HOA Management Companies

I am a newly elected member of a 7 person board of directors responsible for a large home owners association. There is a Management Company responsible for all staff. We act as the BOD and funnel everything through the Executive Director who acts as the CEO. How do we interact when there is a perceived problem with performance of the Executive Director's direct reports? How do we get to take part in the performance appraisal of the Executive Director? I am green as grass in this new elected position and wold appreciate any help I could get.

Thank you for the reply. The Board of Directors, 7, are elected residents. Like most boards they are responsible to set policy, CC&Rs, negotiate contracts, etc. There are no direct operational responsibilities for board members. The board has hired a management company who in turn employs all staff including the Executive Director. Our board has issues with the Executive director and two of the four direct reports. There are no provisions for interaction in perfromance appraisals with either in the contract. How do we deal with performance deficiencies?