace environment. With 69 percent of employees reporting that their mental health has stayed the same or worsened in the past year, it’s clear that redefining roles and responsibilities is essential – especially in a position as stressful as community management.

Key Insights:

1. Focus on Employee Well-being: Employees are facing increased stress, anxiety, and financial instability. Addressing these issues can lead to a more productive and engaged workforce.
2. Empower Managers: Managers significantly influence employee mental health. Training them to be empathetic leaders who can manage workloads, foster low-stress environments, and support mental health is crucial.

Our State of the Industry Report showed that manager workload is still a concern, and that managers strongly believe their workload would not only lessen, but their career trajectory would improve, if they had better self-service tools to provide to their communities. As executives reflect on ways in which they can improve manager well-being and redefine the role of the manager, it’s important to reflect upon the ways in which homeowner tools are utilized and promoted.

Key Actions:

1. Develop Empathetic Leaders: Provide training for your people managers on emotional intelligence, active listening, and mental health awareness. Encourage them to model positive behaviors such as taking regular time off and establishing clear work-life boundaries.
2. Regular Check-ins: Implement regular well-being check-ins during one-on-one meetings between managers and employees. This fosters open communication and allows for early identification of potential issues.
3. Adjust Workloads: Ensure managers are equipped to balance workloads to prevent burnout. Encourage them to be flexible and supportive, allowing for mental health breaks and time off when needed, and utilize project management tools such as CINC’s Portfolio Module to keep track of workload.
4. Promote Self Service Tools: Make it a priority to have your communities utilizing your homeowner and board app with Cephai, CINC’s latest generative artificial intelligence tool. By using AI to answer the day-to-day questions, like when the pool is open or how to make a payment, managers can focus on meaningful ways to drive community engagement and call volume is reduced by upwards of 75 percent.

Redefine Revenue: Find New Ways to Drive Income

The State of the Industry Report indicates several trends and opportunities for revenue growth in the property management sector. As we navigate economic fluctuations and changing market dynamics, it’s essential to adopt innovative strategies to enhance revenue streams.

Key Actions:

1. Diversify Revenue Streams: Explore new business models and services that can provide additional income. This might include offering premium services, expanding into new markets, or leveraging technology to create value-added services.
2. Optimize Operational Efficiency: Implement cost-saving measures and improve operational efficiency through automation and process optimization. This can free up resources to invest in growth initiatives. Use accounting tools like CINC’s RevStream module to uncover new revenue opportunities and bill vendors appropriately.
3. Enhance the Customer Experience: Focus on delivering exceptional customer service to increase resident satisfaction and retention, so that boards will feel better engaged with your organization and even refer your business to others. Utilize CINC’s Customer Retention whitepaper to develop a model that tracks customer service and identifies opportunities for you to improve service.
4. Leverage Data Analytics: Use data analytics to gain insights into market trends, tenant behavior, and property performance. This can inform strategic decisions and identify opportunities for growth.

The 2024 State of the Industry Report offers a wealth of insights that can guide our business efforts for the remainder of the year. By redefining risk, roles, and revenue, we can navigate the challenges and opportunities ahead, driving growth and success for our management company. As we implement these strategies, let’s remain committed to safety, employee well-being, and innovative revenue generation to achieve our business goals.