Drive Your Condo Management to the Next Performance Level – A Guide on How to Assess Your Manager for Optimal Results

Do you see your condominium corporation improving each year or has it stagnated? Perhaps, even worse, it has decreased in performance over time! Key areas of condominium management such as financials, physical building assets, security, community development and administration need constant attention, improvement, and maintenance.

Is your management company taking responsibility and efficiently improving in these key aspects, all the while meeting or better yet exceeding your expectations? As a collective condominium board of directors and unit owners, are you getting what you want, rather than just settling for what is offered?

It is important to regularly evaluate your management company’s performance and ensure that they are meeting your needs. If you feel like they are not at the level of your expectations, it may be time to consider making a change.

Professional condominium management is a service industry, and naturally some condominium providers perform better than others. To understand how your condo management company measures up, it is important to know what an excellent or better yet, the best condominium management company is supposed to achieve and provide.

By having the following information, you have the power to assess the services offered by your management company, establish areas in need of improvement, and evaluate whether you are getting “the best bang for your buck”.

Agree on the Rules of Engagement

Identifying and communicating mutually agreeable goals and objectives with the condominium manager is a critical strategy. This will set up both the condominium corporation and management for success. It is important to establish, manage, review, and adjust mutual expectations, as well as work out rules of engagement with your management company.

Clear communication and collaboration between the condominium corporation and management company can help prevent misunderstandings and conflicts, leading to a more efficient and effective management of the property. Regular meetings and open communication channels can facilitate this process.

Manage and Communicate the Objectives, to Get the Desired Outcomes

The formation of objectives will be driven by the particular demands and aims that each condominium will establish. While some may want to concentrate on reducing their utility costs, others will concentrate on enhancing safety and cleanliness. These objectives must be clearly communicated to your management company each year. Take the time to consider and assign priorities to the objectives. Without a defined set of priorities, management may invest funds in projects and initiatives that have little bearing on the community or the effectiveness of the boards’ management of the condominium corporation.

Establish a Performance Management and Feedback System

A professional management company will come up with a plan and measurable deliveries. This may be a good foundation for a performance management and feedback system to be used with your management company. Reviews of managers’ performance should be done periodically to assess and identify both their strengths as well as areas for improvement.

There are many different techniques for evaluating management performance.

Some management companies have formal annual performance reviews, others conduct annual surveys among owners. These methods are equally effective in rating the overall performance of the management company as well as owner satisfaction.

In conclusion, it is reasonable to expect that mistakes can happen, but what sets a great property manager apart is their ability to take responsibility, acknowledge a mistake, and take action to correct it.

Our goal at CityTowers Property Management Inc. is to deliver the best possible condo management services. Regular in-house training, workshops, and yearly evaluations are provided. We believe that our team’s expertise, combined with our commitment to continuous improvement, enables us to provide exceptional service to our clients. Our focus on training and evaluation ensures that we stay up to date with industry best practices and deliver the highest level of service possible.

About the Author: CityTowers Property Management Inc. is a leading condominium management company servicing in Oakville for over 15 years.