Oct 31, 2026 · 11 min · 9 segments
The community association industry says it cannot find or keep managers — 97% of management company executives report a shortage. So what actually burns managers out? The industry's own survey of 524…
Sources on the table first.
One primary document, December 2020, CAI's Research Foundation fields two surveys, 524 community managers and separately 171 CEOs and hiring managers of management companies.
Published in 2021 as the Attracting Talent Report, it is, to this day, the best workforce data this industry has ever produced about itself.
Start with the crisis, because that's the context.
How short is the industry?
Per the CEO side, 97% believe there is a shortage of community managers.
63% have open positions right now.
Most of those with between two and six seats empty.
And tenure, careful here, because the report contains two numbers and the trade press usually quotes only one.
The CEOs say the average manager employed at their companies has five years of tenure.
The managers themselves report an average of seven years in their current role.
Different survey populations inside the same report, different numbers, we'll use both, labeled.
Either way, a profession that turns over its workforce, something like every five to seven years, with virtually every employer reporting a shortage.
So, the exit interview.
What does the report say drives people out?
Sources on the table first.
One primary document, December 2020, CAI's Research Foundation fields two surveys, 524 community managers and separately 171 CEOs and hiring managers of management companies.
Published in 2021 as the Attracting Talent Report, it is, to this day, the best workforce data this industry has ever produced about itself.
Start with the crisis, because that's the context.
How short is the industry?
Per the CEO side, 97% believe there is a shortage of community managers.
63% have open positions right now.
Most of those with between two and six seats empty.
And tenure, careful here, because the report contains two numbers and the trade press usually quotes only one.
The CEOs say the average manager employed at their companies has five years of tenure.
The managers themselves report an average of seven years in their current role.
Different survey populations inside the same report, different numbers, we'll use both, labeled.
Either way, a profession that turns over its workforce, something like every five to seven years, with virtually every employer reporting a shortage.
So, the exit interview.
What does the report say drives people out?
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