The term ‘diversity’ encompasses an expansive range of demographics within a population, from ethnicity, age, gender and orientation, ability, religion, and socioeconomic status to culture, language, and personal lived experience. These factors contribute to the wide variety of needs and preferences that residents may have, especially in multifamily settings like co-ops and condos, where a diverse mix of people reside under one roof, essentially.

Kimberly Parker is a property manager at New England-based management company John M. Corcoran & Co. and member of nonprofit groups like the Institute for Real Estate Management (IREM) where she serves as the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) committee chairperson, and Courageous Conversation, which provides training and coaching for racial equity leaders. According to her, “People are sometimes afraid to touch the topic of ‘diversity,’ but when you start talking about it, you realize you can really start to create opportunities for everyone.” 

Keith Werny, president of the CityLine division for nationwide property management company FirstService Residential, acknowledges that every property’s residential makeup is unique, especially in diverse metropolitan areas like the New York City metro, Boston, and Chicago, and that property management companies should “adapt their services to meet the specific needs of the board and the residents in their managed properties.”

Parker agrees, and adds that property managers are integral in promoting inclusivity in their client properties. “Property managers create that welcoming environment and make sure everyone is included in the conversation,” she says. “That’s what makes them good leaders. Beyond making sure everyone has a seat at the table, they also need to be allies to help everyone’s voices be heard.” 

“You have to be empathetic, and find a balance between the board’s vision for the building and the residents whom their policies will impact,” says Werny. “Our endgame is to be a trusted advisor to the boards we serve—and that goes beyond building budgets and compliance. It’s allowing the culture of their building to influence the services we provide.” 

Ralph Westerhoff, founder and CEO of NYC-based Brick Work Management, agrees. “In terms of diversity, there are so many different kinds–cultural, ethnic, economic–you should never show any favoritism. Everyone has the same rights as anyone else.” 

Communicating Across the Board

Effective communication serves to bring a community together. Whether it’s for building notifications, sharing updates, coordinating maintenance, or relaying information on activities, it’s best to make sure you are communicating in a way that works for your entire building. 

“Consider a building with a mix of older and younger residents,” says Werny. “Among older residents, paper is the preferred method of communication, but younger generations prefer digital communications, like text messages or mobile apps.” To cover all the bases, Werny continues, “[We] developed a proprietary communication platform for managers to draft and distribute digital building notices in one click, and then duplicate those notices for print.” 

Sometimes it’s not just a matter of paper versus PDF. Property managers also often encounter language barriers within client communities that necessitate more thought in how to communicate best. These barriers can make residents feel detached, especially those older generations who may be less comfortable or less proficient with using ultramodern technology to communicate. “You can take and offer language classes,” says Parker, “and you can send newsletters out in multiple languages to make sure they represent your community well.” 

“When there’s a specific need, we recruit employees who are fluent in another language”, says Werny, ”to help establish an instant connection between management and the residents. This includes property managers, assistant property managers, and resident property managers—the people who interact with residents daily.”

Along with making sure everyone gets the proverbial memos, encouraging community cohesion where you can is another way to keep communication channels open and flowing. Westerhoff recognizes that most buildings hold regular annual meetings, but says it’s to also host informational meetings and get-togethers periodically to share ideas and eliminate people feeling ‘bottled up’ about things they might like to change or improve in the community. 

“More frequent get-togethers give residents more opportunities to be heard,” he says. “And we find that transparency really does work. For example, financials can be shared with anyone in the building, so why not share them? When people start seeing the numbers, you would be amazed at how many fewer questions come up, because they see the process and they know what’s going on in the building.” Involvement bolsters a sense of shared interest and responsibility. 

Providing Inclusive Programming 

Holding events in the building that allow shareholders to share more about themselves, their culture, lifestyle, or customs is another great way to be inclusive. “I managed a building with a predominately large Chinese population, and one year we decided to do a program for the Chinese New Year with food, decorations paying attention to their customs,” says Parker, “and the residents were so appreciative. More residents of other ethnicities wanted to share their customs, too. We started including a section in our regular newsletters and holding more programs for people to share. It’s been a great learning experience for all of us.”

A successful event or programming calendar can start small; Werny suggests buildings keep it simple at first, perhaps hosting a few town hall-style meetings to find out what type of events residents are most interested in. “For buildings that can accommodate large gatherings,” he says, “we often recommend an end-of-year holiday party, family events like Halloween costume parades, and fun one-off events like a baking competition, or karaoke. We’ve also hosted educational events on hot topics like homeowners insurance, fire safety, and managing energy costs.” 

To get feedback from residents, Werny says his firm encourages managers to work with their boards to create resident surveys that might help assess what’s working in the building and where improvements can be made, especially regarding inclusive programming and building policies.

Building Beneficial Relationships 

Encouraging shareholders to get involved also helps bolster a community of mutual respect and unity. “Resident committees are also a great way to engage a community and tap into expertise beyond the board, as long as they work in concert,” says Werny, “For example, residents with an engineering, architecture, or construction background could form a capital planning committee, while residents with strong financial acumen might be best suited for a financial committee.”

Parker partners with local nonprofit groups to help residents in her current affordable housing property to get food or other social services when needed. “It helps me with my relationship with my community to be involved,” she says, “I used to think property management and resident resources were separate, but now I see it more as a community manager kind of presence.” 

Keeping resident dynamics in perspective helps manage expectations. Westerhoff manages buildings with primarily older tenants, and says he keeps that in mind when setting programming or planning for maintenance tasks. “You need to balance the needs of the building and everything that needs to get done with the reality that not everyone may have the means. We work hard to balance things so there aren’t surprises for anyone.” 

Bridging the Gap

In the end, managing a diverse population means creating and maintaining connections, and that’s most easily achieved by treating everyone with respect and a generous side of compassion. “Whether it’s a barrier because of race or language or anything–people aren’t always comfortable expressing themselves until they feel safe enough to do so,” says Parker, “Property managers can help ease this concern by writing it into the policies and procedures that they will uphold this practice of being open, fair, and inclusive to all.”

“What we have to do is make sure we never play favorites,” says Westerhoff, “You need to be fair to everyone. Part of our job is to help people be objective. When people get along, they want to help each other, and they are positive and respectful towards each other.”

Werny concurs, stating that some further steps that boards can take to bridge gaps include focusing on the needs of their entire residential community rather than just their personal vision for the building. “That starts with maintaining open lines of communication with residents, conducting community surveys, and partnering with the management company to create policies that will make a difference for their community,” he says. 

“Be open and intentional about how you look at people,” says Parker, “I’ve worked with so many people from different cultures, economic ranges, LGBTQ+ communities, gender and racial groups, and each experience is an opportunity to learn. When I hear something new about a resident, it makes me curious and motivates me to research and learn, and doing that creates an atmosphere where everyone knows they are welcome. As a property manager, you need to show up for your residents. You want people to love where they live.” 

Kate Mattiace is Associate Editor of CooperatorNews.