Developing Good Organizational Skills
By Julie Adamen

The 3rd in a series of giving managers tools they can use right now to better their working lives.

Ours is a paper-intensive business. It is a data intensive business. And those managers who can keep themselves above the paper fray by keeping it organized stand to gain not only their sanity, but their ability to better handle their workload. No, it's not a very sexy topic, but good organizational skills are, again, absolutely an integral part of being an efficient, professional manager.

THE BIG PICTURE

Develop the philosophy: On your desk once, then gone. This is the only way to manage the reams of data presented to the community association manager - be they a portfolio manager or an on site manager. When that (letter, service order, contract, you-name-it) hits your desk or in-box, review it that day or as soon as possible, then send it to its appropriate destination. That destination could be your assistant, the Board packet file, your correspondence to-do file, wherever is appropriate (maybe the round file...). But don't leave it on your desk - papers have a funny way of multiplying exponentially and there goes any hope of organization.

File! AAAKKK! I hate filing. But I do it because I practice the above philosophy. I don't have a lot of words of wisdom about filing, but keeping up with your filing is a long term decision that may seem dumb and time consuming at the moment - but will ultimately save you time in looking for that oh-so-important document while you are rushing to finish a board packet. Just think of it as a Zen project.

Procrastination is your Enemy. There should be a 12-step program for procrasti­nators. Whenever you find yourself looking at your desk and the piles of files and reams of papers on it - don't blow it off, DO SOMETHING about it. If you are a termi­nal procrastinator, start out small - file the service orders or organize your phone calls to do that day (which, of course, is on your list - remember last month?). Putting off organizing and maintaining your work area can ultimately be the death knell for a man­ager. I know it sounds silly, but how many times have you taken over an account from another Management Company, or general manager, and found everything in total dis­array? Almost always, it has been my experience that the more organized the manager, the better managed the account.

THE MONTHLY AND DAILY ORGANIZATION:

Working Files and Documents:

Manager's Portfolio. If you don't already have one, you should. Usually a three ring binder, this book contains all the pertinent information crucial to the management of a community association. All governing documents, including Rules and Regulations, Architectural Guidelines, Landscape Guidelines, current contracts, a listing of owners/units, current insurance declaration sheet, and any other infor­mation you need at your fingertips while at your desk or at a Board Meeting. I used to keep a blank Architectural Variance request form and Service Order, just for reference. These types of things come in handy for that "Gotcha" type homeowner or Board member.

Association Files. These are the general working files to which you may refer throughout the month. Most management companies, and most on site managers, have a filing system which they employ (deploy?) for every association. These files should be kept up, neat and in alpha­betical order. Personally, I like to file to the front, because most informa­tion you will need is the most recent information placed in the file. These files DO NOT have to have tabbed typewritten labels. PLEASE! You don't have time for it. Use a pencil, print clearly and move on.

Individual Unit Files. It took me awhile to come around to this because of the sheer volume of files it generated, but keeping individual unit files is ultimately the best way to keep good records of what happened at each unit. Those of you who have taken over an account from an abruptly departing manager or General Manager, or who have taken an account over from a another man­agement company, know that even if that manager was terrible in their organizational skills, the mere pres­ence of individual unit files was some­what comforting. At least you had somewhere to start.

White Boards. Though usually not practical for the portfolio manager, I maintained a "white board" on the wall of my office when I was an on site manager. "White Boards" took the place of chalk hoards in schools you use erasable markers on them not pretty to look at, but gives you an at-a-glance of whatever you need to keep you organized such as assignments, appointments, actions to be taken, etc. As a portfolio manager, I used one of those large desk calendars for the same purpose.

DAILY ORGANIZATION:

Organizing the information which bombards you on a daily basis:

Phone Calls. Some sort of record should be kept for every homeowner call received, especially if it entails action and/or money spent. Helpful in saving time and organizing your data, three-part call sheets/service orders can be a great tool if you or your firm or association does not have a com­puterized logging system (although that is what I would highly recom­mend). A large part of a manager's time is spent taking telephone com­plaints and inquiries, and the only way to keep up with the action that you must take as a result of those phone calls is to keep track of them in some systematic way.

Purchase Orders. The only way to go, a vendor should be issued a numbered purchase order for approved work/expenditures. This way, you are able to track the work and well as have a handle on your budget at any one time during the month. Keep these issued purchase ordered in their own file or hinder, or preferably on a spreadsheet. Need we say how efficient and organized you are when a Board member calls up and wants to know exactly how much money was spent or approved to be spent on roof repairs so far this month - and you have this information at your fingertips!

Action Lists. We talked about Action Lists last month - and not only are they integral to your Time Management endeavors, they are critical to acquiring and maintaining good organizational skills.

SHREDDING THE PAPER TIGER

Toss. Yes, that's right. It is ok to throw out quite a bit of the extraneous paper that comes your way as a manager. Now, I know you know I don't mean grab all those pieces of papers, emails and faxes and give them the heave-ho. But I do mean that keeping 4 copies of the same letter (just because they are there) is unnecessary. Use your best judgment, but go as lean and mean as you can in the paper department.

IN CONCLUSION

The Paper Tiger isn't going to get any smaller, or less ferocious. But developing and maintaining good organiza­tional skills that fit your needs is very, very important to your career. Organization = Professionalism. Being orga­nized means you are able to handle your job with grace and ease, instead of frantically rushing around, looking for that Architectural Variance that came in yesterday... with blue­prints.., and a check attached... From your Board President...!

"The journey of a thousand papers begins with the first one filed."