Service Level Agreements

"Standards" are defined in the contract, right?

Have you discussed this with the MC and/or have any reason to believe any MC would agree to this?

The issue with contracts where compensation is at risk is that "does not perform" can be subject to debate (ie. litigation). If the standards are not quantifiable or measurable in some way that all parties agree to, then you're setting the stage for a dispute. A number of a manager's tasks will involve soft skills - ie, difficult to quantify. "I know it when I see it" is not sufficient when it comes to someone's pay.

And too many board members lack the experience to deal effectively with such matters - they're volunteers. No community association board needs more opportunities to mess up.

Finally, you take a risk when you play games with compensation. One risk is that the top notch management companies already have potential clients lined up out the door. They don't need your business, and a potential client that's already signaling that they're going to be a PITA can make the company disinclined to bid. The top company in my area asks questions of potential clients to try to weed out issues before they will submit a bid.

A better option is a clause that allows either party to terminate the contract with a couple months' notice, or similar time frame.

How to get a manager who will perform well?

* Word of mouth: who are the other communities hiring?

* References: check them.

* In the beginning of year, have a discussion about expectations. Do you foresee any unusual challenges, or should it be business as usual?

* Pay attention. Is the board receiving monthly reports on time? Does the manager respond within a reasonable time frame? Are owners pretty content, or are they complaining?

* Expect to pay for quality service, and don't just look at the contract amount. A company that charges less will usually give you less (or more in the way of trouble, ask me how I know). A company that charges more may actually be the bargain if their portfolio manager has fewer communities to manage.

I asked the question in an attempt to find out if SLAs had any traction in this market.

We're paying $23/door/month for a community of 15 buildings, 71 units. PMC changed software systems and it was a disaster for 15 months, so we're reluctant to switch to a new one.

It doesn't matter how many communities the management company has - what's important is what it does for your community, so focus on that. Tha said, some communities require more time e because they're larger, are undergoing major projects - or board members are micromanaging everything, with various ones calling i emailing different instructions to the point the manager doesn't know which one to follow. Could that be a description of YOUR board?

Start with reviewing your contract so you're clear on what the manager is supposed to be doing for you..
Polling homeowners is a good way to identify patterns - for example, when maintenance requests are made, does the manager send an acknowledgement he or she received the request? I like this done within 48-72 hours to factor in requests made after hours, 24 if it's an emergency. The board and manager can define what constitutes an emergency and the association homeshould know this, so they don't expect an immediate response after hitting send on an email or hanging up the phone.

Does the board receive management reports in time to review and prepare for regular meetings and are they complete and accurate? Is the board clear on what follow up it wants the manager to do after it makes decisions?

Once you've identified problem areas, prioritize them from most critical on down, and then have a meeting with the managerand his/her supervisor. After you present your concerns, give tbe manager a chance to tell his/her side - and be quiet and listen to what's being said. If you have problem board members and/or homeowners, you need to know that so you can have an honest discussion on how to resolve the problems.

From here, you can develop a performance improvement plan, listing specific areas where you want to see improvement. The plan should also specify how the board will help provide timely information so the manager can do the job, such as reminding homeowner what issues should go to the manager vs, the ones that should be addressed by the board. Sometimes people get mad at tbe property manager because he/she said an issue needs to be reviewed by the board before something is done.

There are also board members who want the manager to do all the board's thinking for them so they have someone to blame when things go sideways. Once again,be honest - could this be part of your problems with the nanager? Maybe board members need to look at their bylaws to remember what they're supposed to be doing. When everyone knows what's expected, get out of each other's way and let tge property manager manage and the board provide overall direction.

Designate one person to follow up with board decisions (e.g. the president) and make sure he/she isn't inclined to say "I know what we voted on,but I'm telling you to do X." No one should override a board decision and if the board wants the manager to do something that's clearly against the law and/or association documents, the manager should refuse and explain why. The association attorney may need to be consulted.

If you don't see improvement after six months, you can decide what to do next. If the management company has several managers, perhaps you need to be reassigned another one. If that happens, another meeting is necessary to discuss expectations on both sides. If you don't see improvement, it may be time to look for another management company