Time always affects us even though we may not be paying attention. we need to keep in mind that time is manageable and predictable and we have time for most everything. But, let’s take the idea of time as it relates to homeowner associations from the perspective of the different characters that interact each month.
Time is measured by each person’s personal time clock. Time means different things to different people. There is the impatient person cuing through a line that never seems to move. There is the person in love where time flies and the concept of time seems to stand still, all in the same day. The employee who gets up late and gets to work late and never seems to catch up. The Grandma who plans way in advance to be on time and then always has to wait.
Because time always affects us even though we may not be paying attention, we need to keep in mind that time is manageable and predictable and we have time for most everything. But, let’s take the idea of time as it relates to homeowner associations from the perspective of the different characters that interact each month.
The Board of Directors -
For the board, time starts at the board meeting. A meeting is called to order by the President. The agendas of most association meetings are very similar and should flow from the announcement of quorum and the call to order to Old Business and any ending remarks with the announcement of the next scheduled meeting.
Right after the meeting the pending action and work for the next month’s meeting starts right away. The meeting place must be confirmed, the minutes and action list created. The most time consuming requests need to go out so that the vendors and others will have time to start gathering the information for their responses.
The unknown factor is the requests for information and action that occurs between the board meetings between the board and the manager. Usually, the President of the board contacts the manager and asks for updates or additional information. This time needed to do the work of the association for the next month can be greatly impacted by the additional time to respond and perhaps redo action given at the board meeting. The board is one of the manager’s bosses and cannot be ignored.
The Manager –
The Manager works for many bosses. The boss of the Management Company or the Supervisor assigned to manage the Manager, the boards of each of the Manager’s associations, and finally, the homeowners and residents who live in the associations.
The Manager will always want to please and take care of the requests of all of the parties described above. Therein lays the problem. Prioritizing time and available hours in the day.
If the boards are generally happy the Management Company bosses will usually leave the Manager alone. If the Board trusts the Manager, the boards will usually allow the Manager time to fulfill her duties as they are typically done on time. The board that constantly requests updates and additional information obviously does not trust the Manager to get the job done in a timely and complete fashion. It behooves the Manager to keep the board informed on a mutually agreeable timetable as to the progress and information they will need to make their upcoming decisions. The Manager has approximately “one month,” to gather and organize the data to send to the board prior to their next monthly board meeting.
The Homeowner –
The resident or homeowner usually sees time through a very different prism. The homeowner will report something that needs attention and assume it will be done by day’s end. Sometimes that doesn’t happen. Sending an e-mail at any time of day or night, will accumulate times the number of associations and responsibilities of each manager. Oftentimes, the customer service desk can handle straightforward repairs or requests for service. Other times those requests are passed on for the Manager to handle.
The organization, communication ability and support staff will greatly improve the time needed to complete a request for service. While the time needed may seem to take too long to solve, the best results are handled by good communication and follow through. An e-mail or telephone message can explain a time delay and lead to more time to resolve the issue. Most residents can appreciate and understand the time it takes to fix something as long as we take the time to tell them.
You see, timing is everything ~
Karen Bennett, PCAM, CCAM
Community Association Consulting
