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Special Report:

2012 Employment Outlook for Community Association

Management

Dawn M. Bauman, CAE

Executive Director

Terry White

Editor

2012 Employment Outlook for Community Association Management |

Special Report:

The 2012 Employment Outlook

For Community Association Management

The hiring outlook for community association managers in 2012 seems quite rosy, according to a survey of 1,509 professionals in the industry conducted by the National Board of Certification for Community Association Management (NBC-CAM) at the end of 2011. Of those surveyed, 1,351 (95.3 percent) held the Certified Manager of Community Associations (CMCA®) credential, 771 (54.4 percent), held the Association Manager Specialist (AMS®) credential, and 317 (22.4 percent) held the Professional Community Association Manager (PCAM®).

When management company executives were asked to describe their hiring intentions in 2012, over one-third (33.5 percent) said they expected an increase in the total number of managers hired within their community or organization. Only 2.8 percent said they anticipated a decrease in hiring for the year.

Community Management Has Better Hiring Outlook than Overall Business

The percentage of community managers expecting a boost in hiring surpasses a Wells Fargo/Gallup Small Business Index Poll released February 7, 2012, which found that 22 percent of 600 U.S. small businesses surveyedacross a range of industries said they expected to increase the total number of jobs at their companies over the next year. Only 8 percent of those surveyed said they intend to reduce their workforces over the next 12 months.

Gallup’s Chief Economist Dennis Jacobe said, “This 14-percentage-point advantage for expected job growth, compared to job reductions, is the largest since the plus 15 percent of January 2008, suggesting small-business owners are more optimistic about hiring now than at any time in recent years.”

The gap was even greater for community association management. The NBC-CAM survey showed a phenomenal 30.7-percentage gap between those who expect to hire versus fire employees. Essentially, the outlook now seems more than twice as positive for community management, compared to small-business overall.

If the community management hiring uptick in 2012 fulfills expectations of respondents, it will represent a significant improvement over a strong performance in 2011. Last year, 25.4 percent experienced increased hiring activity, which is 8.1 percent less than those expecting increased hiring activity in 2012. At the other end, 7.8 percent experienced decreased hiring activity in 2011, which is exactly 5 percent more than anticipate decreased hiring activity in 2012.

Although over one-third of community managers anticipated increased hiring intentions in 2012, many appear to be waiting to see how the economy shapes up before turning up the volume on hiring. Nearly one-fifth (19.3 percent) say they are unsure of their hiring intentions.

It appears that the hiring outlook in community management overall is better than most other industries, including both small and large businesses. A nationwide survey for CareerBuilder by Harris Interactive of 3,000 hiring managers and human across industries and company sizes mirrored the Wells Fargo/Gallup poll of small businesses, with 23 percent of employers surveyed saying they plan to hire full-time, permanent employees in 2012 and 7 percent saying they intend to reduce headcount.

“Historically, our surveys have shown that employers are more conservative in their predictions than actual hiring,” said CareerBuilder CEO Matt Ferguson. “Barring any major economic upsets, we expect 2012 to bring a better hiring picture than 2011, especially in the second half of the year. Many companies have been operating lean and have already pushed productivity limits. We're likely to see gradual improvements in hiring across categories as companies respond to increased market demands.”

Major Trends Should Shape Employment Outcome in 2012

The CareerBuilder survey also tracked four employment trends to watch this year:

  • Compensation will grow more competitive for skilled positions. Employers expect compensation levels to increase for both current staff and prospective employees as recruiting for skilled talent becomes more competitive. Over three-fifths (62 percent) of employers plan to increase compensation for their existing employee base while nearly one-third (32 percent) will offer higher starting salaries for new employees. “

The same should hold true in community management. Passing the CMCA examination and maintaining the standards of the CMCA certification is proof that a manager is a knowledgeable, ethical and professional—and it is only fitting that they should be compensated accordingly.

  • Voluntary turnover will be on the rise. Over one-third (34 percent) of human resource managers reported that voluntary turnover at their organizations rose in 2011. Employers pointed to the desire for higher compensation and feeling overworked as the top two reasons employees gave for resigning. Thirty percent of employers said they lost top performers to other organizations in 2011 and 43 percent stated they are concerned that top talent may jump ship in the New Year.

It seems likely that a similar trend will occur in community management as the demand for highly qualified, certified managers outstrips the supply, and managers become open to taking on new, better compensated positions.

  • Employers will bridge the skills gap by training employed/unemployed. There are an increasing number of areas where demand for skilled positions is growing much faster than supply, prompting employers to take “re-skilling” workers into their own hands. Thirty-eight percent plan to train people who don't have experience in their particular industry and hire them for positions within their organizations in 2012.

Extended to the community management industry, it seems reasonable to assume that more employers will assume the cost of certifying and recertifying managers and perhaps even set aside time during the workday for them to prepare for certification.

  • Employers will target Hispanic workers, African American workers and women. Aware of the benefits diversity can bring to their organization, 29 percent of employers said they will be focused on recruiting diverse workers to expand their employee demographics. One-in-five (20 percent) will be targeting Hispanic workers and African American workers to work for their organizations while the same number will be recruiting more women. Forty-four percent plan to hire bilingual workers in 2012.

Certainly, there seems to be ample room for additional diversity in community management. Of those participating in the CMCA Employment Statistics and 2012 Outlook Survey, 92.4 percent listed their race/ethnicity as White. Next came Hispanic or Latino, with 3.6 percent, followed by Black or African American at 2 percent, Asian at 1.7 percent, American Indian or Alaska Native at 0.9 percent, and Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander at 0.5 percent. On the other hand, it seems less likely that employers in the industry would target women workers, considering that nearly three-fifths (59.6 percent) of those surveyed were female.

Yet another consideration for the hiring outlook for community managers in 2012 and beyond concerns age. Consider that 63 percent of those surveyed were 46 and over. Well over one-third (35.6 percent) of respondents were over 55. In the past, the potential loss of many managers to retirement might have been more cause for alarm. However, the Great Recession has caused workers over age 50 to delay their retirement plans, according toa survey released in December 2011 by the Employee Benefit Research Institute.

In 2006, 7.4 percent of the 50-plus group said they would retire at age 62 and 16.1 percent said they would quit at 65. By 2010, those percentages had dropped to 4.9 percent and 14.5 percent, respectively. The percentage planning to retire at age 70, meanwhile, rose from 11.2 percent to 14.8 percent. Age 80 was the retirement target for 5.2 percent of the over-50 crowd in 2010, up from just 1.7 percent four years earlier.

However, the same survey indicated a possible significant change that could ultimately leave many jobs to be filled. The percentage of older workers who said they could “never retire” peaked at 22.4 percent in 2008, but had dropped to 16.3 percent by 2010.

Financial considerations aside, many community association managers may delay retirement for other things their jobs provide. For example, they may be reluctant to leave friendships with their colleagues and others in the community. Moreover, work keeps them in the mix and being viewed as being productive.

Certified managers know they are making a difference in communities everywhere. Because they enjoy what they are doing so much, many see no reason to rush into retirement. With the industry expanding, their presence will continue to be appreciated.

Moreover, many people approaching retirement have knowledge and skills they would like to pass on to the next generation. One way to do this is to continue to work or volunteer in some capacity.

Possible Hiring DeterrentsRemain

While most trends point to employment expansion for community association management and other industries, some inhibitors linger. Those participating in the Fargo/Gallup Small Business Index Poll who are not looking to hire employers todaygave specific reasons, including:

  • Don’t need any additional employees at this time (76 percent)
  • Worried revenues or sales will not justify adding more employees (71 percent)
  • Worried about the current status of the U.S. economy (66 percent)
  • Worried about cash flow or ability to make payroll (53 percent)
  • Worried about the potential cost of healthcare (48 percent)
  • Worried about new government regulations (46 percent)

Those concerns also may apply to community association management. However, compared to managers in most other industries, community association managers seem less deterred by such worries when it comes to hiring plans for 2012.

The availability of safe, secure jobs may ultimately attract top talent from other industries with less aggressive hiring practices. These new employees will become prime candidates for certification.

ABOUT NBC-CAM

NBC-CAM is a 16-year-old independent certification board that develops certification and standards for community association managers. It administers the CMCA examination, a rigorous, three-hour test that measures managers’ knowledge of community management best practices. The CMCA certification is the world’s only accredited certification program for the community association management profession. CMCA-certified managers have the skills to safeguard the assets of homeowners associations, giving homeowners peace of mind and protecting home values. For more information, go to

2012 Employment Outlook for Community Association Management |