By Manny Roman
We live in a community with a homeowners association (HOA). We are mostly pleased with the way it is run. Property values are maintained by ensuring that everyone complies with the regulations we all agreed to upon purchasing the homes. We are personal friends with two of the board members so we hear probably more than we should about what is happening. One of these board members actually asks me for advice regarding handling people issues and sometimes takes my advice.
So, why am I boring you with this and what does that have to do with the title of this writing? Well, I have been involved in multiple discussions at meetings as well as more private conversations regarding the “violation” process. When someone is found to be in violation of a regulation, the management company sends a violation notice to the perpetrator. The recipient then is provided time to effect a correction and document the resolution. My objection is to the manner in which the violation is presented to the homeowner.
I contend that the present letter is somewhat insulting and implies that the violation was intentional. My first letter arrived before I even took possession of our home: You are in violation due to overgrown weeds in the front yard. The previous owner had vacated a few weeks prior to our move. We were very surprised at the tone of the letter – the presentation. I have been in multiple discussions regarding this presentation with multiple board members and homeowners. I propose that they change the presentation to change the perception.
I’m getting to the point, OK? When I conducted imaging service training to in-house biomed service personnel, I would highlight that their customers normally only saw them when something was wrong or broken. Their presence was attached to broken. I told them they should sometimes show up when nothing was broken to break this perception of broken-you, you-broken.
The saying that “Perception is Reality” is true, however, what determines perception? If we leave perception totally to the perceiver, what influence are we exerting? If what we see determines where we sit, then let’s provide the chair so we can influence the perception. If we do a good job with the presentation, then we are providing the chair pointed in the direction we want.
Let’s use the violation letter from the management. If the only correspondence with the homeowners is the dreaded letter, how are we to perceive it when we see the envelope? I’m telling you from experience that the first response is alway emotional, to anything. When we see the address, we immediately think, “Crap, what did we do, or not do now?” Letter means broken-me, me broken-means letter.
In my discussions with my friends on the board, the response is, “A violation is a violation, period. It should not be sugar-coated.” The word has such negative connotation. Look up the word in a thesaurus and the implication is that there was intent to violate.
I suggest that the letter be a critique sandwich. The negative “violation” should be sandwiched between positive items. For example, begin with the great and well-maintained community that we live in, then inform of the “discrepancy” found, then provide a reason to maintain the beauty and value of the community. Or some other sandwich which is less aggressive, that is until they refuse to correct the discrepancy, then get aggressive.
How is one to view an unveiled threat of fines and liens if not in a negative way. A good presentation may provide an alternate, less menacing perception and improve the perception of the HOA. I also suggested a monthly newsletter from the board in order to preclude the broken-me situation.
So, my advice to those of you who made it this far, is to evaluate how you present even good stuff. Prepare to answer 10 questions that your presentation may generate to ensure that you provide the chair you wish to provide. Presentation is 100% … Still.
By the way, my board member friends are unconvinced, so my presentation has been awful. My lovely Ruth says, “Stay out of it unless you are willing to run for the board.” My response is: I will run, but it will be away from the board.
Manny Roman, CRES, is association business operations manager at Association of Medical Service Providers.
