If I were to walk along the street and ask several members of the public ‘What do you know about block management?’ the chances are they would never have heard of it. Unless you live in a house or apartment with a service charge attached, block management, or leasehold management is a phrase generally unknown to those who do not work in, or have links to, the property industry. A quick Google search tells me that block management is the ‘…process of managing the communal areas of residential properties …’ It is the ‘Chandler Bing from Friends’ job- no one is quite sure what it is a Block Manager actually does! It may, therefore, also be an unknown term to those that have just left sixth form or university. It’s only in the past few years that we have seen undergraduate degrees popping up such as ‘Real Estate’ or ‘Property Development’ which may give students an insider knowledge into the world of block management. Most students wanting a career within the housing sector opt for surveying degrees and become members of RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors) or will find a job within a high street estate agent.
When a block management company is looking for a candidate, it can be difficult to find a candidate meeting the specification. With no natural feed into the industry, a lot of candidates may have work experience within the property sector , such as lettings and Chartered Surveyors, but not specifically block management. A lot of potential candidates we speak to have seen a recruitment advert online seeking a Block Manager and are drawn to the salary but without the necessary experience within the [block management] field, and previous work within different property sectors, salary expectations are much lower. This makes horizontal movement from other property related careers less desirable. Over 90% of the candidates we speak with didn’t set out to be a Block Manager. They have mostly fallen into the role from another property job further proving there to be no direct link into the industry.
Candidates need further information in order to know that block management is an opportunity for a viable career. This starts within high school, college and also university, sowing the seed for the future of the industry. This then leads onto courses where they learn about the sector and the IRPM qualifications. Whose responsibility is this? ARMA, the IRPM, block management companies or us, as recruiters? Everyone within the industry needs to take some responsibility. There are now some companies starting to offer graduate schemes but more needs to be done to persuade students that the industry is for them, via career fairs, work experience and industry led talks and even social media.
I am sure this is a subject that you have all talked about and will continue to discuss in the future. We have to make sure that when a person at school says I want to be a… 'a Block Manager' is up there at the top of the list!
Steve Grimsley FIRP, Director of Temple PM
