PCAM? Why and How to....

Did you know, the PCAM designation is the highest professional recognition available nationwide to managers who specialize in community association management? Earning the designation of PCAM requires quite a bit of dedication and perseverance. CAI provides and inexhaustible amount of information for owners, board members, and especially managers. The PCAM is the highest designation a manager can earn, and it is well worth working towards. It will give a manager the skills to properly articulate their work and assist associations in running at their peak state. If you are a manager in this industry, and you see yourself being in this field five years from now (and have five years’ CAM experience already under your belt), please take the challenge of earning the PCAM credential. You will be overjoyed once you achieve it. I am writing this article to help everyone out there on the fence still mystified or scared of beginning their journey. It is not easy, but it is achievable by absolutely anyone willing to put in the work.

Why the PCAM?

The first question you want to answer is – WHY? Why do you want to earn this designation? Ideally, the answer would be that you are a professional manager seeking to be the best at what you do. Sometimes however, the answer is different. The answer may be that you want to earn a better income and having the PCAM designation will provide proof of your ability to achieve success with the many courses required. In my case however, the catalyst was a very difficult job loss several years ago. I did not expect to be in a position where I questioned everything in life after having been in this industry for over ten years. I had been very successful managing luxury properties and was even in a great position as the Director of Condominium Management. Well, life had one of those unexpected curve balls to throw at me, and it hit me square in the face. God, the Universe, Karma, whatever you call it, felt it was time for me to move on and learn a few very hard lessons. As many managers have experienced in their career, to no fault of their own, I too had to move on to bigger and better things. One of the biggest regrets I had while wallowing in despair was the fact that I had never thought to pursue the CMCA or PCAM credentials. To tell you the truth, I had never given them a single thought. I had experienced enough success without credentials at that point so why would I need them? Deep down inside, I knew I had to make a serious decision and set the goal for the PCAM. I needed to have those letters after my name. If I were to be a true professional, I would have to earn the credentials. As cheesy as it may sound, I owed it to my wife and children to be the best I could possibly be in my career. That is what drove me. If another unpleasant job loss were to occur, I would be in a better position with no regrets.

 I started reaching out to several of the PCAMs I knew and began inquiring about the process. I was fortunate enough as well, to quickly begin working with Resource Property Management in Tampa, a company that completely supports personal development courses and all the corporate leaders have their PCAM designations. This company truly leads by example. If you are a corporate leader in a management firm, consider subsidizing your managers’ personal development courses. There will be a significant increase in the quality of work your CMCA or PCAM manager brings to the client.

 The First Step

The first step in getting your PCAM is achieving the CMCA. This is no easy task but can easily be managed with a little perseverance. The M100 courses is a summary of the six M200 courses you will need to take to qualify for the PCAM. Take the CMCA seriously because it is the foundation to your PCAM. This course is thorough and will refresh your memory as to some of the standards expected in community association management. Your state may have provided licensing requirements to start working as a manager, but the CMCA credential requires a higher standard of knowledge that you will be happy you acquired. Within the recommended course study materials to pass the exam, are the G.A.P. reports. These GAP reports are the “Guides for Association Practitioners”. These are very small booklets that contain information to help you with the CMCA exam and to also use in your PCAM Case Study. I recommend you buy these booklets, read them, and highlight what you feel is most important. After the CMCA, you will refer to these. One other thing I was able to use them for was to pass them onto board members I was working with. These are great booklets with information board members can refer to. Use them wisely.

After achieving the CMCA, download the application for the PCAM. There are several sections to the application you’ll need to become familiar with. Each section has a minimum number of points you must qualify for prior to submitting the application. You may have to earn points by writing an article for CAI, having a certain level of formal education, attending CAI events, or passing other educational courses through CAI. Looking into these point requirements early will help you in the process to expedite your application. I printed out a copy of the application, filled it out, and highlighted the areas that I needed to earn points in. It took me several months, but I simply jotted down notes on the application as time passed. Once, I had the required number of points in each section, I retyped the application and sent it in.

The M200 Courses

To qualify for the PCAM you will also be required to pass the six M200 courses. As you go through these courses, I recommend you develop your own templates to use at your current position. For example, you may want to develop a template for RFP’s, newsletters, job descriptions, maintenance checklist, resolutions, or even counseling forms. These templates will help you at your current position and may be helpful with your PCAM Case Study. Your current management company will also benefit from your proactive involvement in these administrative processes. The M200 courses have two main educational portions: a video tutorial and a physical book. I felt that the video tutorial alone was sufficient to proceed with taking the test for each course. I watched the tutorial twice and then took the exam. The book usually arrives a week or two after purchasing the course. You will need the book to study from for the PCAM Case Study. When signing up for each M200 course, I recommend you give yourself a short timeline to complete them. Each course can easily be completed within a two-to-three-week period. The PCAM journey need not be more than eighteen to twenty-four months if you are truly dedicated. Completing each course quickly allows for you to have a few remaining months to access the video tutorial simply for studying purposes. 

The Case Study

I recommend that you sign up for the Case Study about three to six months out. The Case Study as you may or may not know, is basically an in-depth evaluation of an association’s procedures that may or may not be in your state. There are ten main questions in the exam, with each question having two to four other parts to it. Fear not, CAI provides sufficient information for you to succeed with an association from another state. Assume there will be two questions pertaining to each of the M200 courses. The three to six months prior should be spent reading the M200 courses and fine tuning the templates within those courses. You will also want to be sure you know how to properly write a thesis type paper. Know how to develop a proper bibliography at the end of the paper and how to quote and cite other peoples’ work. This is a professional paper you are writing, and the expected standards are that of graduate level work. Use Google. Google everything you can for the PCAM Case Study process. There are lots of quick videos and information and information online readily available to you so that you can be prepared to take on the task of the Case Study. Preparing for the Case Study involves your research skills. Good managers know how to research problems and find solutions. Using the World Wide Web is without a doubt, the largest resource of information at your disposal.

Two to three weeks prior to the Case Study beginning, you will receive some of the documents for the subject association. I recommend you begin reading asap. Read all you can and begin making connections of information between one document and the other. Personally, I started typing my opinion on each document to process what I was thinking and then forming a better memory of it. You may have a different study strategy, but for me, beginning the paper prior to having any actual questions, was a huge help. I simply asked myself the following questions to everything I was reading:

Is this document written to current standards in the industry?

How can I improve on it based on the CAI courses I have taken and materials I have read?

What GAP (Guide for Association Practitioners) report, M100, or M200 course speaks to this subject?

Can I research more information online that I can cite?

What might a professional in this specific area (attorney, insurance agent, accountant) say about this detail I discovered?

Asking yourself these questions will get the creative juices flowing and will allow for an easier process when the formal writing begins.

In Summary

You will spend just about every minute possible researching and writing your Case Study. Most PCAM candidates take the first two weeks off from work once the PCAM formally begins. I concur this is a good idea but NOT something necessary. I took only two days off for the Case Study itself and I did most of my work (research and writing) after 5pm weekdays and during three full weekends (12hrs each day). You can expect to invest about 160 hours of work into your Case Study. Once the Case Study formally begins, make sure you have a quiet place where you can write and concentrate. The amount of information you will be given really is astounding and you will want to be able to refer to it and read things carefully. Save your work! I wish I did not have to say this so adamantly, but please save the WORD file you are working on. Personally, I emailed the saved file to myself at the end of each day so that I had several back-ups. Aim to finish the paper a week prior to the due date. This will give your brain a bit of time to relax and maybe remind you of any last-minute tweaking that may be necessary.

If you are on the fence on whether to wait for an “in-person” Case Study versus the “virtual” Case Study currently available, please consider the virtual Case Study option. It is just as complete as the in-person version but without the logistical preparation and expenses needed to travel elsewhere. It is a huge advantage to be able to start on your paper immediately rather than waiting a day or two because of travel arrangements. My virtual Case Study was an HOA in Virginia, but I have always been a condominium manager in Florida. It was quite different than what I was used to in the CAM management realm. The virtual format provided all the necessary information. Ask your PCAM peers for their advice now because once the Case Study begins, those resources are off limits. There are a few rules you must adhere to and you will want to make sure you do abide by them.

It took me twenty-six months to complete the entire process. It simply takes determination. So long as you are dedicated to continuing one step after the other, you’ll reach this mountain top.

Do you know how to eat an elephant? One bite at a time. That is all this process is. One small step after the other. At the end of the day, if you prepare well, you will do well. Good luck to you in this journey that I hope you will begin (and end) with great enthusiasm.

Thank you www.KarelCosta.com