CAI-NJ February 2021

MANAGEMENT TRENDS

Using Our Influence to Embrace Change By Denise Becker, PCAM, Corner Property Management, AAMC

“Come gather ‘round people wherever you roam And admit that the waters around you have grown… … you better start swimmin’ or you’ll sink like a stone For the times, they are a-changin’.” Lyrics by Bob Dylan

B efore the COVID-19 pandemic, the idea of virtual meet- ings was a thing that existed but was not embraced by many. Maybe the idea of changing to a new way to hold a meeting, or a new business opportunity meeting, or even a conversation was not yet a necessity, but a novelty that was underutilized in our industry. This is not to say that some companies did not push for change to better the quality of life for their managers by avoiding travel time or to allow boards to meet in the comfort of their own home. Pre-COVID-19, those companies and boards were trendsetters. Now, amidst COVID-19 times, those who did not embrace the change missed out on a lot. Thankfully, many saw the value of such evolution and are part of the majority that signed on to the times that were a changin’. A vaccine is now available, which could open the door to returning to a pre-COVID-19 life. Finding a place to hold a meeting, praying for a quorum for election meetings, trav- el time to and from the meeting place, paper everywhere… With what we have accomplished in the past year - learning a new way to gather, making meetings more pro- ductive, watching meeting attendance increase substantial- ly, seeing faces instead of masks - all improved the quality of life for managers. Shouldn’t we as community managers use our influence to embrace and leverage these changes going forward? Increase in attendance for board meetings is in part due to the improvement in the effectiveness of the meeting. Now screens can be shared to present an annual budget, a reserve study, the annual audit, and much more to the owners in

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“There is real value in being able to present such information virtually for the education of homeowners...”

attendance. There is real value in being able to present such information virtually for the education of homeowners to see what the board is working on for their associations. Homeowners are now utilizing their smart phones to send pictures to management of issues that need attention, like a loose leader or overflowing gutter, or a common area that needs a debris pick up. We have also received videos of water infiltration into their homes that can be sent along with a work order, avoiding the need for vendors to enter into the dwelling to assess the leak from inside. A few man- agers have also provided vendors with videos that accom- pany RFPs to assist in resolving issues. Forward thinking has led us to be more innovative in how we accomplish the multitude of tasks that we encounter during our workday. We remember the days of confusion to get onto the

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