Communications

Communications between the board and management and the owners must start with the manager and the board listening to the owners. The manager and the board must also listen to the employees and the contractors.

Listening is not the same as agreeing.

Filters
I am not a big fan of demanding that all communications, both ways, must flow through the manager. Too often, the manager will add their own spin to the messages so that the board only hears what the manager wants them to hear.

A board that looses touch what the owners are thinking is a board that starts getting into trouble.

Notices

Upward communications
                    
Notices that are posted in the mail room and by the elevators should always contain the following:
• date it was posted
• mention the day of the week along with the date when stating something, such as
   turning the water off, is going to happen.
• the name of who posted it. (Simply saying "Management" doesn't cut it.)
• a phone number or e-mail address the reader can call for more information.

Always promptly remove dated notices. Notices that are weeks or months old makes it look like management and the board doesn't care.

Newsletters
A good one, published quarterly, is a great way to communicate with the owners. Use the newsletter to promote common values, remind owners of the rules, explain what maintenance projects are coming up and to publish the budget.

The newsletter should announce any upcoming social events and to remind the residents of safety and security issues.

The newsletter can be used to explain what the declaration, by-laws and rules mean and can help the owners understand the budget and the financial statements.

Have a newsletter committee by all means but make sure they know that the board has a duty to edit and approve everything that is written in the newsletters before they are printed and distributed.

Website
A good website is a great way to get information out to the residents and it will allow the board to communicate with the absentee owners.

Setting up and running a website is a good project for a communications committee. The only problems with a website is that it takes a lot of work to set one up and even more to keep it current. As with the newsletter, the board has a duty to edit and approve everything that is put on the website before it is posted.

E-mail accounts
Keep your personal phone numbers and e-mail accounts private and set up an e-mail account for condo business.

Directors can and probably should inform the owners that you do not want to be disturbed at your private units but they can set up an appointment to talk to the board in the management office or in the board room at a mutually convenient time.

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