Best Practices, community associations, Culture, Customer Service, HOAs, Management, Professionalism

Sucking Up is Not Customer Service

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I had a conversation once with a young manager. She was learning to navigate the sometimes challenging terrain of management-board relationships. At the time she was working for a management firm that had, in my opinion, lost their way. At one of their company functions, a more experienced manager had shared an anecdote about golfing, drinking, and intense schmoozing with his board president. She concluded, “I guess it’s true – the best strategy for job security is being buddies with the board president.”

NO, NO, NO!

Our young manager had a misguided understanding of what customer service is all about on a deeper level in the specific field of community association management. How can managers and other professionals truly serve their community association clients?

What Are We Really Doing Here?

Miriam-Webster says a contract is “a binding agreement between two or more persons or parties.” I think there is a fundamental element missing from that definition. In order for the performance of a contract to meet the expectation of the parties, the definition should finish with the words, “…that provides mutual benefit to both parties.” A zero-sum gain approach to a contractual relationship is short-sighted. If the party performing the service is forced into a low-price box, or is otherwise constricted in the performance of their duties, the relationship often proves unsatisfactory and tends to be short in duration.

When the agreement is some form of service contract, one of the benefits to the client is they receive services that they do not have time and/or expertise to perform themselves. Digging deeper, that means a client is forming a partnership of sorts with a party who brings value to the table. The more mutual the benefit and the deeper the partnership, the more successful the relationship can prove to be.

Supervisory + Advisory = Partnership

Management contracts and position descriptions describe the work that will be performed on behalf of the client. This is proper and important, because it establishes expectations for service. It is describing supervisory functions. Yet, a contract or position description does not always describe the expertise with which those tasks may be performed. Furthermore, the greatest potential value of the relationship may be largely unstated, except perhaps in the fluffy marketing material provided in a proposal. Excellent management companies and professional managers are able to provide recommendations and guidance that can change the status quo and set the table for progress and improvements in the community. It is these services of an advisory nature that make the relationship most beneficial to the client. Yet, while most boards are happy to take management to task for deficiencies in their supervisory duties (and reasonably so), they may never get to the level of receiving or accepting advisory services. In the end, no one wins.

The Challenge? Fear & Schmooze

Some managers are afraid of getting fired. Some may be inexperienced. Some may lack confidence in their abilities. Boards may micromanage for any number of reasons. An “on-the-cheap” mentality may have led to a vicious cycle of mediocre service. Mediocre service invites micromanagement. A manager who never passes the test of capability in supervisory duties will never earn the trust necessary to be an advisor.

Some management companies are afraid of being fired. They fear telling clients anything that they think will put the contract at risk. This sometimes plays out in a blame game. Companies throw their own managers under the bus to appease an angry client and never deal with core issues. Saving the client by skewering your own people creates a cancerous organizational culture and impedes true partnership. It’s based on personality or politics, not leadership, values and vision.

All of these factors are unhealthy. They easily lead down the slippery slope of schmooze. Trading professionalism and respect for a shallow relationship based on low standards may keep the relationship going for a while. But no one is well-served, especially not the community members.
That is why I see this as so insidious. Community Association 101: Board members and the managers who serve them have a duty to care for the best interests of community members as a whole. Anything that works against that violates this fundamental principle of leadership and stewardship.

It’s Not Always Evil

Sometimes people just don’t know. A dedicated volunteer leader may not realize what is available. To illustrate: While performing an operational audit for a client, it became clear to me that volunteers had been performing management duties for a long time because they did not have a clear picture of what a professional could do. During that engagement, there was a need to find an interim on site manager. I was able to connect them with two PCAM-credentialed managers for short periods of time. Both of them blew the board away. A new world opened up to them over the course of a few short weeks.

When the Customer is Right

“The customer is always right.” 

– Chicago Retailer Marshall Field, 1905

There are times when our clients are always right. Like when expressing how they feel about something. Or when they communicate an expectation. Whether or not a feeling is justified or an expectation is reasonable is a different matter. In the moment, it’s irrelevant. That IS how they feel, that IS their expectation. We spend too much time judging the feelings and opinions of others. It’s a damaging, waste of time. Just listen. Acknowledge. Identify.

When the Customer is Wrong…or Perhaps Uninformed…

Sometimes a manager’s conundrum raises its ugly head when a client has difficulty accepting reality. There could be different reasons for this. Fear, ego, or simply a lack of understanding can be powerful obstacles. In this critical moment, a manager may feel she has a choice – tell the client the truth, or tell them what they want to hear. The truth is, a professional manager has a duty to provide their best advice, whether it will be accepted or not. The art is in the telling. Managers with high will discern whether their challenge is in the timing of the message, its presentation, or both.

Rolf Crocker, CEO/Principle of OMNI Community Management, LLC, in Fair Oaks, California, is one of my favorite thought leaders in the community association business. He has a unique perspective and a knack for helping others reach clarity. He taught me a rhetorical device to guide clients to what should be an obvious answer. A version he usually uses is as follows:

“This is the point in the conversation where I ask you if you want to hear what you want to hear, or do you want to hear what you need to hear? If it’s what you want to hear, we can talk about the weather, the market or your favorite sports team.”

This approach is genius. He’s making his point while allowing his listener the room to make light of it – for a moment.

Getting to Mutual Benefit

Boards and managers need to be deeply rooted in the fundamentals of business, ethics, and leadership. Management has to suck it up and prove value, sometimes without being paid for it at first. It’s a tough row to hoe, but “trust me and pay me” won’t always work. Once the opportunity for value is proven, boards need to see that value, respect it and pay for it. We must be responsible for ourselves, remember who we serve, and stay true to that, no matter the short term cost. Tell truth to power, tactfully but unfailingly. Forging and maintaining successful partnerships is one of the most fulfilling human experiences we can have. Please don’t blow it by throwing away principles and relying on a relationship based on influence. Those come and go. Partnerships based on respect, trust, and shared values are those that last. Done right, everyone wins.

Is this a pipe dream in the commoditized and occasionally political world of community association management? Nope. I’m proud of the relationships I forged with the communities I served. I am also comfortable with the few relationships ended by one party or the other. Those partnerships were fatally flawed and needed to end. My principles remained intact and there are no regrets. I’m not alone. There are some great managers, companies, and boards out there who get it. They are profitable in every way. Just ask Rolf.

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community associations, Management Insider

Management Insider #2 – How We Got Here

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Sometimes managers entering the community association field have a hard time understanding some of the stressful dynamics of the business.  They hear that profit margins are tight.  They may wonder if their bosses are making excuses to justify low wages.  As I’ve stated before in the T-Rex Blog, management fees ARE artificially low.  A look into the past can help explain why.

Fortunately for me, my ex-boss and current mentor was there at the beginning of the early condominium boom, starting his career as a community association manager straight out of college in 1973.   When he walked me through the history of the industry, things started to fall into place.

The United States had its challenges in the ’70s.  Real estate agents wanted to sell and developers wanted to develop, but inflation and interest rates were high.  As the end of the decade loomed, mortgage rates reached into the double-digits.  The concept of converting apartments into condominium associations became appealing.  Enter the first condo boom.

Off The Rails…And We Didn’t Even Know It

This is where some of the persistent challenges that dog us today had their beginnings.  There were several factors:

  • Condominiums were sold as “carefree living.”  Someone else will take care of the grounds, the roofs, and the hallways…no worries! 
  • The transition from apartment house to condominium association shifted responsibility for interior living spaces from on-site staff to the unit owner.  Leasing activity and rent collection were no longer factors.  As a result, the site staffing typical of apartment complexes was either decreased or deleted altogether.
  • The same notion about decreased workload combined with the developer’s desire to keep condominium fees as low as possible led to a baseline of low management fees.
  • Early condominium documents sometimes treated professional management as an afterthought.  Like magic, multi-million dollar pieces of real estate that previously required professional management could now be administrated by volunteer boards with little or no management or real estate experience.

Hindsight being 20/20, in many ways we were set up for failure.

How Could They Have Known?

An Urban Land Institute lawyer and framer of early community association governing documents stood before us, a crowd of association managers and lawyers, at a CAI National Conference in the late nineties.  I still remember his words.  “As I stand before professional managers and attorneys serving community associations and working with the documents we wrote in those early years, I have one thing to say…we’re sorry!”  He explained that they were writing from scratch.   Lawyers need precedent.  They had to go all the way back to 14th-century English horse trail law to find something they could use to define common elements and their administration.

Indeed…who knew that community associations would become so complicated?  Who knew the world would become such a litigious place?  Who knew how legislated and regulated associations would become?  Who knew the promise of technology would result in an immediate gratification mindset? Who knew volunteers would want to do less over time? Who knew societal norms would decrease personal accountability and increase distrust of anyone in authority?  And finally, who would have imagined the current trend where courts would hold community associations responsible for members and residents’ civil rights, even though their governing documents provided no basis of authority to do anything substantial about it?

“I have great respect for the past. If you don’t know where you’ve come from, you don’t know where you’re going. I have respect for the past, but I’m a person of the moment. I’m here, and I do my best to be completely centered at the place I’m at, then I go forward to the next place.”

– Maya Angelou

Industry Trends

Community association management continues to mature.  I think of it as an adolescent – certainly more sophisticated than it was in its infancy, but not yet fully grown.  Business does what it does – big fish eat little fish.  As a result, national, regional, and even local companies acquire other companies to gain market share and leverage volume. At the very same time, technology makes it easier than ever before to start a management company with little overhead.  Whether company costs are minimized by volume or low overhead, the result is the same – a push to be “competitive” in the marketplace.  An unintended consequence is that a professional service became commoditized.  The industry accidentally devalued itself.  As Tom Peters would say, it’s a race to the bottom. 

It All Adds Up

So what have we learned?  Management companies operate in a space with an increasingly demanding client base.  They compete in a commoditized industry.  And they employ a workforce that may be poorly trained, under-supported and generally demotivated to one degree or another.  

Is all hope lost?  Sadly, for too many in the industry, yes.  In my travels and deep dive discussions around the country, I’ve felt their stress and heard their resignation.  I get it.  They’ve had the same concerns and expressed the same frustrations for the last twenty years or more.    

Light at The End of The Tunnel?

If the way it’s always been done doesn’t work, there’s a reason.  Get to the root and you can find a solution.  It requires thinking differently.  That makes unconsciousness a poor option.  It’s time to stop banging our heads against the wall. 

There are no easy answers.  However, there are a few practical strategies and perspectives that have turned things around for some.  These will be the subject in upcoming blogs.       

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community associations, Management, Management Insider

Management Insider #1 – Helping the Marketplace

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As I near my one-year anniversary of launching Association Bridge as a full-time venture, I am realizing how much freedom I have to share information. For 30 years prior, I spoke in the voice of a community association manager.  The last 20 of those years were as an executive in the field.  During that time, whenever I commented on the management business, I am sure some people thought that I had an agenda.  In a recent conversation with a client, I had an Aha! moment.  I was able to explain the realities of the management business with absolutely no dog in the fight.  I was able to help that client perceive their reality clearly in a way I couldn’t before, or at least couldn’t quite as effectively.

One of the many ideas that came out of this month’s CAI Annual Conference had to do with the board-management company relationship.   Sy Syms, an iconic discount clothier came to mind.  He had a great company motto: “An educated consumer is our best customer.”  Well, Sy was right and it works in our space as well.  The more a community association board understands about the business of management, the better their odds of securing the services they need.  They stand a better chance of forging an effective partnership with a management company.

Education and Partnership

Yes, I said partnership.  The most satisfying and sustainable relationships are mutually beneficial to both parties.  A zero sum game is transactional, not relational. Elements of partnership are integral to any sustainable relationship.  Trust and confidence are fundamental.  Why would business relationships be any different?

I think that can be a challenge in the community association management marketplace for a few reasons. Hyper-competition and commoditization have resulted in artificially low fees. This is at the core of failure cycles that can inhibit the perception of value, respect, and ultimately, trust.   

The Aha! Moment

The moment I mentioned in the introduction was an Aha! moment for my client, which was why it was an Aha! moment for me.  This board had already recognized they needed on-site management to provide the level of service they expected.  But it did not stop them from expressing dissatisfaction over the performance of their community manager.  They noted he had nine clients and took too long to address concerns or give them adequate support.  They already knew he was overworked, but they didn’t see the fuller picture until I asked to see their financial statements. The interchange that followed went like this:

Me:  So your monthly management fee is $1,686.  That’s about $400 per week.  Let me tell you a little secret.  How much of that do you think goes towards your manager’s salary?

Board: (collective shrug)

Me:  Probably about $100, give or take.  So… how much time do you think $100 gets you each week?

Board: Ohhhhhh

Suddenly, everything made sense.

Solutions

Boards are going to have to go a little deeper.  Management companies are going to have to let their clients see what’s behind the curtain a little more.  When that happens, partnerships can happen.  Failure cycles can begin to transform into success cycles. 

This is the first of a new series of blogs.  My goal is to help community association volunteer leaders understand the management business.  I hope the insights into the challenges companies face and the opportunities that are available will help Board members to ask the right questions and make the best decisions when selecting and working with their management company.

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business life, Professional Development

Go Where The Ideas Are

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As I reflect on CAI’s National Conference just completed, one word jumps out at me – ideas.  I had the privilege of facilitating two sessions of TED-style talks and co-presenting on promoting professionalism for Chapter Executive Directors. In all three sessions, I found myself saying some version of “This is where great ideas happen!”  In the first two instances, I was referring to the conference itself.  The last time it fell out of my mouth, I was referring to local CAI Chapters.  All three were from the gut and unscripted.  By the time I heard CAI’s next president challenge attendees to share at least one thing during the conference I’d already received and shared many.  I’ve learned to come to conferences ready to learn, notepad in hand, scribbling furiously during presentations, and jotting notes during conversations.  After three days in Orlando, I’m energized and reminded of the power of ideas.

Shout Outs

I was primed before I even got to the event thanks to all the session preparation.  The collaboration with all six Ted speakers was electric.  Each of them gave away a piece of themselves and packed a ton of value into their 18 minutes on stage.  Our minds were stretched and challenged, and we walked away with actionable ideas.  I want to recognize all of them here.  Thank you to Neda Nehouray, PCAM, of HOA Organizers, Brandon Page of Specialized Pipe Technologies, Emily Schmidt of Speaki2i, Connor Doyle, PCAM, of Giant Steps, LLC, Justin Davis of AppFolio, and the mystery man, Steve Economou, of Rainscapes Environmental.  The audience and I are grateful for them all.  I’m glad these talks were recorded. I am looking forward to seeing them once they are posted online by CAI.

I am likewise grateful to my co-presented Jessica Towles, CAI Trustee, and Lieberman Management Services.  Our industry is fortunate to have someone in a leadership position who is so incredibly passionate and determined to advance the industry.  The collaboration for our session on promoting professionalism helped sharpen my focus and provided an outlet for some ideas that have been swimming around in my head for a long time.    

Ideas and Eggs

Ideas remind me of eggs waiting for fertilization – potential waiting for a catalyst to become a new creation. We carry around countless impressions, thoughts, and concepts just waiting to be connected and energized into a fully formed idea.  Our existing ideas get connected to new ones and become something completely new.  That’s why it’s so valuable to go where the ideas are. Once you’re there, you never know where it may take you.

Idealand

Conferences can be a treasure trove for ideas.  Presentations are an obvious source.  There is a tendency to get energized by them, but leave all the ideas at the door on the way out of the hotel.  One way to make those ideas stick is the oft-underutilized source of ideas – fellow attendees.  Some of my best notes from last week came from amazing conversations and meetings I had outside of the sessions.  Talking about session content allows you to burn them into your brain.  Listen carefully to how others share their perceptions of the ideas shared.  It will broaden your understanding and the collaboration might generate ideas.

Where Else Can You Go?

  • Read and Study:  Take in knowledge from books, blogs, research, or whatever pushes your brain.  Studying the material – highlighting and making notes, pausing, and meditating on the content to let it sink in, is even better for idea fertilization.  Lingering in a new thought can be a powerful thing. Re-reading material you’ve read before can be an eye-opener.  If you are growing, you are a different person than you were the first time.  You’ve changed, things have changed, and you might see things in a different light. If nothing else, you’ll remind yourself of gems from the past.
  • Video:  No, not cat videos…. Nothing wrong with that from time to time, but we are looking for ideas here.  There are some great talks captured online.  TED.com is a great place to start. If you are a visual learner, this is a great place to go.  TIP: Take notes!
  • Audio Learning:  Podcasts, talks, books, whatever floats your boat. I’ve found an enormous benefit of using my driving time to take advantage of audio learning.  Brandon threw out a terrific line in his talk at CAI National, “Make your vehicle a temple of self-directed learning.”  As a side benefit, I’ve found that I am a more relaxed driver.  Now when I hit a traffic jam, I think, “Cool! I can get another chapter in!  TIP: I find that if I listen to a book or an article first and then read it, my retention increases and the ideas flow.    
  • Non-Industry Specific Digital Learning:  Follow interesting people on social media. Hint: Schedule a specific, limited time block for this so as not to get sucked in, only to land on those cat videos after 3 or 4 hours.  You can get a ton of ideas from Udemy.  I am currently enjoying a Seth Godin course now and have another one on tap when I’m done with this one.  The ideas that have come out of it are worth far more than the nominal price I paid.
  • Do Industry Learning Face to Face:  Whether you are pursuing industry-specific designations or continuing education credits, avoid the webinars, and go live whenever possible.  It can be like a mini-conference.  Live learning is a fuller experience.  I’ve never taken a class where I didn’t walk away with at least one new idea that was at least in part sparked by participant interaction of some type.
  • Talk to People:   Any of the seven people listed in this blog is a great place to start. They are all idea generators and great collaborators.  Look for ideas in day-to-day interactions.  Put the smartphone away for a while.  Texting has limited idea generation capability, and if you are distracted by the phone, you’ll miss opportunities to talk and be fully engaged.  Be interested in others.  Ask questions.  As an introvert in many social situations, I know this can be tough to do.  I sometimes call to mind the words of my mother when she told a story about my Pop-Pop. If he jumped on a Baltimore trolley and no one was speaking, he made it his mission to start conversations and have the whole car buzzing by the time he got off. I’m not nearly as bold. But I figure if he could do that, I can at least strike up a conversation with one new person at a time.  One thing can lead to another.  Ideas may be the result.  Seek out those who are different than you and can stretch you. Go beyond the usual chit-chat when you can, and avoid negative nonsense.  

“Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.” Eleanor Roosevelt

  • Collaborating With Yourself:  If you don’t schedule to invest in quiet, reflective time, it might never happen.  Find things that stir awe inside of you.  Ponder the blessings in your life.  Allow yourself to be filled with gratitude and love, which connects you to something larger outside of yourself.  My grand-daughter and I heard a talk about awe, and we came up with our three-word description of the process: “Whoa! Wow! Thanks!”  The process creates chemical changes in your brain and allow your mind to connect dots that had been obscured in the day-to-day.   
  • Write:  There is something about composing that changes your brain.  Getting your thoughts out of your head and onto the paper or screen can also help you to clarify your ideas and trigger new ones.  An idea left unwritten can all to easily become promise unfulfilled.

I Don’t Care Where You Go – Just Go!

Everyone has different learning styles, attention spans, experiences, and inspirations.  Everyone is in a different place in their lives and careers.  Yet, one thing is sure for all of us – ideas create solutions and energy.  Who doesn’t benefit from those?

You may find your ideas in completely different places than I.  Some of the fertilization techniques might be effective for you; others might not.  Find what works for you and keep at it.  The ideas are there for you.  I don’t care where you go, just go and get them.

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community associations, Ethics, Management

Do The Right Thing – Beyond A Written Code

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I do my best to make sure this blog and my social media channels provide positive messages, intended to work towards solutions. I’ve described the space as a “snark-free zone.” This time, I’m going to rant a little. It may come off a little snarky, but the goal remains the same – solutions.

It’s A Big Deal

I’m angry. A headline the other day read “Maryland HOA Management Company Accused of Taking $2.5M from Associations.” This company appears to have taken advantage of their client’s trust and misappropriated their funds. The allegation seems well founded. Jerks.

I’ve been angry before. Almost three years ago to the day, a former management company owner pleaded guilty to the same amount of theft from several of his clients from the same county in Maryland. Déjà vu I was still a management company executive at the time. We took over one of their clients several months before their house of cards fell. Fortunately, the CEO hadn’t gotten his hands on their funds, but I still remember the files coming over in black trash bags. You can imagine the quality of the financial records.

The vast majority of professionals engaged in community association management would never even think of perpetrating such malfeasance upon their clients. A large percentage of us dedicated to serving community associations see it as more than a job. We recognize it for what it is – a trust. So we work hard to live up to that trust. And yet, the entire industry gets tainted every time a bad player does something like this. Honest people get painted with a broad brush of distrust and disrespect. That makes me angry.

Don’t get me wrong, in very rare occasions bad actors have darkened our industry in the past. In some cases, it led to beneficial legislation. One management company failed to disclose ownership interest in service companies they recommended to their clients. In that state, that practice is now illegal. In another case ten years ago, an executive with an ownership interest in a management company was sentenced to prison for embezzling over $3M in finds from 400 clients. That led to manager licensing in Virginia. The former case might not seem as bad as the latter, but both speak to the core of the problem – abuse of trust.

Think About the Little Things

There are codes of ethics in place to set standards. For years the Community Associations Institute has required all credentialed managers to adhere to a code. To review the document and a very detailed Code Clarification Report, click here. 

A written code can’t prevent bad actors. When I stumble across emails where a manager has shared a competitor’s proposal with their favored contractor and allowed that contractor to submit his proposal afterward, I get angry. Even though that manager didn’t embezzle money, that’s a direct violation of the anti-competition clause.

Other situations aren’t so obvious. I understand that some contractors like to give gifts to managers. It’s part of relationship building. However, it can quickly become a slippery slope. When a contractor who regularly treats a manager to ballgames and dinners seems to get preferential treatment from that manager, a line may have been crossed. When it starts to walk, talk and smell like an “Ol’ Boys Network,” it probably is. If it becomes quid pro quo, it’s a problem. The schmooze fest makes me angry. And a little nauseous.

Loopholes

There used to be a gap. CAI’s ethics code didn’t apply to management companies that held the AAMC designation. That allowed some companies to receive remuneration from business partners to be on a recommended vendor’s list without disclosing this to their clients. In the political realm, I believe they call it “pay for play.”

I interviewed a few managers who were looking to leave a firm in part due to the pressure they felt to promote the preferred vendors. Technically, they were not violating the manager’s code of ethics because they didn’t get directly remunerated for the recommendation. The companies weren’t violating anything because the manager’s code didn’t apply to them. But the whole thing made these managers uncomfortable, and rightly so.

I am pleased to report that this gap has been closed. As of 2016, the manager’s code of ethics applies to management companies with the AAMC designation. Bravo, CAI!

Trust, But Verify

Most financial malfeasance can be averted. Boards have reason to be hurt and angry when they learn that the managers they entrusted with members’ assets have abused that trust by unethical and criminal behavior. Still, Board members cannot escape the fact that governing documents require they exercise fiduciary responsibility. The buck stops with them. In too many cases of theft, Boards either did not have controls in place, were asleep at the switch, or some combination of the two. It didn’t have to happen. CAI publishes guidelines I urge EVERY Board to consider and make sure are in place.  Fraud protection procedures and a modicum of oversight mitigate against the possibility of theft.  

Please Do Something Else For A Living

If you are a manager or a management company and do not appreciate the depth of what is entrusted to you, please quit. Don’t be a jerk. Do something else for a living. This industry needs dedicated, ethical people with the heart of a servant. Those character traits seem more and more rare these days, but they still alive and well in the community association industry. What we do makes a difference. Help us advance this industry, or please get out of the way.

Beyond The Code

Here’s the bottom line. Those of us who serve community associations are taking care of other people’s stuff. They need to be able to trust us. The heart of ethics is trust, not a formal code that can only legislate actions. Intentions are important. We need to be golden. Period. With trust in such short supply in the world at large, we need to go above and beyond.

I never saw the movie Do The Right Thing by Spike Lee. But I remember seeing a clip that has stayed with me ever since I first saw it. 

The Mayor: Doctor…

Mookie: C’mon….what, what?

The Mayor: Always do the right thing.

Mookie: That’s it?

The Mayor: That’s it.

Mookie: I got it. I’m gone.

Always do the right thing. Got it?

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Best Practices, Risk Management

Proactive Risk Management – An Investment

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An in-unit inspection and maintenance program can bring tremendous benefits to community associations. A careful analysis of each situation is needed to determine if and how a program should be undertaken.

Condensation drain line back-ups can result in thousands of dollars in damage. Leaky valves left unattended may result in the need for mold remediation. Burst washer hoses and rusted out water heaters could easily result in a significant master policy claim. One faulty smoke detector can result in injury or, worse yet, loss of life.

Can associations prevent such things from happening? Of course not. But a systematic in-unit inspection and maintenance program can go a long way to avoid or mitigate them. This may be an opportunity to prevent damage and control expenses. In-unit programs can also contribute to energy conservation, quality of life, and value to association membership.

Why Not A “Risk Management Inspection Program?”

Many high rise buildings have a seasonal filter change program. Why stop there? Why not use this as an opportunity to address other conditions and provide value to the members? Take the opportunity to raise awareness of potentially problematic conditions and assist unit owners to fulfill their duty to maintain? The list should include everything from tub grout to smoke detectors.

4-Point Analysis

1. Risk Management Analysis – Property Configuration: What kind of community is it? Will conditions in one home create problems for other homes or the Association as a whole? This kind of program would not apply to single-family home HOAs. High rise condominiums and cooperatives would undoubtedly benefit. Mid-rise and garden communities might also benefit.

2. Risk Management Analysis – Component Exposure: What are the elements in units? What damage could those elements cause? What are the potential soft and hard costs of that damage?

3. Resources: Is there on-site staff? If so, what are their capabilities and time constraints? Are contracted services an option?

4. Legal Considerations: A careful reading of the governing documents is required gain clarity on the ownership and maintenance responsibility for unit components. What is the Association’s authority per its governing documents and prevailing law? What liability considerations exist? These factors will play a part in how a resolution establishing the program is worded. Review with Association Counsel.

Implementing the Program

1. Using the 4-Point Analysis, decide on the intensity of the program. The scope could be as simple as an inspection followed by a report of findings to owners. This could also be an opportunity to check the condition of balconies and for early evidence of water damage from exterior sources a resident may not have noticed. Or it could be more extensive to include the performance of maintenance tasks such as filter changes, toilet flapper replacement, smoke detector replacement, or water alarm sensors.

2. Document the program as a policy (legal assistance is strongly recommended), and include inspections list and procedures.

3. Communicate, communicate, communicate the plan and its implementation. Highlight the reasons for, and benefits of, the program. Please do NOT send the message that this as a rule that must be followed. That would blow the opportunity for a very positive message.

4. A plan for following up is vital. The Board should decide in advance how to handle non-compliance.

Bonus Points

Some Community Associations have mitigated risk by implementing a policy to clarify and define unit owner maintenance responsibilities. The Association may be able to require the use of components that control loss. A braided ice-maker line is far less likely to fail than a plastic one. Heavy duty clothes washer hoses are less likely to burst than standard hoses. The Association may be able to require proactive replacement of high-risk components based on age of the component, such as for water heaters. Once you’ve identified the components in units at your community, consult with Association Counsel to craft the resolution. There may be pushback from some owners. Here again, communicating from the perspective of benefit to the owners and highlighting the benefit to all makes all the difference.

Too Much Work?

It may seem like adopting a comprehensive in-unit risk management program is too much work. But think about this – what can happen if you don’t do it? How much administrative and maintenance staff time is sucked up when emergencies happen? What happens to master insurance premiums when the loss history is littered with water or other damage? How many unit owners or their tenants have an awareness of how the components of their units work or should be maintained? Thinking about these factors when conducting your 4-Point Analysis may help you to see this as an opportunity to benefit members, the Association, and staff. If so, it’s not an expense. It’s an investment.


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business life, Goals, Professional Development

The Role of Goals

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I read a Linkedin post from Ursula Burgess the other day.  I am quite sure I’ll never listen to the tune that inspired her thoughts. But her ponderings on opportunities, complacency and resilience got me thinking.

It is way too easy to stay busy yet get nowhere. Activity is fabulous at masquerading as productivity and progress. Opportunities get lost in the flood of information and other attention-grabbing stimuli, both internal and external.

Complacency

Knowing that there will likely be another opportunity tomorrow can cause complacency today. Once the pattern sets in, days become weeks, then months, then years, even decades. Goals, hopes, and dreams go unfulfilled.

It seems to me the key word in the last paragraph is “pattern.” Complacency is a passive pattern. It has the same effect as having a victim mentality in time management – the important stuff doesn’t get done. “Being intentional” is starting to feel a little like an overused cliché to me. But it is at the heart of establishing a pattern that breaks a cycle of complacency. While it should help in the effort to attain goals, intentionality starts with little things.

Little Things to Build Patterns

Here are just a few ideas for little daily actions that can help to build patterns that forge an intentional mindset and make a significant difference over time. They work because they feed both mind and heart. They work because they not only create opportunity, they make it easier to act on opportunities.

• Do a little more than you think you can do
• Do a little more than you have to do
• Do something for someone with zero expectation of return
• Commit to 1% improvement (thank you James Clear)
• Help someone who can do nothing for you
• Learn something or remind yourself of something you already know
• Stop and think for a minute to remember your Why
• Find awe
• Say thanks
• Start a list of the things and people you are grateful for and add to it daily

Goals

Goals are useful for setting direction, but should never define us. They are a means to an end, not the other way around. As Jim Rohn said, “Choose a goal for what it makes of you.” Defining yourself by your goals limits you and may set you up for failure. You may not achieve your goal for reasons beyond your control. Or you may decide to change your goals along the way. Do either make you a failure? You are more than what you achieve. You are the product of the effort it took to get there, what you learned, and the relationships you built along the way.

“Success doesn’t lie in the achievement of a goal, although that’s what the world considers success; it lies on the journey toward the goal. We’re successful as long as we’re working towards something we want to bring about in our lives. That’s when the human being is at his or her best.” 

         – Earl Nightingale

Being myopically goal-oriented may be damaging. In sports, winning is a goal. In business, profit is a goal. Coaches and CEOs that focus only on those goals without regard to the work required to reach them may succeed for a while, but it is rarely sustainable. Sooner or later, they crash and burn. Coaches that help their teams focus on playing the game well build legacies of winning. Business leaders who build cultures that stress fundamentals and taking care of people are more likely to be profitable over time. The lesson? A goal, whether it is winning, profit, or any other worthy objective, is a natural byproduct of doing the things necessary to attain them.

Context

Values, processes, systems & habits are the key. They help to set and attain meaningful goals. They set the table for progress with daily, intentional actions and it all adds up. It becomes who you are, and you continue to grow. Some days you’ll fall down. It happens. That’s where resiliency comes in. My definition of resiliency: The ability to bounce instead of splatting when you fall. The deeper the pattern of intentional action, the quicker you’ll bounce back up.

If you have any items you would add to the list of little things that help build your intentional mindset, please share!

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Education, Professional Development, Test Tips

How to Crush the M100 Exam (or Any Other PMDP Class Test)

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This blog may offer insight to some managers or business professionals who struggle with passing exams, learning content for a class or absorbing any material in general. If you’re intimidated about taking a Community Associations Institute test because the other students in your class look like they are fresh out of college, fear not! You can boost your confidence by developing your study skills!

Make the Knowledge Your Own

I learned these tips through tutoring kids, college students, and older adults and by applying them to my own studies. They don’t suggest cheating or hacking the exam. Instead, you can hone your skills by deliberately practicing these methods. Over time, they may influence the way you absorb information, becoming second nature. The goal is to make the knowledge your own. Once that happens, taking the test is easy!

  • Define: First off, rote memorization of definitions isn’t as effective as you might think. Many people will mindlessly recite words from their textbook without ever understanding what they mean. This doesn’t have much benefit without understanding their significance. Think of the definition as a jumping off point from which you can understand the basic idea. Then you have a foundation that allows you to dive deeper and fully grasp the concept.
  • Rephrase: When you come across a new concept, rephrase it in your own words as if teaching it to a child. This will clarify the fundamental elements of the concept. It might help you communicate concisely with clients in the future. No one at work will ask you to define “special assessment,” but you’d better be able to explain the concept and its impact to a homeowner!
  • Use a Lifeline: If rephrasing the concept doesn’t come easily, it may help to seek a trusted friend or mentor. This could be a boss with more experience, a business partner with expertise in the field, or a colleague who can help you identify resources. Your answers won’t always be black and white. Sometimes the response you get requires you to think critically, ask additional questions, or do further research. It might spur three new questions! Though it may sound like a lot of work, it’s worth it when a tough concept finally clicks.
  • Make It Real: Once you have a decent grasp of the concept, start making connections. Apply the concept to something you experience at work, hear at a CAI conference or read in an engineering report. Strive to integrate this practice into your daily work life instead of restricting it to your study time. When a situation arises at work, connect it back to the coursework you recently studied. This practice will help ingrain the concept so that it’s readily accessible when you need it in real life.

Now that CAI’s test schedule allows you to take tests electronically up to 30 days after the class, you can take advantage of applying new concepts to your daily work routine. Instead of waiting until the last minute to study the course content, think about it while it’s still fresh in your head. There’s no reason to compartmentalize your learning time to the two hours of studying you do every week. When you apply the concepts and make connections to the forty hours of work you do every week, not only do you benefit but so does your employer, who may have paid for the class. When applied correctly, it helps you do your job better.

Conquering Test Anxiety

You might understand and apply concepts effortlessly but still suffer from test anxiety. Here are a few strategies to help get the answers from your head onto the computer screen when it’s time to take the test.

  • Create Your Own Questions: When reviewing material for tests, immediately check your understanding by asking yourself what a good test question would be. Then make sure you can answer it, looking back at your notes if necessary. As you practice this exercise, you should become more accustomed to recalling information, better preparing you for test time.
  • Mnemonic Devices: A memorization technique such as a song or an acrostic can help your brain encode information and help with information retrieval. Here’s the acrostic that I mentally use to recall all the Great Lakes:

Huron
Ontario
Michigan
Erie
Superior

  • Summarize: There’s nothing wrong with the summaries at the end of each chapter, but it isn’t your own! A summary that you develop will force you to rephrase everything so that it makes sense to you. You can say it out loud or write it down.

Making Education Work for You

Preparing for and passing all the courses in the CAI catalog won’t help you become a better manager if you forget everything the day after the test. Reinforce what you’ve learned in the classroom with everything you do on a daily basis at work. Chat with other managers about concepts that you want to explore. If they go off on a tangent, soak it in and consider expanding on what you’ve learned. Curiosity about a specific topic may blossom into a new passion or become your niche within the field.

CAI’s PMDP courses will help you grow as a professional. Focusing on this broader perspective can help motivate you to master the material.

P.S. If standardized test taking still makes you anxious, remember— you only need a 70% to pass! Don’t worry. You got this!

I’m happy to welcome Chantu Chea, CMCA, AMS, as my first T-Rex guest blogger. Chantu has been editing and collaborating with me on the blog for quite a while now.  She deserves a lot of credit for the quality of the writing and Association Bridge work product in general. About a year ago, I realized her title of “Associate” really wasn’t cutting it. She is now our “Creative Collaborator & Resident Contrarian.” After tutoring a nervous M-100 student to help her pass the course exam and then acing her own M-205 test (a perfect 100!), it was clear she could help managers prepare for exams and face down test anxiety. It was time for Chantu and me to switch places.  I hope you enjoyed reading her blog as much as I did.  

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business life, community associations, Culture, Human Resources, leadership, Management

Do You Want To Keep Good People? Build an Intentional Culture

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Turnover is Expensive!

The struggle to attract and keep talented employees and volunteers is universal. For businesses, the hard cost of employee turnover includes hiring and onboarding, initial training, ongoing development, and integration with the team. Finally, it includes the interim costs incurred while a position is unfilled. Yet, soft costs can be far more impactful. Turnover loads a burden on the backs of everyone in a company. These can turn into hard costs with loss of business due to poor performance.

Not-for-profit community associations have different metrics. On-site staff and volunteer turnover result in soft costs such as service gaps and overburdened remaining staff and volunteers. This, in turn, takes a toll on member satisfaction. Increased stress and pressure result. Over time, this can lead to increased turnover and lack of volunteer interest.

Another common and insidious cost of turnover can be an intentional or unintentional lack of investment in employees and volunteers, which inevitably leads to more turnover.

The vicious cycle of churn is costly. And it sucks – it sucks the life out of organizations of every sort.

Strategies

There are plenty of strategies out there to retain employees and volunteers. Google the subject and you’ll find scads of them. They range from simple recognition to the adoption of lofty ideals designed to motivate the troops. Volunteer retainage is its own animal because compensation is defined differently. In all cases, strategies are focused on showing appreciation and providing benefits that are designed to reward people and keep them in the fold. And they might not work.

Don’t get me wrong, many strategies can be beneficial. They may help keep some folks around for a while. But they cannot stand alone. Strategies need to be part of a broader context to have lasting value.

Want Retention? Engage

Retention is a useful metric, but it’s not a goal. It’s a byproduct. According to a 2018 Gallup poll, 53% of U.S. workers are not engaged. Gallup states, “They may be generally satisfied but are not cognitively and emotionally connected to their work and workplace; they will usually show up to work and do the minimum required but will quickly leave their company for a slightly better offer.” Another 13% were reported to be “actively disengaged.” Let that sink in. Two-thirds of American workers spend a significant part of their waking hours at a job they don’t really want to do. Yikes! If they don’t leave, they should.

In their seminal work The Leadership Challenge, Kouzes & Posner conclude that people tend to look at their jobs in one of 3 ways; as a job, as a career, or as a calling. The difference? Engagement. The higher the level of the synchronization between the work someone does and their values and goals, the deeper the engagement.

Want Engagement? Lead

“Engagement is not an HR issue. It is a leadership issue” – Simon Sinek, Author & Organizational Consultant

If the key to engagement is the connection of values and work, it begs a couple of questions. What does your organization stand for? What deeper connection does it offer? This is where many leaders fail. Kouzes and Posner offer an approach to address this. They boil it down to what they call “The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership:”

  • Model the Way
  • Inspire a Shared Vision
  • Challenge the Process
  • Enable Others to Act
  • Encourage the Heart

All five practices directly impact engagement. Leaders who are hypocritical, directionless, non-communicative, myopic, micromanagers with low EQ  kill engagement. If there is a serious weakness in just one or two of these areas, you can count on good people walking out the door.

So then, effective leadership begets engagement and provides a context for strategy. Putting this all together, what are the leaders charged with doing? They must develop and nurture organizational culture.

Build an Intentional Culture – Defining the Organizational “We”

Culture is who we are, proven by what we repeatedly do. Its engine is the shared values of the organization. Shared values lead to aspirational vision. The vision drives goals, which sets the mission. Goals and mission drive strategies, which then dictate day-to-day tactics. We do what we do because we are who we are.

All organizations have a culture. Leaders are responsible for making it an intentional one. That includes community association volunteer leaders. It’s not easy, but it is always worth it. Leaving it to chance leads to disconnected strategies and tactics. And churn.

“Culture eats strategy for breakfast” – Peter Drucker, Legendary Management Educator

As the stewards of intentional culture, leaders must make sure that what we do stays in line with who we are. They must walk the talk. Disconnects must be addressed. Few things cause disengagement more quickly than an organization that espouses values that are violated in the way things are done. A dedication to a values-driven culture draws like-minded persons and engages them. Engaged people not only tend to stay awhile, but they also draw others who will find a satisfying place in the culture.

“Culture is caught, not taught” – Rolf Crocker, CEO, OMNI Community Management, LLC

But They Won’t Let Me!

What if your boss doesn’t get it? What if you are an on-site manager with a board full of clueless non-leaders that make it difficult for you to lead your staff? What if you work for a soul-crushing CEO? You still create a culture with those within your sphere of influence. In fact, you must…or leave. That will be the subject of another blog.
If a public high school department head can create a pocket of excellence despite deeply entrenched policies and bureaucracy, the odds are good that you can build a culture that makes a difference. Leaders don’t ask permission to lead. They may sometimes have to ask for forgiveness afterward. But results tend to take the heat off.

If You Want Them to Stay, Forget the Fence – Build a Fire

External rewards without engagement are like a fence. Engagement produces internal rewards. If you want to keep people in the fold, stop worrying so much about the fence. Instead, build a fire of culture at the center of the organization. That fire gives team members light so they can see the vision and the warmth of shared values and mission. Create a space where people are drawn and want to stay.

Recommended Study Material:

 

The Leadership Challenge, 5th Edition by James Kouzes & Barry Posner 

The Excellence Dividend, by Tom Peters 

Gung Ho!, by Ken Blanchard & Sheldon Bowles 

The Culture Engine, by S. Chris Edmonds 

And if you are REALLY serious, go to Tom Peters’ website  www.excellencenow.com  for his 50- page “Extreme Humanization/Extreme Employee Engagement PDF 

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Communications, Management, Time Management

Time Management Tip #3 – Negotiate, Then Prioritize

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THAT Guy

You hear the phone ring and take a look at the Caller ID, or see the email pop up. Oh no…It’s THAT person. You know the one. You have a history with him. He notices every typo and berates you in public for it. He’s not only exacting, but he’s also demanding. You feel like you have to be fast and perfect to make him satisfied. And he never asks an easy question.
As you read the email or listen to the voice mail (having dodged the call), your gut tightens. Your brow furrows. You are pretty sure your blood pressure just went up. You think, “I do not have time for this today. And I’ve got to get this exactly right…. I will be a good time manager and put it on my task list for tomorrow, first thing. That’s responsive enough.”
Great plan. Until life happens. The day blows up, you get into emergency mode, and the day zooms by. And you haven’t responded. Now we are up to day 3. Having heard nothing back, the guy communicates again. Loudly. Copying everyone, their supervisors, and their grandmother. Now you’ve got several people hounding you and a crisis on your hands. So much for being a good time manager.

It didn’t have to be that way.

Seize the Opportunity

It’s natural to make assumptions when you have a history with someone. If a person is demanding, you may assume that they not only want a perfect answer, but they also want it NOW. You are under stress. You do not make the best decisions when under stress.
Having a process in place can help.

For the most part, people want acknowledgment and then a solution, in that order. By time-blocking email and phone message responses a couple of times daily, you can proactively take care of the acknowledgment part.
There’s an opportunity hidden in the acknowledgment. This is your chance to negotiate a solution that benefits everyone.

“Thanks for your email. I want to make sure I get you what you need when you need it. And I would like to take a little time to do some research, if possible. Would it be OK if I got back to you on Thursday? If you need the answer more quickly, just let me know and I’ll see what I can rearrange for you.”

Key points:

  • Fast acknowledgment with a message: “I hear you. I want to take good care of you”
  • A reasonable and respectful request 
  • Both a request and an invitation to negotiate
  • Non-confrontational way to determine the urgency of the request

Under Promise, Over Deliver

There’s an extra bonus built into this approach. In offering a negotiable solution, I am certain I can deliver the answer on Wednesday. If unforeseen circumstance rears its ugly head, my contingency planning makes it more likely I will deliver on time. And if things go well, I’ll be a day early and be a hero!

Our tendency may be to try and please people in the moment. This may lead to assuming a best-case scenario or overpromising. This will increase your stress and might set you up for failure. Stop. Breathe. Think with your head, not your heart.

Sounds Good…But Does It Work?

I started employing this strategy a couple of years ago. The results have been pleasantly surprising. About 8 out of 10 times, I find out the person is happy to wait a couple of days for the answer. In other cases, I am able to confirm this is a priority for the person. I do whatever reprioritization is necessary. Even in those cases, I can usually buy at least a little time.
They frequently appreciate the dedication to quality work. Sometimes I hear, “Thanks for getting back to me so quickly.” And I’ve turned a few critics into raving fans.

Give it a try. Let me know how it goes!

Oh, and my blood pressure is fine, thanks.

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Useful stuff for community association leaders and the professionals who serve them