As we welcome 2023 and reflect on 2022, I want to say THANK YOU to our clients and staff.
Over the past year, we have welcomed many new clients and worked hard as a team to provide good service and add value to their communities. We have continued to grow our partnerships with existing clients and have worked to provide top service. In many ways, this was successful and we very much appreciate the relationships with our trustees and owners that we service within the communities we manage. Our investment division saw similar success in forging new relationships and strengthening existing partnerships with both owners and tenants.
However, the year was not without challenge! Our biggest obstacle was staffing. Property management is not unique in today’s economy, and our entire industry has experienced staffing issues. This is a first for BRIGS, as usually, our average staff tenure exceeds ten years. On the investment side, our head of the department left to pursue an MBA. Additionally, several condominium managers left the industry due to burnout, retirement, or to pursue similar opportunities for substantially more salary. We had new hires commit to a new role only to quit within a week when a better offer came along. In speaking with our friendly competitors, we learned that this is an industry standard at this point.
As an owner, this is a frustrating situation but—we used the opportunity to evaluate, reassess, and make improvements across the board. I want to thank our clients who have been more than understanding of this situation and have worked with us through the turnover. We are committed to reducing turnover not only with BRIGS but within the industry as a whole. This can only be achieved by education and change within the management company to reduce the demand on staff.
As you have seen, BRIGS has been implementing several initiatives over the past year. We have established a project management division that is acting as an owner’s representative on projects to reduce managers’ workloads, but also to provide a higher level of expertise than a manager could.
After seeing many flaws in how insurance was handled with clients, we have centralized this function for better expertise and oversight of the renewal process and client experience. We are also now offering educational programs for boards and owners regarding insurance through this division.
We will continue to roll out new initiatives and services for our clients in 2023, but our main focus will be on staffing and recruiting. I am committed to adding to our strong team and seeking out the talent that will best enhance the client experience. We intend to do this by adding a recruiter for all roles within the company to our HR department, who will source talent and educate candidates about what our industry has to offer. It is not an easy job, but it is very fulfilling and offers a consistent role that is always needed, regardless of the state of the economy. The property management industry, like many others, is in need of good people. Our commitment in 2023 is to find them and provide a work environment that maintains, challenges, and supports them long into the future.
Thank you for allowing BRIGS to be your management partner. It is not a role we take lightly.
Wishing you, your families, and the communities you live in much success and good health in 2023.
– Scott Wolf, CEO
