Qualities to Look for in an Association Management Company

01 Feb Qualities to Look for in an Association Management Company

Whether your association is currently working with a professional management company or you’re a Board member searching for a company to work with for the first time, it can be tricky to know which one is the best for your association. Several association management companies claim to be the best in the business, but only a few fit into the criteria that makes a management company truly great. 

As a Board member, you try to keep your association’s best interests in mind. You look for companies who put you and your residents first and make your association’s success a priority – but sometimes companies can fall short of what they claim they offer. Here are some key points to keep in mind when searching for a new management company, so you can find the best possible option for your association. 

Leadership

The right management company provides your association with the guidance and help it needs to be successful. You’ll come to find that a great company will have a diverse leadership team that consists of highly knowledgeable upper management, but also has many experts behind the scenes who focus on their specified area of expertise. A great management company won’t have just a few people who “do it all”; they know the importance of having numerous team members at hand who specialize in different areas such as Human Resources, Accounting, Property Operations, Insurance, Training, Marketing, and so much more. Having a wide array of experts to guide you through a multitude of situations will benefit your association in the short-term and more importantly, in the long-term.

Financial Stewardship

When searching for a great management company, financial management is typically one of the most important items on the list of priorities for a Board member. You’ll want to look for a team with certified accountants that follow industry protocols to keep your association’s financial health in good standing – companies like Worth Ross Management Co., Inc. AAMC (WRMC) have a large accounting department comprised of CPAs and MSAs that are dedicated to your association. They will provide you with accurate, timely, and important financial information on a monthly basis to help your Board make the best decisions at each meeting. Partnering with a company like WRMC will give you a personalized experience and can help you identify cost saving opportunities and achieve streamlined expenses.

Vendor Relations

A great management company will have long-tenured relationships with high-quality vendors – they will be able to negotiate discounts on purchases for your association and can possibly receive lower rates on more regular services such as maintenance, saving your association money in the long run without sacrificing service that is above expectations. The relationships between the management company and the vendor usually translate to how your relationship will go – noticing the length of the relationship to how vendors interact with the management company are good indicators of how your association will be treated. 

Communication

This aspect is one of the – if not the most – important quality to look for when interviewing a professional management company. Ineffective communication is often one of the most common complaints about management companies; look for a company that not only hears your pain points and successes, but truly listens to them. Look for companies that give you the ability to communicate with them no matter the hour – companies like WRMC have an association portal where Board members and residents can reach out to the management team for help and will receive a response within 24 hours to ensure your community members receive  the answers they seek, all within a timely manner. The ability to listen to your associations wants and needs is key, and so is transparency. Your management company should be providing you with honesty about projects, finances, staffing, and everything associated with managing a community. Your association benefits when your Board can trust that your management company is giving you honest and trustworthy answers.

Commitment to Training

The property management industry is constantly changing and evolving. Having a property management company that cares about keeping their team members up to date on the latest rules, information, and processes speaks volumes about their commitment to serving your association as best they can. Continued education and training are services that companies like WRMC place a high importance on for their team members, offering multiple monthly internal trainings as well as monthly virtual seminars for Board members. A commitment to training is a commitment to your association’s success.

Accountability

A great management company knows one achievement does not mean it is time to quit. They know that in order to provide the best service possible, they must be open-minded, collaborative, and frequently searching for new ways to expand their skillset, knowledge, and customer service. While interviewing association management companies, ask if they plan on gathering feedback from Board members on a regular basis on how they are performing and if they plan on making any changes to improve where needed. The company’s team members should constantly be holding themselves accountable and looking for ways to make themselves better than they were the day before in order to provide the best service to your community. Take a look at their retention rate. At WRMC, they are proud to boast an unmatched client retention rate of 98% and an employee retention rate of 95% – the communities they partner with and the team members they hire choose to stay with WRMC year after year due to WRMC’s ability to hold themselves accountable in every aspect and do better than the year before. 

Think about these qualities when searching for your next (or first) property management company. Every association has different wants and needs. Finding a company that will personalize its services to cater to your community can be daunting, but it doesn’t have to be. Next time you search, think about giving Worth Ross Management Company a call. WRMC offers the personalized services your association needs and touts all of the qualities you should be looking for in an association management company. 

For more information or to discuss your association’s next success opportunity, visit www.worthross.com or give us a call at 214-522-1943.