Diversifying Through Project Management Having dedicated project managers on staff is a growing trend at management companies. What are the benefits and is this business model worth a try? By Dean Jackson, CCAM-HR
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s management companies continue to strive to differentiate themselves from the competition, the services that they offer have started to become more diverse and specialized. This diversity and specialization can provide unique services to HOAs and can provide more efficiency and uniformity inside a management company. A newer trend, one that you probably haven’t seen even a decade ago, is management companies having project managers on staff or even having a project management division. Throughout our industry, the community association manager usually manages the various projects in their portfolio of associations or in the case of a General Manager, at a single association under their care. For example, at any given time a manager may have two siding projects, a roofing project with several water intrusion issues and a paving project. This variety of work will make an experienced manager into also a
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good project manager in their own right, and this model continues to be the norm. This model can also monopolize a manager’s time, take away from the day-to-day management of the community, and in some cases, cost the association more in billable management hours. Project management can easily be confused with construction management, but while related, they are not the same thing. While the construction manager is a trained professional focused specifically on the construction portion of the project, the advent of in-house project management services allows the project management staff to carve out some of the responsibilities and tasks that are normally on the community manager’s plate. These responsibilities and tasks are focused on the overall project from inception to planning and budgeting and finally to the final piece, construction. This transfer of responsibilities from the community manager to the project manager can benefit the community association managers, management company, HOA, and homeowners.
Vision Winter 2021 | cacm.org
So what are the benefits of having a project manager or project management division? BENEFITS TO THE MANAGER When the manager’s project load is lightened, they can be less stressed and focus on their service to their client. They may even have the bandwidth to take on additional clients. BENEFITS TO THE CLIENT Associations will have a more focused manager with more time to respond to emails and calls and a greater attention to detail. The client also benefits in situations where the project may require the management company to bill for hours. As the project manager or the project management division repeatedly work on similar projects for many associations, they develop templates, shorthand communication with contractors and construction managers, and processes which save (billable) time, increase efficiency, and result in more uniformity, quality control, and better communication. The managers no longer need to constantly reinvent the wheel.
