Condo Media - November 2022 - 22

MORE WITH LESS
TRADITIONAL
MANAGEMENT MODELS
HISTORICALLY, there have been two schools of thought on how duties
ought to be divided: the portfolio model and the departmental model.
PORTFOLIO MODEL
In the portfolio model, the HOA manager is required to wear a lot of hats.
● As the community manager, they need to be the friendly face of the
management company. They need to attend meetings, settle disputes,
be problem-solvers, and be approachable.
● Because they are also handling the community fi nances and overseeing
day-to-day accounting matters, they will need to be detail-oriented and
know how to read and interpret fi nancial statements.
● With maintenance coordination, they must switch gears and be aggressive
in following up with vendors, understand the various scopes of work, and have
a thick skin to be able to handle cranky and rude owners or even the occasional
board director who tends to be diffi cult to deal with sometimes.
● Being an expert in administration is also one of the attributes that an
HOA manager should have so they can track all the meetings, fi ling deadlines,
maintenance work, recurring services, and amenities.
● They should always be in the offi ce to answer calls and emails.
They also have to be onsite to meet with vendors and talk to the board.
And this is only for work. They also have various personal duties for which they
need to budget energy to keep their home lives running like humans. They have
a lot on their plate and their responsibilities need to be managed effi ciently.
There are also task deadlines that need to be met, otherwise it can affect the whole
institution. Many portfolio managers fi nd themselves in extended working hours
and losing their work/life balance. Most of them experience burnout and stress.
One of the best-case scenarios is hiring someone with three of those skills, but you
will not fi nd someone who has all the skills that you're looking for unless they have
been managing a place for 10 years. For the sake of argument, let's say that one person
can effectively do those things without burning out. Here's the catch: what happens
when they leave or get promoted? Even if they stay forever, what happens if they
want to take a vacation? All of that information is running in their head, so if they
have to change jobs, get sick, or take a vacation, we need to anticipate this reality and
be ready to fi nd a replacement who can fulfi ll all of those tasks in a short span of time.
20 CONDOMEDIA November 2022
DEPARTMENTAL
MODEL
In the departmental model,
different departments handle different
roles and responsibilities.
● An accounting department
handles fi nancial statements
and answers homeowner
questions about why the fee
wasn't waived when they
talked to the property manager
during their last meeting.
● The maintenance department
answers questions about why
" ABC roofi ng " is doing the
work when they decided to
table it at the board meeting.
This can result in increased
frustration and higher customer
turnover. If each department is
focused on seeing only their role
and data, it falls to the client to
piece it all together and ensure
each department is up to date on
what's happening.

Condo Media - November 2022

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