Tag: Hiring & Staffing

It’s typical for the prospective new employer of one of your former employees to call for a reference. If the employee in question was a stellar part of your management team, it’s a no-brainer. A glowing report will most likely be appreciated by the former employee. But what should you do when you’re asked for a reference for someone who was not a good employee, or worse, was fired?

No matter what industry you work in, finding and hiring good employees is difficult. While the economy has recovered, there are still many jobseekers who apply for jobs that they are unqualified for, just because they need employment. And a candidate who seemed like a good choice for your community might end up not having the experience or attitude that’s necessary to help manage an association.

No matter what industry you work in, finding and hiring good employees is difficult. While the economy has recovered, there are still many jobseekers who apply for jobs that they are unqualified for, just because they need employment. And a candidate who seemed like a good choice for your community might end up not having the experience or attitude that’s necessary to help manage an association.

Hiring and retaining good employees—who are essential to effective management—can be hard. Some unqualified applicants might want the job simply because they need a salary. If you already have conscientious management team members, use them as a resource by implementing an employee referral program that pays them for referring job candidates whom you hire.

Social media, email, and the Internet have vastly improved some aspects of business. Your association may have a website or use Facebook or Instagram to promote the benefits of living in the community or condominium building you manage or to post pictures of community events. But when employees spend work hours sending personal emails, going online to shop, or checking their social media channels, it leads to a decrease in productivity.

During your association management career, you’ll inevitably lose employees, which can be a nightmare if you’re already stretched to the limit for time or working with a tight budget that will make the hiring process difficult. And unless an employee has been vocal about dissatisfaction with her job, an exit interview is often the first time a manager will find out that something is wrong. By interviewing employees in the days before they leave, you can learn their reasons for leaving and even why they stayed as long as they did.

Although managing a condominium building or planned community well can be rewarding, it can also be difficult to do without the help of qualified and dedicated employees. Effective association management requires a varied skill set: customer service for members, financial savvy, organization, and building good relationships with outside professionals like vendors and contractors, among other talents.

Unfortunately, sexual harassment can happen in any workplace, including among members of your staff. In addition to wanting to make sure that your employees feel comfortable and not threatened at work, you also need to be concerned about sexual harassment because an employer can be held responsible if one of its supervising employees violates federal or state laws that prohibit sexual harassment—even if the employer was unaware of the violation.

Last month, the Insider showed you the importance of using a workplace involvement program to engage employees in both their work and the association. However, regardless of the steps that you take to create a pleasant work environment and motivate your employees, eventually, you’ll have to deal with an employee who doesn’t perform well and must be let go.