Body Corporate Trustees: Election or Selection?
Today we have another Guest Post written by the lovely Anne Greening, currently serving her 10th term as trustee in a successfully self-managed 120 section retirement village in the Southern Cape.
Here’s what she has to say:
ELECTION OR SELECTION
A Sectional Titles Dilemma.
Finding the right person for the job is one of the keys of good management. You need, say, someone to take responsibility for maintenance of buildings and grounds. So the Good Manager snaps his fingers, and the Personnel Department writes a Job Description, derives a man-profile, places an advertisement in the local press and, Hey Presto! The GM is presented with a bunch of eager, well-qualified and experienced applicants for the job.
So what has this to do with Sectional Titles?
The AGM comes around, and a motley group of people present themselves for election as trustees. Their motives vary: they may hanker for a sense of importance that they mistakenly feel comes with the job: the may not realise what they’re in for: they’ve most probably have been coerced into it; or in a few cases, they may actually feel that they can help their community.
Comes the first meeting of the new Trustees. For better or worse, one of them finds himself sitting in the Chair. “Who’s willing to look after maintenance?” he asks. Or accounts: or admin: or gardens: or writing the newsletter: or sorting out the parking: or whatever. Either someone volunteers, or is cajoled or blackmailed into taking the job. His experience and qualifications don’t come into the picture. So the Chairman ends up with a whole lot of square pegs in round holes.
Wouldn’t it be so much easier and more efficient if Bodies Corporate could select their trustees on the basis of their skills and experience for the job?
Oh! lucky Good Manager who is able to match the man with the job. Oh! Unfortunate Chairman who has to make do with whatever flotsam the tides of chance have washed up on the Body Corporate shores by the process of election.
Disclaimer: no criticism is intended of the innumerable Trustees who beaver on without reward to manage so many of our Section Titles schemes successfully.
Thank you for your valuable contribution Anne!
What are your thoughts on the above? Comment below.
Also, if you have anything you’d like to contribute to the blog, feel free to contact me: jennifer@paddocks.co.za
Image source: http://www.jobmail.co.za
Thinking Inside the Box 
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