Good Preparation = Less Stress
(A primer for new managers, a reminder for veterans and some cool info for Boards)   
By Julie Adamen

Board meetings are the vital component to managing community associations because Boards need to know what is going on so they can govern. Without Board knowledge and their decision-making the workings of the community would come to a near halt, because the Board is the only entity which can make policy and authorize the spending of funds on behalf of the community. Thus, Board meetings are central to business of the association and the job of the manager.

In spite of, or maybe because of, the critical role of the Board meeting, many community managers find those meetings the most stressful aspects  of their jobs for two very basic reasons: 1) The manager is unprepared for the meeting;  and 2) the nature of Board meetings is unpredictable.  We can't change the unpredictable nature of dealing with human beings but we can control how well we prepare ourselves for a meeting. First let's talk a bit about the Board meetings themselves.

Board meetings: That thing you do

Why are there Board meetings? The purpose of a Board meeting is for the elected representatives of the association to gather together in a legally recognized fashion to review business items and make decisions on behalf of the corporation (association).  

Who and how many will be there? At least a quorum [1] of members of the Board of Directors must be present to conduct a meeting, and that number varies depending on the size of the Board. Also in attendance will be you, the manager, and there may very well be committee members and homeowners in attendance as well.

Notices? Homeowners? Yup. Board meetings are public events and almost always have to be noticed to the membership prior to the meeting. Many states have very strict provisions on meeting notices - make sure you know yours.

When are the meetings held? Meetings are usually held after business hours on a regular basis; i.e., the third Thursday of the month at 6pm. If you are lucky, you have Boards that meet only bi-monthly, or quarterly, but usually Boards meet once a month.

Where will the meeting be?  At the community in a clubhouse, the management company's office, or a public facility such as a library are common places for Board meetings to be held. Most Boards and managers look for the most convenient (and free) location which can accommodate a meeting.

Who else will be at the meeting and what will happen at the meeting? Typically  in attendance will be you, the Board, committee members and (maybe) other homeowners.

The short story of what happens. Functionally, you take the minutes [2],[3] the Board follows the agenda, strays afield from it a time or two (or six), makes decisions or tables them (i.e., puts them off to another meeting) and gives you direction on what they want next (from this meeting you will be able to make an action list of items for you to complete between this meeting and the following one). If you have homeowners in attendance, things can get very interesting at meetings, especially if there is some contention about a particular issue, but that's a longer story to be told later.

Now that we have the who, what, when, where and why of Board meetings it is time to look at how we need to think, schedule, work and prepare ourselves throughout  our work days so those meetings can become a routine activity, as opposed to a stress-inducing nightmare.

The month-to-month work schedule

We know that Boards usually meet once a month. That means that the manager works meeting-to-meeting, or on a 30-day cycle. It also means that meetings aren't a surprise, so there really is no excuse not to be relatively well-prepared.. If you manage your time well and do the work that needs to be done you will be able to report effectively to your Boards, bringing them the information they need to make decisions and move the community forward. Always remember that procrastination is your enemy! It brings you nothing but unnecessary stress as you race to get things done, or have to wing it with partial information at a meeting. 

To clarify: This doesn't mean that each job is completed within days - far from it. But progress that is made, deadlines about which the Board needs to know, new items that have cropped up during the month about which the Board must make a decision - each of these issues would be funneled in to a Board meeting for review, consideration and hopefully direction if needed. You can do this, you will do this, and you will do it well if you continually keep in mind that your entire work-month is almost fully in preparation for a meeting, whose set date is looming upon you. Here's how it works:

Always preparing for a meeting: Work, work,  work. There is never a "down" day as a community manager. Each day means you have things to start, continue or complete in a never-ending cycle of Board meetings. As soon as one Board meeting is over, you have minutes to write up, invoices to authorize and work orders to issue. But you also have these typical types of issues to deal with that will need to be brought to the Board's attention at the next meeting:

• The roofing company has determined that more work is needed on Building B than initially anticipated and more money must be spent for which you will need authorization.
• The landscape contractor has given notice that he is terminating the association's contract. 
• Two owners have become so delinquent that the accounts are heading to foreclosure.

Each of these issues represents average information that a manager will receive and which needs to be relayed to the Board as a status report, or as an action item. This means as the manager you are always gathering information to present to your Board: You are always developing a Board packet. 

The Board packet is the means by which you communicate to the Board not only much of what has been accomplished regarding the business of the community that month, but what is currently going on (status), what decisions need to be made (action) and what is coming down the road (future). The packet contains all the (written) information you need to present to the Board at their meeting and is organized using the agenda as a "Table of Contents," if you will. As your work-month progresses, so does the information you gather and thus so does the Board packet. Now, let's square what happens in the work-month and how you put that information in a cogent and coherent form for the Board (and for you). Let's go back to one of our previous examples:

• The roofing company has determined that more work is needed on Building B than initially anticipated and more money must be spent for which you will need authorization.

First: What to do and why/why not?  You can ignore the roof problem, or you can wing it with an oral report to the Board (Danger! More on that later…); however, the best and most professional course of action is to have the roofing contractor give you a written report along with a cost estimate for the additional work. You place this information in your Board packet, the Board can review it ahead of time and a decision will likely be made at that meeting. This way you are acting as the conduit to the Board, providing written information  and documentation from an expert. This takes you (personally) out of the equation and gives the Board the information they need to make a decision at this meeting.  Besides, you are not the roofing expert.  For fun let's review another of those previous examples:

• The landscape contractor has given notice that he is terminating the association's contract. 

What to do. Anticipate the Board's questions (many)  and their needs (obvious).  Why did the contractor quit? You have the answer. How long will he stay on? You have the answer. What's our budget for landscape? You have it at your fingertips. Who else can we get? You have already composed a Request for Proposal (RFP) and sent it to five other contractors. By the next meeting, you should have at least three bids for service. You rock.

30 days,  4 categories. Everything you do during your work-month which will be reviewed by the Board will basically fit in to one of these categories:

Recurring items of business. Those items which are always on your monthly agenda for review and approval/acceptance, such as minutes and financial statements.

Status or progress reports.  These are ongoing items about which you merely report to the Board and about which you typically will not receive direction nor need a decision from the Board.  For example, the community is having all of the building trim painted. You will report on which building they are at, and whether or not they are behind schedule, or on schedule.

Board action items. These are issues about which the Board needs to make a decision on a course of action; i.e., the awarding of a contract.

Future items and issues. These are matters that the Board will need to address in the upcoming months. You may or may not need/receive direction at the time of this Board meeting.

Now that you have those 4 categories in mind, review this simple meeting agenda. Each is placed in to its' relevant category(ies). Below is a sample agenda, along with a quick explanation of the agenda headings:

Sample Agenda

I. CALL TO ORDER (Recurring)
The Chair begins the meeting if there is a quorum present.
II. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES (Recurring)
Minutes of the last meeting are submitted for approval.
III. FINANCIAL STATEMENT (Recurring)
The past month's financial statement is reviewed/approved by the Board.
IV. MANAGEMENT REPORT (Status/Action)
Your report to the Board on what has transpired since the last meeting.
V. COMMITTEE REPORTS (Status/Action)
Various committees give their reports to the Board.
VI. OLD BUSINESS (Action - you hope)
Usually items that have previously been on the agenda and  tabled and about which the Board still needs to take action.
VII. NEW BUSINESS (Action/Future)
Items that are new to the agenda for review and consideration of the Board. 
VIII. TIME AND DATE OF NEXT MEETING (Recurring)
Everyone check their calendars…..
IX. ADJOURNMENT (None)

Almost all of these of categories can have a "drop down" menu of 4, 5, 6 or more items.  For example, if you have 5 committees that wish to make a report to the Board, each one would be noted under "Committee Reports."  

Board packet organization and construction

Keep a file(s). Electronic or hard copy - where you place all Board packets items (one file for each association) as you complete them and as the work-month progresses. In our first example, once you receive the new roof report and cost estimate provided by your contractor, they will go in to that file.  In our next example, the RFP you sent out, along with a list of bidding contractors and expected dates of receipt of proposal(s) are in the Management Report.  And the same goes for all written information that needs to go to the Board.  In getting back to our Agenda of Recurring/Status/Action items, recall that all issues fit in to one of those categories.

As you get closer to the date of the meeting, you will begin Board packet construction. Note that each management company has their own preferences for how they want their packets constructed, and the following is meant as a general guideline.

Start at the beginning. Working from the last agenda, you can create the next agenda. This is very helpful because it not only serves as a reminder to you about what went on (and maybe what you forgot about!) at the last meeting, but keeps you from reinventing wheel, saving you precious time.

Next, pull out or open up your file for that association's Board meeting, the one that has that that landscape RFP in it, and the roof report on Building B. Place these items, and any others, and place them in the order in which they fit on the agenda. Note them on the agenda as "drop down" items under the main categories.  For example: 

IV. MANAGEMENT REPORT
1) Landscape contract termination                                              pg 12
      a) RFP for new firms/list of firms requested to respond             pg 13
2) Roof report,  Building B                                                          pg 14-15
     b) Cost estimate for additional repairs                                      pg 16  
 

And so on. Information brought to the Board in a nice, neat, logical order and with as a complete information as you are able to provide. This will allow the Board - and you - to keep managing the day-to-day business affairs of the community in a timely and professional fashion.

Very important! Ideally, the Board should have the completed packets in their hands 5 days ahead of the meeting. This means that for all practical purposes you are on a 25-day cycle from the last Board meeting, or in truth, 15- to 18- work-day cycle (you can easily see how procrastination can kill you).

As a manager your life will revolve around Board meetings: The good, the bad and sometimes the ugly. You prepare for and attend those meetings as a part of your normal job. The average portfolio manage will attend anywhere from 5 to 9 meetings per month, most of them after-hours. The majority of each meeting's success will depend on how well you have performed your duties for each community that month, and will also depend on how well you convert the information you have gathered in to something each Board can not only review and understand, but make decisions which will affect their community, sometimes profoundly.  Don't yet go screaming in to the night: It can be done, and done well as a matter of routine. The fact is, many of the long time professionals in our industry do Board meetings and their preparation almost automatically. The means to this end is to understand that every day as a manager you are always preparing for a Board meeting.