A Strata Management Head Spin
Are strata manager standards better or worse, I'm confused ...
So, what gives when one group of strata managers promotes their increasing professional standards whilst another strata manager bemoans low strata management standards? Who’s right and who’s wrong? Or, can they both be right …
[4.25 minutes estimated reading time, 832 words]
Introduction
On the same day [yesterday] at almost the same time, I received notifications from New South Wales strata managers that made my head spin.
One told me how high their strata management standards were, whilst the other bemoaned the lack of and drop in standards in the strata management sector.
So, what gives?
The first was the positive news that Strata Community Association (NSW) has received approval for a Professional Standards Scheme for its members that heralded their high professional and service standards. The webpage for the Professional Standards Scheme is here.
The other was a short Linkedin article by Nicholas Johnson describing what he has learned as a strata manager and to quote him ‘what is wrong with a largely uneducated and inexperienced industry’.
Let’s look at each in a bit more detail to see who’s right or wrong, or, whether they might both be right.
Strata Community Association (NSW)’ Professional Standards Scheme
A professional standards scheme is a formal recognition by legal instrument, that binds an occupational association (such as the Law Society of New South Wales (the Society)) to monitor, enforce and improve the professional standards of its Members, and protect consumers of professional services.
So, for Strata Community Association (NSW) this represents progression into a new phase of professional development and standards for its members as their president, Chris Duggan explains in this video.
The Professional Standards Scheme has been initially approved for 5 years and is underpinned by the
FAQs,
a Complaint Management Process, and
Manager Information Guides for members.
A review of the Code of Ethics quickly reveals that Strata Community Association (NSW)’s Professional Standards Scheme requires strata manager members to do a lot more than just comply with the strata and property licensing laws.
So, that can’t be a bad thing.
Nicholas Johnson’s Complaints
In his article, Nicholas Johnson sets out 4 main categories for complaint about strata management practices and standards.
1. Education & training: saying that short 3-month training courses for new strata management staff are inadequate to equip staff to independently manage strata buildings and even experienced strata managers need advanced training.
2. Portfolio size & lack of resources: saying that overlarge strata manager portfolios and highly leveraged support staff prevents effective management and leads to reactive workflows and no ability to add value.
3. Mentoring: describing a ‘sink or swim’ culture in strata management without any or adequate senior support, mentoring, guidance, or quality control.
4. Working conditions: explaining that the volume and frequency of strata stakeholders’ interactions and their typically negative character cause stress and potential mental health issues for strata managers.
It’s hard to argue with these points as they definitely exist in strata management and they need addressing where they exist.
Reconciling these contradictory positions
Can both Strata Community Association NSW and Nicholas Johnson be right or can their views be reconciled?
Superficially not, since whilst one is saying that at the strata management coal face many strata managers are not able to provide quality [or even compliant] services due to structural and resourcing issues, the other is saying that the strata management industry is moving beyond simple compliance with legal minimums to higher quality, service, and ethical standards.
However, I believe that both things can be true at the same time.
That’s because the strata management sector is more differentiated than it appears to be with some excellent managers who are setting the quality bar high and on whom the new SCA (NSW) Code of Ethics is modelled, whilst there are others who can barely manage to get strata buildings to hold compliant meetings on time and maintain basic accounting records. And, there’s every permutation of skills, effort and talent in between.
Every business sector has the same range of quality ranges. After consumers can eat at a roadside petrol station or a 3 hatted restaurant and they understand the difference.
So, what my head spin makes me think [when it stops] is that there is in fact a two-speed [or more speeds] marketplace for strata management and that strata managers need to be better differentiated than they are to their consumers.
After all, how can strata owners and other stakeholders tell the difference between the good, the bad and the ugly of strata management until it’s too late?
Perhaps the Strata Community Association (NSW)’s Professional Standards Scheme is such a differentiator.
Perversely, it occurs to me that if Nicholas Johnson is a member of the Strata Community Association NSW’ PSS then it might be that he’s breached one of their Rules of Conduct [Rule: Not denigrate another Member, nor any individual, company or profession in general] by criticising other strata manager standards.
July 02, 2021
Francesco …