ATTENTION please:
Budget Proposal re: management will cost
us dearly
Buried on
page 8 of the 11 page budget document, under the heading “2. Staff Succession
Planning,” is a proposal for an increase of $70,000 to hire an understudy for
the current GM in the event of her retirement.
Please review the budget documents
carefully. The case is made for hiring a second Assistant General Manager or Associate
General Manager, using the following justification:
1. Failed attempts to hire a part-time
clerical temp.
2.
Concerns
about adequate personnel during the garage project which is scheduled to be completed
in July 2020, and which has a Project Manager who is not our current General
Manager.
3.
To
plan “for the eventual retirement of the GM” for which “no firm decisions have
been made.”
The
Board should consider the following:
1.
No one hires a trainee for an
executive position. A qualified General Manager should have at a
minimum 10 years of property management experience, excellent oral and written
skills, supervisory experience, and financial management, etc. Why would such
an individual sign on to be an understudy? Elizabeth condominium bylaws,
policies, and House Rules are available in written documents.
2.
Is it appropriate to hire support
staff when a new General Manager is needed? It is the responsibility of a NEW General Manager to
ensure he/she has the support staff required to make his/her management
successful. Our current AGM,
Engineers, and Maintenance Staff will provide the necessary continuity and
institutional memory during the GM recruitment, transition, and orientation
process. They have as much, if not more,
experience at The Elizabeth than our current GM.
3.
Let’s
face it: salary determines the caliber of applicants, applicants who are
experienced professionals. 4620 advertised for a General Manager in March, with
a salary range of $120,000 - $135,000. What kind of a person will we get—One who is willing to wait indefinitely for the GM position, perhaps at a higher salary if and when the position comes open?
4.
A
good executive search firm charges approximately 30% of hiring salary and
usually provides one replacement if
their candidate does not work out during the first year.
5. Do we want a clone of our current
General Manager? Please consider the following:
a.
Many
owners are dissatisfied.
b.
The
building looks shabby and poorly maintained, inside and out.
c.
Excessive
absenteeism – sick days, late days, etc. occurring prior to coronavirus work-at-home
schedule.
d.
Poor
customer service skills—does not respond to phone calls and emails in a timely
fashion.
e.
Does
not walk the building.
f.
Supervisory
skills leave much to be desired. Often
publicly criticizes staff or blames them, frequently failing to accept
responsibility.
g.
Does
not enforce the bylaws and House Rules. We now have several apartments which
have multiple and/or large dogs, in violation of bylaws, House Rules and
policies, as well as bicycles and furniture frequently moving through front
lobby, and more.
Consider attending the virtual Town
Hall meeting by Zoom on May 13 at 7pm. Whether you intend to attend the meeting
or not, please let the Board know how you feel about this matter.
We need to
raise our voices before it is too late.
No comments:
Post a Comment