Page 15 - New Jersey Cooperator January 2019

NJCOOPERATOR.COM THE NEW JERSEY COOPERATOR — JANUARY 2019 15 WWW.HOMESTEADMGMT.ORG.HOMESTEADMGMT.ORG.HOMESTEADMGMT.ORG.HOMESTEADMGMT.ORG WWW WWW WWW 328 Changebridge Road Pine Brook, NJ 07058 973-797-1444 • • 284 Route 206 South Hillsborough, NJ 08844 908-874-6991 • • NEW JERSEY | NEW YORK | PUERTO RICO 1211 Liberty Avenue, Hillside, NJ 07205 58 W. 58th Street, 7A New York, NY 10019 Toll Free: 877MMiller (877-664-5537) www.mmillerson.com TOTAL SUPPORT AFTER A PROPERTY LOSS FIRE | SMOKE | WATER | WINDSTORM | COLLAPSE | BUSINESS INTERRUPTION MULTI-FAMILY, COMMERCIAL, HOSPITALITY, INDUSTRIAL, AND RESIDENTIAL PROPERTIES n 24/7 Emergency Services n Policy Analysis n Property Damage Assessment n Full Claim Preparation n Negotiate Loss and Values n Negotiate Maximum Settlement n Facilitate Prompt Reimbursement n Third-generation, Family-owned PROUD MEMBERS OF M. MILLER & SON LICENSED PUBLIC INSURANCE ADJUSTERS SINCE 1960 MMSON_NJ_Cooperator_newspaper_COLOR 1/4_Layout 1 7/20/18 1:09 PM Page 1 sign a receipt for the packet can help moti- vate the staff member to read it and under- stand their individual responsibilities.” Joe Urbanczyk, a property manager with- Fairwood Management in East Amherst, New York: “Th e best way to position a new staff member for long-term success is to con- stantly train them in – and to reinforce – the rules. I have a written job description for each position that I staff , and an em- ployee handbook for each of my buildings. (None of my employees are union laborers, FYI.) I like to take a hands-on approach with each new hire in order to get them acquainted with the building and the unit owners.” Daphne Morton, a licensed community association manager at Carillon Club in Na- perville, Illinois: “Our HOA, Carillon Club, is a large gat- ed community in Naperville that consists of 778 homes with a clubhouse; indoor and outdoor pools; ten- nis courts; bocce ball courts; garden plots; a three-hole golf course; and three large ponds. Four full-time staff members oversee all of this. I’m the community man- ager, and then we have a lifestyle di- rector who plans all of the trips, outings and presentations at the clubhouse, along with pre- paring a monthly newsletter. Additionally, we have a main- tenance person, and an administrative as- sistant who also serves as our concierge. Th e latter had been working here for three years, but departed in May, aft er graciously giving us a one-month notice. Th is allowed me to hire someone prior to her departure, and allowed the board to approve the start of the new hire 10 days before the previous assistant left , thus overlapping payroll. Th e overlap provided important initial training for the new assistant, who could shadow someone with signifi cant experience in the role. And I continue to work with this new assistant and train her at the front desk po- sition. “We are also currently working on a pro- cedures manual, which will be a fl uid docu- ment listing all staff position jobs and the procedures which we use daily, weekly or monthly for each staff position. It is impor- tant to have this type of manual in place – not only for new staff being hired, but also in case someone needs to step in and do the job of another staff member due to illness or an accident that causes a staff member to be absent for any length of time.” Laura Nicolini, an executive director for FirstService Residential in Lake Barrington, Illinois: “Th e training for a new employee in- corporates both the management company standards (employee handbook, review of FirstService Global Service Standards, etc.) and the community or building’s stan- dards (training manual for position, build- ing components). What I fi nd to be most eff ective is an on-boarding checklist that touches on as many training points as pos- sible. Th is checklist should be divided up for training with the supervisor and also multiple staff members. Th is not only helps the new employee learn, but also to social- ize and meet their co-workers. Addition- ally, those co-workers are then invested in the success of the trainee and are there to support them in the future. “As the new employee com- pletes their train- ing checklist, the supervisor should follow up and ask the employee to show the supervi- sor what they’ve learned. Th is gives the opportunity for reinforcement and to close the gap on any missed training points. Frequent check-ins by the supervi- sor in the fi rst several months are key to setting the tone, expectations, and long- term success of the new hire.” Steven W. Birbach, President and CEO of Vanderbilt Property Management LLC in Glenwood Landing, New York: “We actually don’t have a protocol in place for staff at a building that we take over as management, the rationale being that if a super or porter has been employed for 10 or 15 years, they may not appreciate being presented with a job description noting every item management is expecting from them. Instead, we prefer to evaluate each employee and work with the board to meet their goals. Our fi rst priority is cleanliness. We will evaluate a porter, super or handy- man and make any recommendations di- rectly to them. For example, the porter may have been cleaning the entrance glass every “Th e super should also be involved in which capital projects are being con- sidered. Th eir knowledge and insight is critical as to which project must be ad- dressed and which can be held until the subsequent year.” — Steven W. Birbach continued on page 17