An HOA functions as a business, so its success and fiscal health relies on the people and processes put in place to handle day-to-day operations. When it comes to businesses that stand out as growth-oriented with a focus on customer satisfaction benchmarks, they are often defined as having the best talent. This talent continues to develop and grow because their employers are investing in them.
It makes sense to encourage everyone connected to an HOA community and community management company to continue their professional education. Here are some other benefits related to prioritizing continuing education as part of your community management company and for community leadership.
Fulfill the Leadership Role
Every leader must stay grounded and appreciate that they have room to improve. That applies to community managers and other HOA leadership roles. Delving into available continuing education seminars, conferences, and workshops will show leadership that they have a lot to still learn.
Lead By Example
Providing continuing education opportunities for community managers helps the entire organization appreciate the value of ongoing learning. It also permeates the organizational culture that you have established so that the rest of your talent understand that you believe in their capabilities and want to help with their professional and personal growth.
Understand Operational Complexities
Although technology and digital transformation processes have added efficiency, the community management environment is still quite complex due to fiscal procedures as well as numerous laws and regulations at the federal, state, and local levels. To ensure no missteps when handling community operations, it is critical to continue expanding everyone’s financial and regulatory knowledge.
Since there is such incredible complexity to daily operations, risk can grow exponentially. Therefore, continuing education becomes even more important, especially in the area of risk management. Focusing on ongoing learning can help the communities you serve to avoid legal issues and lower liability concerns.
Differentiate Your Community Management Company
Externally, the focus on continuing education can be a viable strategy for differentiating yourself from other community management companies. Your competition may not want to invest in education, which means you are leaps and bounds ahead in skills and knowledge.
When an HOA community is deciding on which company to select, your focus on ongoing industry development and skills-building could be the deciding factor. If you are a company that seeks to make continual self-improvement, then you will be more likely to do the same for the communities you serve.
What you learn from ongoing education can also introduce you to new ways of doing things before your competition even hears about them. This could include everything from new tools to use for marketing or operations management to cryptocurrency as an option for assessment payments.
Deliver a Better Service Experience
When your community managers continue their education, their ever-increasing knowledge can provide greater service experiences and more high-touch solutions for any community issues. They will be more entuned with community concerns and what’s available to help improve experiences for all stakeholders, such as new communication channels and technology that help create transparency.
Address Unique Community Needs
Each of your communities has aspects about them that are different. Learning can help address these unique needs in a way that deepens community bonds with residents. For example, if one or more of your communities has residents that speak another language, then it would be beneficial for your team to take language classes so that they could then interact with residents in their language. This could minimize misunderstanding and build community trust.
Stay “In-the-Know”
No matter what industry you are in, there is always something to discover or learn that you were not aware of or that some external factor created. This is especially true in the community management industry where regulations are continually changing.
And, if the pandemic taught us anything, unexpected situations are valuable lessons that help us learn and gain experience with things we never thought would happen. This means you have to be prepared for new challenges and issues that could arise within your communities.
Develop Professionally and Personally
Helping your people grow and achieve their individual professional and personal goals not only helps your clients, but it also is a good way to retain the talent that is so essential to your company’s success. That means the ongoing education you offer them should also include topics related to professional and personal development. After all, many on your team may have the potential of becoming future leaders in your company. When creating your ongoing education opportunities, include career longevity topics like leadership training, ethics, conflict resolution, and emotional intelligence.
Your Partner in Ongoing Education
Innovia is here to help you structure an ongoing education program that fits your community management company needs. As a co-op, we have access to a diverse set of experiences and knowledge from all our members that can provide you with relevant education content. We also partner with a number of organizations that provide further opportunities for learning. Contact us now to get started on elevating your team’s education.
