Page 14 - CooperatorNews New York January 2022

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WireCrafters.com | 800-808-1860 | info@WireCrafters.com Tenant Storage Solutions • Single or double tier • Industrial grade construction • Installation service available Tenant Storage Lockers & Package Delivery be a bumpy transition, however, since these to secure work, but they can’t make any prom- newcomers won’t necessarily have the benefit ises as to when the work can be completed. of the institutional knowledge transfer from And then neither can we.” their older counterparts, nor the ability to learn from or ask questions to a colleague in think for the most part, the boards under- the office setting. “Our industry is a high turnover industry,” trol, because they’re experiencing it in their Refat goes on to say. “Managers come and own lives as well. It’s not as though we’re com- go—I think the nationwide average is three ing up with some kind of unreasonable reason to five years. So you always have newcomers.” why we can’t perform work—it’s a very logi- Without the traditional office environment, cal and public challenge that we’re all facing. and with a new knowledge balance, training So maybe they want us to get more bids than those newcomers and stabilizing the work- force will have to employ new strategies and ing three, they might suggest getting five. So processes. Maybe the younger folks can teach there is a little bit of extra work required on their elders the ways of Snapchat and Google- Meets, but people who grew up in the Digital Age—especially after the interpersonal depri- vations of the pandemic—might need some projects they had been putting off, whether training on social interaction. Refat tells new because of shutdowns or restrictions early in hires, “Think \\\[carefully\\\] before you join this the pandemic, or because of lack of financing, industry. Because you can’t just do business; or simply because of the longstanding defer- you have to be a social worker, you have to ral mentality that exists in many HOAs and have social skills. You actually have to pick co-op corporations. Tragic consequences of up the phone and interact with the customer. the latter came into stark relief in June when You have to have some social skills, and some the collapse of the Champlain Towers Condo- patience. Because we are one of the few indus- tries left where you still interact directly with a That awakening, in addition to historically low professional. That’s gone in most other indus- tries.” Vendor-Bender As the world approaches year three of the pandemic, the broader implications of months of shut-down, economic instability, supply chain disruptions, and staffing short- ages have all taken their toll across industries. For property managers—who interact with all kinds of providers from landscapers to eleva- tor repair companies to insurance agents—the effects are exponential. Phillips explains that with limited staff—as well as the unpredictability of workers being out sick, with COVID or otherwise—contrac- tors are less willing to commit to jobs, lest they sponses to the unprecedented health crisis risk overpromising and underperforming. we are living through is the reassessment that Other vendors might be having supply chain we have undertaken as individuals and as issues, so while they may want the job, they a society to consider our priorities, care for aren’t sure when they will be able to actually ourselves and our loved ones, and maintain do it. And then a contractor might make an a more balanced life over all. Phillips relays a about-face when they add another hire, or story about a long-time vendor who contract- when another client cancels—which leaves ed COVID and nearly died. “Because of that, the manager scrambling to get the contract in he’s reassessed his life and what’s meaningful front of the board for approval. Gruen adds to him,” she explains. “He’s decided to take on that all of this fluctuation affects costs for both a lot less work, to approach life differently, and labor and goods, so contract negotiations are to value life versus spending the entire time complicated as well. “If we’re not on email or Zoom,” she says, what’s important to them. It might result in “we’re on the phone, dealing with vendors, vendors having an increased expense or hav- adjusting expectations on all sides of the equa- tion. They might be down a worker, or we work, but I think it’s going to be a positive in might have someone out who normally liaises the outlook of everybody. I think people are with providers, leaving added work for us. All just going to be more appreciative of what they of this is unpredictable, leading to changes or have personally.” negotiations on the fly. It can get very stressful at times.” “I’m doing some roofs at \\\[a client\\\] property and \\\[the roofer\\\] can’t commit on timing,” adds Phillips. “They know that they want the job, they just don’t know when their rubber roof- ing is going to be available. So it’s difficult for them as much as it’s difficult for us. They want On the other hand, Phillips continues, “I stand that there are things outside of our con- we would typically do—instead of maybe do- our end.” Added to that, a lot of associations and co-op corporations are pulling the trigger on minium killed 98 people in Surfside, Florida. interest rates, tightened lending practices, new insurance guidelines, and the fact that more residents are home during the day and want to see repairs and upgrades made to their build- ings or communities, has inspired boards to accelerate timelines or add more projects than they would before. But for managers like Phillips, “We just do our job as the job comes along. And, you know, nothing ever surprises me. If a board asks me to get something, I’m used to that. So it doesn’t really seem out of place to have to do it for all of my associations at the same time.” Work-Life Balance Perhaps one of the more sanguine re- working. In general, people have reevaluated ing a smaller staff or not taking on as much n Darcey Gerstein is Associate Editor and a Staff Writer for CooperatorNews. THE STATE OF... continued from page 13