The “Art” and Value of Communications in Association
Management
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Webster's dictionary defines communication as “an act of transmitting
information; a process by which information is exchanged between
individuals; a technique for expressing ideas effectively”.
It sounds so easy, doesn't it? What's so hard about good communication?
The answer to that question lies not in understanding the concept
of communication, but in practicing effective communication in
community association management. It is the key that will open
the door to good client relationships.
Communicating Expectations:
The development of good relationships between management companies
and homeowners associations begins before the management contract
is ever signed. During this process, it is the responsibility of
the members of the association's board of directors to clearly
communicate their expectations of management to the company which
they have retained. The management services agreement is the tool
used to develop and formalize these expectations. Typically, copies
of the management contract are distributed to the board of directors
for their review and with the assumption being made that these
homeowners will read the entire contract - - and will understand
and agree to the provisions of the contract. At this point, many
future problems can be avoided by taking the few minutes that would
be required for the management company to request a meeting of
the board members to review each provision of the contract. This
can be invaluable in establishing clear expectations between the
association, its board members, and the management company's representative.
If at all possible, the process should include the actual manager
that will be assigned to the community.
Maintaining Effective Communication:
Developing and maintaining a good level of communication between
the association board of directors and the management company is
a key element in the ability of the management company to retain
clients over the long term. This is also important for any association
in order to avoid the need for frequent changes in management.
To avoid miscommunication resulting in erroneous actions being
taken by management, the board of directors needs to be very succinct
in the direction given to management. Conversely, it should be
the responsibility of management to clarify any ambiguity that
might exist in actions taken by the board. In many cases, without
that clarification, even members of the board of directors may
leave meetings with different understandings on the actions taken
by the board and the tasks expected to be handled by management.
One technique that can be used to avoid any such misunderstanding
is to clarify and summarize at the close of each meeting all actions
taken by the board. This could include reading back any motions
approved by the board, preparing an “action items” list, and reviewing
a report of open items scheduled for action or completion.
Promptly following the meeting, the minutes of the meeting should
be completed with copies forwarded to the board members for their
review and approval. This is yet another way of affirming with
the board the actions taken at their meeting. Relative to an action
items list completed by the manager, this time honored technique
not only confirms the actions expected by the board but also provides
both the board and manager a business plan of sorts. Weekly updates
of this plan supplied to the board members, assures good communication
and greater efficiency for the group as a whole. This also gives
the board the information needed to be more effective in communicating
to the entire membership of the association. Board members need
to know the status of items requested to be completed by the management
company. Often, without that communication, board members make
the assumption that items are not being addressed. Timely communication
with board members results in a higher level of confidence with
the management company.
Communicating with the Homeowners:
It is the responsibility of the association board of directors
to communicate the status of association activities and board actions
to the membership (homeowners) within the association. Without
this communication, members in the community often tend to believe
that the board may be doing things that they shouldn't be doing – or
doing nothing at all! It's always better to provide too much rather
than too little information to those inquiring minds living within
a community association.
Several tools can be used to effectively communicate information
to the homeowners. The monthly meetings of the association can
provide a forum for the board members to report on association
activities. In addition, newsletters and other forms of written
communication, whether mailed, hand delivered, or posted on a community
bulletin board, can be effectively used to distribute information
to the homeowners.
Association websites can also be developed and maintained at minimal
cost to homeowner associations. These websites can be invaluable
in the dissemination of information to the members of the association
and can contain financial information, on-line newsletters, rules
and regulations, architectural guidelines, and governing documents
as well as other information that the board would like to pass
on to the membership.
In some instances, associations located within the boundaries
of certain cable franchises have been able to negotiate their own
local cable channel for making announcements of upcoming events.
Although this can be labor intensive, it is a very effective means
of providing current information to the members of a large scale
association.
In summary, good communication can be the deterrent to a variety
of ills that an association may otherwise encounter. To be effective,
communication must be timely and succinct. A variety of tools exist
for the establishment of communication within an association. Both
management and the association board share responsibility for establishing
and maintaining communication between themselves and the membership
at large. Once they do so, they will likely have mastered the art
of building a long and satisfying relationship among a very diverse
community of interests.
Association Times' Staff Writer
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