INDUSTRY FOCUS
APPLYING STRATEGIES IN COMMUNITY ASSOCIATIONS Drawing up a strategic plan involves the following steps :
• Recruiting core leadership and team members , including representatives from all stakeholder groups in the community . This should include internal and external stakeholders .
• Training , motivating , and empowering the group to see how they will be adding value to the community in which they live or serve .
• Setting objectives , timelines , key roles and success indicators .
• Understanding the history of the association , how it came into being , and why it was established .
• Imagining and understanding multiple visions of the future , by setting possible scenarios such as : size ; financial position ; market expectations ; and the impact that the political , environmental , social and technologic environment will have on the community .
• Identifying current and likely challenges and opportunities .
• Identifying things that the community does well , and what it does badly , and measuring these against the core values of the community .
• Describing a picture of the vision of the future using strengths and opportunities , and integrating the threats and weaknesses .
• Describing the plan to all association members at each phase of the development of the plan in order to solicit comments and fill gaps where critical areas may have been missed .
• Restating the accepted plan , seeking broad-based consensus for it , and soliciting more feedback and involvement .
• Developing operating plans , budgets and schedules .
• Prioritising goals , and allocating and planning resource utilisation .
• Monitoring accomplishments , and soliciting and reaffirming consensus on remaining items .
• Restating the vision-making process with each new group of interested members .
COMPONENTS OF STRATEGIC PLANNING Strategic planning ’ s three main components are plan development , plan execution or implementation , and plan monitoring and review . Many of the functional areas within these components are similar in that all three require a team concept that is based on : ensuring that the members ’ roles are defined ; educating team members about the process ; and using quality communication and interaction .
PLAN DEVELOPMENT Plan development is the first component of strategic planning . During this stage , the following steps should be completed :
• Assess the association ’ s history , significant accomplishments and weaknesses . Develop a history of the association and the community . List important milestones that brought the association to where it is today ( open land controlled by the developer to 50 % occupancy ). To help visualise how the association has changed over the years , include items that impacted on the association ’ s operations , such as : hiring additional staff ; upgrading computer hardware / software ; changing processes significantly ; raising levies ; building additional facilities ; changing some of the rules ; developing a new newsletter format ; changing the size of the board ; rebuilding / renovating existing facilities , etc . Include dates , quantities and rand values , as appropriate .
• Assess the association ’ s current status . Determine the association ’ s current status by assessing such things as : the state of the facilities ; infrastructure of the operations ; the financial statements ; demographics ; beautification of the parks ; the result of the last service survey ; the perception of the external environment ; property market ; number of residents attending events ; debtors ’ age analysis ; traffic load ; the attendance of trustees at board meetings ; and the number of complaints , security breaches , architectural guideline breaches , breaches to the rules and regulations , and so on .
• Evaluate the association ’ s current governance structure . Review the operations , communication channels , and lines and parameters for decision making , etc ., to determine the levels of accountability , and the extent to which the fiduciary responsibility of trustees is being met .
• Determine how responsibilities are assigned , defining communications and authorities . Examine the available policies , procedures and desk guides to determine the chain of command within the association ’ s staff , within the board , and for oversight and communications between the staff or management company and the board of directors . The point of contact between the staff , or management company , and the board is critical to preclude misunderstandings , duplications of effort , or things falling through the cracks , etc . Determine the board ’ s responsibilities versus those of the staff or management company . An example of a delineation of responsibilities between the staff or management company and the board is covered in policy governance . Simply stated , policy governance assigns the board ’ s function as that of policy making – the ‘ what is ’ of the subject / issue , while the staff ’ s or management company ’ s function is that of carrying out the policies – the ‘ how to ’ of the subject / issue .
• Develop mission and vision statements . The vision statement is the dream or end state to which the association aspires . It emphasises the dream of where the association will be at a specific time . The mission statement is the organisation ’ s purpose stated in a memorable phrase . In short , an association ’ s mission statement describes the business it ’ s in . It should be geared toward fulfilling the association ’ s purpose , and what it intends to do , as contained in the governing documents – with some specifics . Mission and vision statements should not be a list of goals .
• Determine operating values . Also called guiding principles , these values state the association ’ s intentions and expectations . They are used to judge the association ’ s policies and actions , as well as individual conduct . Associations should include values such as : the importance of customers and customer service ; commitment to quality and innovation ; importance of honesty ; integrity and ethical behavior ; corporate citizenship ; respect for employees , and the duty that the association has to its employees ; and the importance of safety and protecting the environment , etc .
• Perform a needs assessment . Determine the needs of the
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