Page 17 - CooperatorNews New Jersey Spring 2021

NJ.COOPERATORNEWS.COM COOPERATORNEWS NEW JERSEY — SPRING 2021 17 YOU’LL LEARN SO MUCH YOUR COMPUTER COULD EXPLODE WEDNESDAY, APRIL 28, 2021 - 10:00 AM TO 4:00 PM FREE REGISTRATION: NJ.YREXPOS.COM (Our lawyers said we had to warn you.) ous building staffs was as safe as possible. we are conducting business as usual and who is a psychiatrist told me this is very What if someone tested positive, resident have been throughout the pandemic.” or staff? We had to develop a procedure.” Jim Stoller, president and CEO of The Building Group located in Chicago, re- ports a similar experience. “This is un- precedented in its effects,” he says of the in Minneapolis. This added another layer and changes in policies, as well as how to pandemic. “From staffing, to money, to of complexity and concern to the exist- psychology. You would learn something ing crisis. “We had looting on Madison could give each other emotional support. about the virus, and then two days later Avenue,” says Wollman, “and we had an- it’s updated and changed. These danger- ous unknowns required management to tial\] election. We told our buildings we be on full alert all the time. A lot of what would double up staff in the lobby and important right now,” says Nolan. “Let’s we do in management is managing peo- ple. Building systems are easy—but all of out the garbage till the morning due to with many people working from home, a sudden, we are dealing with emotional issues, health issues, with both residents and staff being affected. Many residents have felt that staff safety is not as impor- tant as their own. That was shocking for me. One person said they want someone wiping the building’s front door handle every time someone touches it. In some properties, residents wanted the spa and pool open, with staff to clean it constant- ly.” Of course, that type of request became untenable once state and local authorities ordered these facilities closed. “We stopped all construction and re- modeling,” adds Stoller. “Service provid- ers and building staff were under a lot of stress, both personally and profession- ally. Many ride public transportation to get to their jobs, which is scary, and then when they got to work were expected to do their jobs as if nothing had changed. the protests in some neighborhoods, and my wheel, the wheel I built over my ca- It should be stated that most employees we needed extra fire extinguishers as reer. It was the governor’s wheel, or De- did an outstanding job despite the cir- cumstances.” “In Illinois we are considered an essen- tial business,” says Marsha Nolan, direc- tor of associations for Advocate Property I said so; it was not always well taken. do that—how do Management, also located in Chicago. Our buildings were locked. What was the “We’ve been able to continue our day-to- day operations, though the entire compa- ny did work from home from mid-March standby. Happily, it all worked out.” through May. We had the proper technol- ogy in place to make that possible. I did hear from several vendors early on that we were the only company that continued to pay our invoices on time. Although we do have COVID protocols in place, National Protests Complicate Things In addition to the pandemic, nation- wide protests spread in the late spring our building staff and maintenance peo- over the police killing of George Floyd ple to keep them updated on protocols ticipation with respect to the \[presiden- lock up the front doors. We couldn’t put face it, 2020 \[was\] a whirlwind of a year, well as other items during the protests. partment of Health’s wheel. But we had Some residents were nervous and even to keep everyone safe—employees, staff, asked for armed guards. I didn’t think we and residents. That’s my responsibility as needed anyone to shoot someone, and I view it. So, I have to figure out how to armed guard going to do? In the end, we awaited vaccine are beginning to be didn’t hire guards, but did have them on distributed across the country, we’re fi- Expanding Skills Managers frequently found them- selves in uncharted territory during the pandemic remains ongoing and evolv- first months of the pandemic, adrift in ing—and continues to impact the way rough seas without a map. “The major- ity of issues we dealt with were people’s staffs, and themselves. Time will tell how emotions,” says Stoller. “A friend of mine common. People are under much greater stress—especially those who already had problems. We did a lot of Zoom calls with deal with people. And we did it so they Every day became a support group for all types of staff.” “Good customer service skills are very many people jobless, children learning for the first time via Zoom and other on- line platforms...it’s changed the lives of many. Our routines have been disturbed, which makes people uncomfortable, irri- table at times, and fearful for the future. We have to understand that when clients might have more of an edgy tone to their emails or phone calls, it’s not necessarily us, but just the current state of the coun- try.” Focusing on solid customer service, mutual patience, and de-escalating tense exchanges when they occur can go a long way toward reducing stress for everyone on all sides of the equation. Wollman says he’s learned to value and implement patience and collabora- tion, and uses an apt metaphor: “We had to adapt to an ever-changing wheel with- out reinventing it every day. And it wasn’t we do that.” As the first doses of the desperately nally seeing a light at the end of a very long, dark tunnel. But even with the ray of hope that vaccinations offer, the managers manage their properties, their soon—if ever—we’ll be able to return to some place of normalcy, but until then, multifamily managers will keep soldier- ing on, supporting their staff and client communities as we all do our best to hold it together. n A J Sidransky is a staff writer/report- er for CooperatorNews, and a published novelist. “This \[pandemic\] is unprecedented in its ef- fects. From staffing, to money, to psychology. ... These dangerous un- knowns required man- agement to be on full alert all the time.” —Jim Stoller tion against most, if not all, COVID-19 claims, stating that viral infections and whatever results from them are excluded under existing coverage and policies. This potentially moves liability to as- sociations, corporations, and possibly even individual board members, a risk few are willing to take. Hence, there is a high likelihood that many community amenities will remain closed this spring and summer. Joe Balzamo is the COO of AR Man- agement, a property management firm located in New Jersey. “One of the big- gest problems right now in terms of opening amenities is that insurance companies don’t cover viruses, etc., as part of their coverage,” he says. “The im- pact is simple: if someone gets sick and sues the association, there’s no ability for the insurer to validate the litigation. As- sociations would own the litigation and the claim. All the risk is on the associa- tion.” Glen Masullo, president and manag- ing partner with Preferred Community Management Services located in Som- erset, concurs. “Legal issues are a major block to unilaterally opening pools and other community amenities. Insurance doesn’t currently cover these claims, and members of the board, association, and even vendors can be sued personally.” As concerns this coming season, continues Masullo, “the insurance issue hasn’t gone away.” “There are always liability concerns,” COVID-19... continued from page 1 continued on page 18