The year 2020 brought with it what no one in their wildest dream would have imagined. The pandemic and its gut-wrenching impact over the world has conditioned the people to a new world reform. The domino effect has been inevitable, and as the Covid19 wave continued to hit every major aspect of our lives, community association was no different than the others.
From reinforcing the Covid19 protocols, maintaining the standard operating procedures, to taking a gigantic leap forward in technology, the year has been challenging for both the residents and the associates. And predictively enough, these trends have come along in this year as well.
As we reminisce the times when our only concern was baking banana bread and watching Ellen cry in her mansion, we can’t help but notice how different the year 2021 is. The year has definitely brought on eye-opening trends for community association management. Let’s have a look!
Paperless Documentation
It is certainly a trend carried forward from last year but with shocking revelations. As homeowners associations and community association management companies find ways to manage their day-to-day finances and administrative documentation online.
There is no doubt that 20202 saw a surge in paperless everything and turning it into a need of the hour. However, 2021 has certainly turned this need into a new trend that will be seen advancing long in the future.
Paying Off Previous Bills
As last year work from home increased significantly, and people stayed in more, the cost of the community overall increased. Especially internet and utility usage was seen at an all-time high in 2020. This has definitely put community association management on the radar to pay off higher bills than anticipated in a regular year.
As the companies and managers have tried to pay off any and every outstanding bill that may result in a power outage or unexpected internet limitations, it has taken them way over this year to come to a balancing outcome.
Zoom Meetings
Now there is no need to schedule community association management meetings as per the availability of everyone, whether homeowners associates or residents. Zoom has seen through all scheduling as it is solely electronic now.
In fact, many community association management companies have started to have in-house Zoom meetings to avoid conflict of interest or priority-based addressing. Zoom may have been a diamond in the coal mine for 2020, but now it is a regular requirement.
Education and Awareness for Vaccinations
Possibly the biggest turning point and trend of the year-long has to be vaccinations. Earlier this year, major pharmaceuticals and research companies, namely, Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson’s & Johnson’s, saw the likes of coming out with successful vaccinations against Covid19. Many people saw this as an end to the battle that was this pandemic. However, many people are still unaware or lack proper knowledge of how important it is to get vaccinated.
Therefore, community association management companies have taken on this new trend where they would have to educate and work around creating an informed dialog around vaccines for their services to continue efficiently. Pre-determined budgets may not be able to accommodate the costs of these awareness programs. Still, it is more than necessary to be carried out for the community’s safety and wellbeing.
Maintenance Work
If there is one thing we all have learned from 2020, it is to prepare for the worst. Many community association managers had initially halted regular maintenance work until they found it safe to continue. Amidst the rise of pandemic and priorities shifting, such work was left in the back end.
As times are evolving and we can finally see the end of the road, it is high time the regular community maintenance work is addressed efficiently. Therefore, many community association managers have placed protocols adhering to the CDC guidelines where residents can:
- Decline non-essential maintenance
- Submit maintenance requests online
- Require maintenance workers to follow proper social distancing guidelines
Overall Community Safety and Wellbeing
Lastly, keeping residents safe and putting in efforts for the community’s overall wellbeing has been a high priority ever since last year. As people continue to get vaccinated gradually, there certainly is a long way to go until we find ourselves in a Covid-free phase of life.
Therefore, following all standard operating procedures of wearing a mask and properly sanitizing have become compulsory.
- Community association managers have installed walk-through entrance shows to sanitize people coming in.
- Wearing a mask is mandatory as soon as you step out of your house.
- Mass disinfection job is to be carried out every month.
- People are encouraged to get tested responsibly upon coming in contact with a threatening situation.
- Self-regulated quarantine is applicable for people coming from any international destination.
Looking forward
From now on, the situation is not as unprecedented as before but nothing too familiar either. You may agree or disagree, but the pandemic has changed the world completely. It will possibly take years before we can recover the damages caused, let alone start moving forward in the direction of how things were pre-Covid.
However, there is nothing wrong with taking lessons and learning from the past. The world might have changed for better or for worse. The good thing is now we have all the possible resources in the community association management industry to tackle any hurdles going forward.
We at PMG Services have trained our members to welcome change with positivity and handle hardship with grace. If you feel that we can be of any help in bettering your homeowners’ association, condominiums, single-family homes, or master-planned communities, contact us today!
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