GOVERNANCE & MANAGEMENT Page 35 Nov / Dec , 2022 | TimeSharing Today
TIMESHARE BOARDMANSHIP :
A template for reviewing a management company
By Lynne M . Kweder
Q . Our board has allowed our management contract to renew automatically without a formal review of the company ’ s performance . Questions posed by a couple of newer board members have created some urgency in our need to do a performance review .
We have been searching unsuccessfully for a template for reviewing a management company ’ s performance . We need your advice , or preferably , a template .
A . The primary reference for a management company ’ s performance is the management contract . Of course , contracts vary depending upon the management company ’ s format and whatever your legacy timeshare has included through negotiation in that contract . Exactly matching your unique contract would be difficult .
On the other hand , all such contracts implicitly include standard expectations and provisions . So , I will try to capture those standard expectations in a template , while encouraging each owners ’ association to modify the template to address its own unique needs .
Evaluations inspire anxiety
Complaining about what is not happening and issuing directives about what you want to happen may be com- mon when specific problems are raised in board meetings .
This is not the way to approach a management review .
Comprehensive evaluations tend to inspire anxiety in the party being evaluated , and sometimes in the evaluator as well . An evaluation should be approached with care and sensitivity .
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Participation of both parties
A satisfactory performance-review process involves participation of both parties — board and management — and begins with a full discussion aimed at developing mutual expectations , hopefully mutual empathy , and written agreements .
If your management contract recently auto-renewed , then you are not at an ideal starting place . However , you are clearly at a point in the process where you and your management should sit down and discuss how everyone wants to go forward together during the contract period ahead .
Share your struggles
As a first step , I suggest a boardmanagement retreat where each group — board and management — has an opportunity to speak about what their struggles are and what they need from each other . Invite several management personnel , e . g ., general manager , assistant general manager , regional manager , your head housekeeper , and maintenance head .
If you operate under sunshine laws , I can hear you saying , “ But that would have to be a board meeting because we would have a quorum of the board present to which owners must be invited .”
Yes , you must post a notice that you