The number one challenge facing property management companies today is recruiting and retaining a qualified workforce. This was confirmed by a polling of industry leaders last month during the 乐竞体育赛事直播 Global Summit. When asked, 鈥渨hat is the single most important problem facing the property management business today?鈥� a whopping 78 percent put 鈥渇inding enough skilled people鈥� at the top of the list, far outpacing the three other options given: 鈥渒eeping up with technology鈥� at 16 percent, 鈥渃hanging tenant and resident expectations鈥� at 14 percent, and 鈥渆nergy, the environment, sustainability鈥� at 5 percent.
Property management companies are not alone in their quest to find and keep a skilled workforce. The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) reported in August that a record 25 percent of small business owners cited the difficulty of finding qualified workers as their single most important business problem. What鈥檚 more, 38 percent of all owners reported job openings they couldn鈥檛 fill in the current period鈥攖he highest in the 45 years that the NFIB survey has been conducted. With a 3.7 percent unemployment rate, the competition for skilled workers at all levels and in all industries gets more intense.
Chip Watts, CPM, CCIM, who is a fourth-generation president of Watts Realty Co., Inc., AMO, in Birmingham, Ala., agrees. Speaking to the (JPM), Watts had this to say: 鈥淲orkforce training is our biggest issue, especially as it relates to bringing new people into our industry. The compression of time for a property manager is critical. You鈥檙e always trying to get so many things done in the shortest time possible. Technology can help, but there鈥檚 a lot of pressure in this need-it-now society we serve. That鈥檚 the long-term issue. How do we address those needs in a compressed time, especially if we don鈥檛 have a suitable number of trained people to help in our industry?鈥�
The U.S. Labor Department Employment of property, real estate, and community association managers is projected to grow 10 percent from 2016 to 2026. This is a growth rate faster than the average for all occupations, which stands at 7 percent. This, coupled with the retirement of the baby boomers, suggests that the talent war will only get hotter.
And this is not just a U.S. issue. The unemployment rate in Japan, a market where 乐竞体育赛事直播 is growing rapidly, stands at 2.3 percent. Speaking from Canada, Cheryl Gray, CPM, executive vice president with QuadReal Property Group in Toronto, told JPM, 鈥淎ging demographics are impacting nearly every industry, but in property management, it鈥檚 significant. 乐竞体育赛事直播 has its biggest opportunity in engaging the next generation and helping young people develop their skills.鈥�
So what can you do? A few suggestions:
- Make recruitment an ongoing process, not something that occurs only when a position is open. The ability to hire the best and the brightest is problematic when the recruiting and hiring process only takes place when there鈥檚 an opening to be filled.
- Make sure new hires get off to a solid, positive start. As noted in the , onboarding 鈥渉elps make employees feel they have said yes to the right company for them. And it guards against the possibility that new hires won鈥檛 settle in properly and wind up quitting after just a few months.鈥�
- Build from within. Make succession planning a priority鈥攏ot only for executive-level positions but across the board. Offer current team members plenty of opportunities to learn new skills. Coach and mentor them to take on more responsibilities in line with projected business goals.
About the Author
Nancye J. Kirk, in her role as 乐竞体育赛事直播鈥檚 chief strategy officer, supports real estate management businesses in the U.S. and throughout the world, helping them address the big issues with which they are wrestling鈥攊ssues related to business strategy and growth, talent management, and best practices.
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