Managing by objectives

A non-profit corporation needs objectives that are clear, consistent, objective, attainable, measurable and are agreed to by all the directors and the majority of the owners.

You need objectives

If a condo board doesn't set objectives and then monitor how well they are doing against those objectives, then all the board will do is lurch from crisis to crisis with no real goals except keeping the costs down and to limit the amount of bitching coming from the owners.

Setting objectives

The first thing that needs to be done is that the board agrees on what its objectives are, write the objectives down and track their progress against those objectives.

Good objectives could include:
• meet the annual budget
• we will drive the arrears down to zero and keep them there
• every year we will cut our reported slip and falls by a third.
• all owner complaints will be acknowledged within three working days and
   answered within 15 working days.
• our elevator down-time will be cut in half by the end of the year.
• we will send out an annual resident satisfactory survey and report the results
  at our AGM.
• housekeeping/vandalism complaints will be cut by a third by year end.
• all dead trees will be cut down and removed before this October.
• all leaking windows will be replaced by the end of September.

All the above objectives are clear, they are measurable and the corporation's progress towards meeting those goals are measurable.

Assigning objectives
Each director, the management company, the corporation's employees and the contractors need to be given responsibility to meet their goals.

The treasurer works with the management company's accounting department to insure that all the cheques are verified against the invoices and are paid on time, the receivables are in order and the monthly financial statements are completed in time so they can be reviewed at the next board meeting.

The secretary makes sure all correspondence is done and all the meeting minutes are completed and are in order.

The director who responsible for operations, insures that all the monthly, quarterly and yearly maintenance requirements have been completed. He will also ensure that the superintendent and cleaners have accurate job descriptions and are following all the required government regulations.

Another director may conduct monthly housekeeping and safety audits.

Decision making
The full board is expected to participate in the decision making. Everyone is given the opportunity to speak their mind without being harassed or made to feel small because they do not agree with the majority.

It is nice to have consensus on most decisions but it is probably unhealthy to have full agreement on all the board's decisions.

Measure your progress

Track your progress and review your objectives at the monthly board meetings. The results of your work should be presented to the owners at the AGM.

Resources
If a director needs assistance with their assigned goals, the board ensures that the director gets the help he needs when he needs it.

Sounds so business-like
That is the idea. Professional management started in government and the military and then it moved to private business. Now management skills and practices are as important in our non-profits as they are in the business world.

Property values
Don't worry about your condo's property values. If you all of the above, the values will take care of themselves.

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