Manager Burnout -
The Challenge of Night Meetings
There
is widespread manager burnout in the association management
business, in part the result of managers having too many
nighttime meetings. For instance if a manager has a
large portfolio of associations, 8 of which have nighttime
board or committee meetings, that means potentially 8 night
meetings per month. Additionally, each of the those 8 associations
require an annual meeting... for an additional 8 meetings
per year. Mathematically, the Association Manager could
spend over half his/her week in nighttime meetings, not to
mention the requirement to work day time hours to meet with
vendors, talk to homeowners, coordinate with the office staff,
and be available for emergency situations.
Then,
think for a moment about the board members. Like the
Association Manager, many board members have been working
all day. By the time the night meeting rolls around,
board members are tired and are not at their productive best. Generally
speaking, there are times a quorum of board members is lacking
as people have personal commitments, need to complete assignments
at work, or may not have the energy to sit through a 2-3
hour board meeting. Plus, evenings are generally dedicated
to family and personal lives.
How
can the industry turn this trend around? Day meetings
are far more productive for conducting association meetings. Most
of us operate on a Monday-Friday, 8am-5pm schedule, that
is dedicated to work and business activities. Why not use
that same concept to conduct board meetings? Or at
least some board meetings?
How
do you convert from night meetings to day meetings?
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Communicate
the problem to the board members. Explain
that the association is a business, and the concept
that good business is conducted with productive,
clear minds.
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At
management contract renewal, bring forth to the
association that the management company will
need to start charging for night meetings.
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Test
the concept of daytime meetings by conducting
one daytime meeting per quarter.
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Try
a breakfast board meeting! Many board members
will have time to attend on their way to work. If
necessary, offer to pay for breakfast (as opposed
to reducing management fees).
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Change
the meeting time to start at 4 or 5pm, rather
than a start time after 6pm.
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Offer
to discount the management fee for board meetings
that are conducted during regular business hours,
rather than after 6:00 P.M.
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The
question always arises about homeowner attendance at daytime
board meetings. In most associations, member attendance
at board meetings held at night is generally low. With
that being the case, a change of meeting time might not
cause a hardship on the membership at large. However, if
you have an association where member attendance at a board
meeting is high, you many want to consider a balance of
dates/times for your board meetings. Dramatic and
immediate change may cause dissatisfaction with the membership,
while a well-planned meeting time conversion communicated
in advance to the members will work out better in the long-run.
At
the next opportunity, take a look at the average manager's
schedule. Lend support to the concept of changing over
to daytime meetings. It is important that the management
company approach it's association client about the serious
nature of manager burnout and the possible consequences to
the association if manager turnover occurs on a frequent
basis.
Association Times' Staff Writer
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