In 2020, the Foundation for Community Association Research highlighted a potential looming “crisis” in the community association management (CAM) industry – a shortage of qualified candidates to fill community association manager roles. Almost five years later, this challenge remains. The 2024 Community Association Management Industry Report noted, “The labor shortage among community association management staff members continues in earnest in 2024, keeping many teams smaller than is needed to manage a growing portfolio.”
With faster-than-average job growth predicted in the CAM industry through 2033 according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics, it’s important for companies in the space to build strategies that will help them attract and retain enough high-quality talent to support business success.
In June 2024, AvidXchange and The Institute of Finance & Management (IOFM) conducted a survey of 500 accounts payable (AP) professionals to learn about elements that impact their job satisfaction. Since community managers wear many hats, including accounting and finance responsibilities, we believe the findings from IOFM’s 2024 AP Career Satisfaction Survey are relevant across the industry, and the takeaways are transferrable to helping boost hiring and workforce stability in CAM.
“If you can take a lot of that pressure and that day-to-day [administrative] work off of [community managers], I think that will actually help ease the frustration in our industry.”
Strategic Work Breeds Engagment
Participating in strategic initiatives and impactful projects can boost employee engagement. When combined with modern technology, employees can complete their tasks more effectively, leading to greater job satisfaction.
According to the 2024 AP Career Satisfaction Survey, 68% of AP professionals rarely or never engage in strategic initiatives. However, those working in highly automated environments are more frequently involved in such initiatives, highlighting a link between technology access and strategic work opportunities.
When CAM companies invest in automation, community managers can do more than simply “push paper,” coding invoices and issuing citation letters. Technology helps take care of the tedious, manual work so community managers can focus on more valuable and fulfilling projects like analyzing data to determine the future direction of the community.
Technology Supports Career Development
Career growth and advancement play a key role in employee satisfaction, offering a sense of progress and professional development. When employees have opportunities to improve their skills and move up within an organization, they are more likely to stay engaged and committed, leading to higher job satisfaction and long-term retention.
However, the 2024 AP Career Satisfaction Survey found that only 49% of AP professionals feel their company provides opportunities for growth and skills development. Interestingly, those working in fully automated environments are twice as likely to “strongly agree” that career advancement opportunities exist compared to their peers in manual-based roles.
The takeaway is clear, CAM companies that give their employees the technology tools they need to succeed foster a positive perception of career progression, which benefits employee satisfaction and retention.
Automation Encourages Work-Life Balance
Having flexible work hours and access to paid time off plays a crucial role in achieving a healthy work-life balance. These perks enable employees to rest, recharge, and handle personal obligations effectively. As a result, they can enhance job satisfaction, boost morale, and help prevent burnout.
IOFM’s survey found that AP professionals often have difficulty creating a sustainable balance between career and personal commitments. Only 62% of respondents agreed they have a healthy work-life balance. Many also have difficulty disconnecting from work – IOFM found that only 22% used all their PTO in 2023, while 32% used less than half.
Community managers likely experience similar challenges, due to the “always on” nature of their jobs that require work outside of normal business hours, including handling maintenance emergencies, attending board meetings, and orchestrating community events. Automation technology can help solve these problems by streamlining repetitive manual tasks and lightening the workload so community managers can take time off for self-care.
“We live in a society where vacation is hard, like it’s hard to take vacation, truly unplug. If you’ve got the right technology in place, your systems and processes can be more automated so that people can truly check out for a little bit and not have to always be plugged in. And when they get back to their desk, they don’t have a thousand e-mails because either the technology took care of it or because you have an appropriate structure with specific admin staff that took care of those little things.”
Improving Talent Acquisition and Employee Retention in CAM
The IOFM survey results indicate that AP professionals have a positive outlook on workplace technology, particularly automation. In fact, 69% of respondents expressed willingness to use automation tools to handle the most repetitive aspects of their job. Seventy-one percent believe automation would positively impact their role in the long run.
When asked which tasks they would most like to eliminate, survey respondents pointed to:
• Manual data entry (46%)
• Routing invoices and payments for approval (41%)
• Handling supplier inquiries (34%)
• Printing and mailing checks (31%)
• Filing invoices and payables documents (22%)
By reducing routine tasks, professionals can dedicate more time to strategic projects, career development, and personal well-being, boosting overall job satisfaction.
For CAM companies facing staffing shortages and budget constraints, now is the ideal time to invest in AP automation. Implementing the right technology empowers employees by freeing them from tedious tasks, allowing them to focus on higher-value initiatives – enhancing services within their communities. Ultimately, automation is a strategic investment that improves both employee engagement and operational success.
Read more about the IOFM AP Career Satisfaction Survey by downloading the full report. Or learn more about how automation can help transform your finance and accounting tasks by watching an on-demand video demo.
