Volume 38, Winter 2009
Canadian Publications Mail Agreement # 40739009
ENHANCING THE KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS OF PROPERTY MANAGEMENT PROFESSIONALS
Inside Vice President's Message
2 Tempering Traumatic Transitions
3 IHM Certificate in Property Management Course Completions
4 Safety Training: an Expense or Smart Investment?
5 Member Profile: Michelle Waye
7 New IHM Members
7 IHM Marketing Team travels to Annual ONPHA Conference!
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P r e s i d e n t ’s M e s s a g e
We Can Manage With Change I was speaking with the President, Deborah Filice, recently and we were talking about how much change is happening in our respective employment locations, about the “busy” in business. You probably recall that our 2009 Educational Conference theme was Change and Grow and as a reflection of the changing environmental pressures in all sectors, including Property Management, the 2010 Conference theme is Paint the Town Green. John Kennedy is quoted as saying “Change is the law of life, and those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.” In our roles as Property Management professionals we can’t afford to miss the future, we manage the places where people make a home. Across both the private and public sector, Property Managers are faced with change and exercising our “change muscles” constantly, it could be our changing tenants, the changes needed to keep our building assets in good condition, changes in staff who work with us, or changes to how we deliver services. Sometimes we start the change in how we do things, and we as Managers should always be looking at how we can improve our service both for our tenants and for the owners of the properties we manage. Other times, the change is thrust upon us and we must adapt, move forward and eventually transition into a new comfort level. Whenever I meet members of IHM and we discuss property management issues and what the latest pressures or change challenges are, I’m usually impressed. I’m impressed with how many of you are living our code of ethics by accepting and moving through change because of a Property Manager’s responsibility to clients, employers, and the public. In this edition of the newsletter we have feature articles about transitions and the importance of safety training, and for those members in the social housing area you might note an advertisement about a gathering to talk about all the changes over the past ten years in that sector. It can be a hard thing to move forward and accept change, but we do it all the time because we can’t afford to miss the future and we understand, just as Henry David Thoreau said, that “Things do not change, we change”. Regards,
Kevin O’Hara, AIHM Vice-President
Social Housing 2000... those were the days. It has been ten years. Join your former colleagues and friends for a day of reminiscing & reuniting. Save the date... Thursday, April 8th, 2010, Hilton Toronto
Tell Your Friends! To be added to the mailing list or for more information, please email
thosewerethedays@housingreunion.ca
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IHM News • Winter 2010
Feature
Tempering Traumatic Transitions By Peter de Jager
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t’s a good day. Your organization and all the involved stakeholders have agreed unanimously, “We need to Change!” Everyone either understands the urgency and importance of fixing a problem, or has seized upon a single vision of what the organization might become in the future. There is no resistance to the Change, there is no talk of “Buy-in”, and there are no holdouts. Your organization is ready to move in unison towards a common goal with concentrated effort and determination. That sounds exciting. It sounds like a successful completion of a perfectly implemented Change Management Project (CMP). It also sounds too good to be true. Most organizations would give their right arm to have their organization so totally committed to their current CMP. For some, this would define exactly what “Organizational Change Readiness” is all about. Yet… in many ways, this state of affairs does not signal the end of a CMP; it is merely the first step on a sometimes long and painful journey towards the final goal of implementing the Change. “Change Management” is not just about whittling “resistance” to a whimper. Nor is it sufficient to rally the troops and gain corporate-wide agreement that the Change must occur. These things are incredibly important and, frankly, based upon anecdotes, first-hand experience, newspaper headlines and survey results, they are beyond the abilities of most
IHM News • Winter 2010
Change Hurts. Even when we want it so badly we can taste it, real Change is difficult, though not impossible, to achieve. organizations, but they are not the only goals of a good CM project. “Change Management” is also about managing what happens after people have decided that Change is not only worth embracing, but is also worth their effort, long hours, total support and determined persistence to the oft times bitter end. Consider your own past experiences. When was the last time you decided you needed a change and went through with it? Regardless of what that change involved, from moving to a new city, learning a language, losing weight, stopping smoking, getting promoted, getting married, learning to use a new tool, a new game, a new application, etc., etc., the pain involved in learning the skills necessary to achieve the final goal was totally separate from the pain involved in making the decision to change. The issue in a nutshell and a cliché: Change Hurts. Even when we want it so badly we can taste it, real Change is difficult, though not impossible, to achieve.
Learning any significantly new skill is difficult. Learning a significant skill upon which your paycheque depends is frightening. Learning a significant and financially critical skill without the necessary support structure is cruel, unusual and, most importantly, totally unnecessary punishment. The support structure to temper the trauma of a transition breaks neatly into four parts. Training: Provide those affected by the Change with the skills necessary to execute their new responsibilities. The closer you can provide this training to the big event the better. People, despite our best efforts, don’t have permanent memories. It really is a case of use it or lose it. That training and general support can take many forms, the more the merrier. 1) Formal Courses… with refresher courses assumed from the start. 2) Communication in every conceivable form; Visual, Auditory, Kinesthetic. 3) Help lines, support desks, support groups… and anything else that can place the person learning the new skill in contact with other ‘victims’ of the Change as well as experts in the new skill set. Encouragement: Training is good, but hands-on experience is better and totally different. If it’s new, then regardless of how much training you’ve provided, people will still make mistakes. That they are making mistakes is actually a continued on page 4
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good thing. It means they are making an attempt to learn. Every failure is evidence of effort. When they fail when they are using the new system, it’s sometimes too easy to forget the part of that sentence which states “they are using the new system”. That they are using the system, regardless of the outcome, is progress. Reinforcement: Not all attempts will result in failure, some attempts will, (honestly!) result in success. Each one of those successes, with as few exceptions as possible, should be rewarded. Celebration: From frenzied dances around the campfire after a successful
hunt to Harvest festivals around the world from time immemorial, we “need”, not just “like” to celebrate our efforts and achievements. Celebration is public recognition of a job well done. It proclaims loudly and publicly that our efforts were appreciated. It is both personal and peer recognition that we are of value to the progress of our organization. It, perhaps more than the work itself, creates an esprit de corps that prepares us for the next challenge. Celebration is a “Thank you” motivated by sincere feelings of gratitude and a canny understanding of human nature. People like to be appreciated and a cel-
ebration is a powerful way to communicate that message. Change, even desired Change, is difficult. Implementing a support structure to assist people through a significant Change is not just a matter of overcoming our reluctance to leave the comfort of the old status quo; it’s an attempt to support and promote the determination and courage necessary to move towards the next one. © 2006 Peter de Jager - Peter is a keynote speaker and consultant specializing in change management. You can contact and share your stories with him at: Pdejager@technobility.com ■
IHM Certificate in Property Management - Course Completions Human Relations for Property Managers Andoseh, Diane Bennett, Vincent L. Birjovanu, Nina Bogdan, Angela Chaffey, Stephanie A Clarkson, Chris De Guzman, Maria Edna Decsei, Diana A Duma, Ana Erbarescu, Liviu Erbarescu, Tina Flom, Jeff Gambelic, Mario Grozdanov, Nikola Hamilton, Lesley A. Klauz, Viera Kliks, Glen Klimczuk, Irene Kordish, Paul Kulabuga, Seyfi K. McErlean, Mylan Millar, Anita Mitchell, Alicia R. Mollaj, Anila Nagarajan, Shekhar Nobile, Felicea
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Quezada, Bryan Pilaf, Mircea Pyzhov, Michael Ragbirsingh, Robert Rivas Vallejo, Jorge Shrubsall, Jason M. Spiteri, Carmel J. Stroe, Luminita Stroe, Paul Sunga, Rodrigo Traynor, Ivor Savio Tsonev, Roman
Strategic and Financial Planning for Property Managers Adno, Caren Basha, Viktor Bonello, Maria Calderon, Bllen Chung, David Clarkson, Chris Cojocaru, Victor Gralewski, Peter Kalpatoo, Ambica Kelley, Taylor Leira, Claudia G. Magee, Neil L. P.
Moiseykin, Mykhaylo Montolova, Irina Rivera, Josefina Semina, Larisa Smal, Bogdan Spensieri, Michael D Stan, Ingrid Tan, Eric Tarbujaru, Sorin
Property & Building Administration Caradonna, Jerry Erbarescu, Liviu Erbarescu, Tina Loigner, Mihaela McLean, Veronique Price, Patricia Shafe, Cathy Toth, Dianne
Building Maintenance for Property Managers Adno, Caren Bertrand-Rioux, Julie Bogdan, Angela Caci, Jorgjeta Chaffey, Stephanie A
Decsei, Diana A Fleming, Cherrill Grimwood, Cliff Grozdanov, Nikola Henderson, Rick Macisaac, Jeana Moore, Carl Oka, Bardha (Bardhe) Oltean, Carmen Po, Sampson Popov, Ilana Roberts, Cindy Smal, Bogdan Spensieri, Michael D Stroe, Luminita Stroe, Paul Tan, Eric Volpe, Tony Weir, Sandra
Program Completion Certificate Bayliss, Bridget Erbarescu, Liviu Erbarescu, Tina Ragbirsingh, Robert
IHM News • Winter 2010
Feature
Workplace Health and Safety
Safety Training: an Expense or Smart Investment? By Carola Hicks, CEO, Workplace Safety Group
Business Challenge Besides the increasingly regulated environment, companies in the private and public property management and administrative sector also face increasing globalization and competition. Beyond required compliance with legislation, the goal is to achieve excellence while facing the economic constraints necessary to remain viable. Managing corporate risk (liabilities and dangers) is a key issue for all owners, directors and property managers. Risk management is a set of procedures that minimizes risks and costs for businesses.
Prevent Accidents, Control Corporate Risk Management is responsible for safety risk management, i.e. identifying potential sources of worker injury, analyzing each one, taking the necessary preventive steps and monitoring the results of safety measures. The goal of safety risk management is to protect workers by eliminating and reducing workplace accidents and injuries. Newly-established legal precedents have allowed courts to award heavy fines and significant compensation payments. This has created greater public awareness and a more litigious workforce and public. Organizations today must ensure that the workplace is safe, healthy and meets all statutory requirements.
What is Workplace Health & Safety Management? Workplace Health & Safety Management is the evaluation of risks relating to the health and safety of an organization’s workers and others (including the public) who may be affected by its activities. A management company that considers health and safety training to be an obligation only to satisfy legislative requirements instead of an opportunity for greater efficiency and job satisfaction is missing a fundamental opportunity to enhance its community culture. An effective health and safety program has the endorsement of management and proactive participation of workers.
When workers and management work together to improve and maintain a healthy and safe workplace there are positive ramifications, including greater productivity, reduced lost work time, greater worker retention, as well as improved morale and cooperation among workers. The implicit message to workers is that they are valued and their health and well-being is the employer’s priority. When an organization’s leadership philosophy accepts and includes health and safety as a core business necessity, all aspects of quality and competence (lower costs, better reliability and better employee utilization) of the organization increase and positively impact the bottom line.
Safety Training: an Expense or Smart Investment? Key benefits of health and safety training include convenience and effectiveness, but an equally compelling factor is the return on investment (ROI). When safety training programs are focused solely on compliance, they miss other valuable training outcomes and training becomes a questionable expense. And even the minimum training necessary for compliance is expensive — especially when work hours are considered. An organization offering just six, 30minute on-line safety courses, to 50 continued on page 6
IHM News • Winter 2010
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employees annually, actually “spends” 150 work-hours per year on training. To turn a health and safety training program into a smart investment, organizations can and should demand more value than just a clean compliance record. Besides being an investment, safety training can also be a tool for building employee skill sets, for shaping employee attitudes, and for reinforcing the organization’s goals and best practices. To be effective, training programs for adult learners must be relevant, timely, engaging — and go beyond simple compliance measures to keep employees safe, healthy, productive and on the job. Workers learn that knowledge and skill acquisition are an integral part of their job responsibilities. In this way, due diligence becomes a natural byproduct of the training rather than its only goal. Owners and managers who do not understand that even one workplace injury is one too many have not made the connection between health and safety as a corporate responsibility and the fiscal health of the organization. According to the Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety, for every dollar invested in safety there is a cost saving of between $3 and $6.i Leaders who “get it” realize that safety dividends are rewarded through lower costs for workers’ compensation and insurance, as well as through improved employee productivity and retention. Safety Training The future of safety training will increasingly involve internet-based training. Benefits of online training include convenience and effectiveness. Benefits of in-class training are that courses and programs can be customized to focus on critical, current issues. Discussions are most effective when everyone discusses issues that are relevant to their own organization and relative to the company. Courses can be designed to address issues such as workplace violence, hazardous cleaning materials, ergonomic and repetitive
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“Safety is an investment not an expense because, apart from any moral or ehical considerations, a safer workplace is more efficient and more economical. As an insurer, we see firsthand the immediate cost of a lack of safety”, says Edmund F. Kelly. Chairman, President and CEO of Liberty Mutual Insurance Co.
strain injuries, to name just a few, as well as changing needs as they relate to the company’s own unique situation. There is a significant cost advantage to setting up in-house training programs. Ten to twenty individuals can be trained in a focused and extensive course for the same cost as sending two individuals to one short-term intensive industrywide program when travel expenses and time away from the workplace are considered. The proven ROI power of safety training can turn this “expense” into a smart investment that yields bottom-line business benefits: increased safety and productivity, a more cost-effective training program, lower worker compensation costs associated with incidents, injuries, return-to-work programs, etc., improved sustainability, and a more unified, motivated workforce. Nobody Gets Hurt
managers evaluate each service, product or program to ensure its fiscal value to the organization. Poor health and safety practices are proven impediments to productivity; leaders who recognize this fact have a competitive advantage because they are the ones who will ensure that the workplace is both safe and productive. Safety creates good business; it is an investment in human capital that brings tangible rewards to property managers, as well as to its people, its tenants and its community. Carola Hicks is CEO of Workplace Safety Group, experts in workplace safety and specialty occupational health and safety training provider to ONPHA. Because of her keen awareness of workplace hazards, Carola dedicates herself to bringing safety awareness to as many people as possible. Email: carola@workplacesafetygroup.com i The Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety seeks to advance scientific, business-relevant knowledge in workplace safety, and work disability. ■
Competition is fierce in today’s business environment, making it imperative that
IHM News • Winter 2010
Member Profile
Michelle Waye – IHM Board Candidate Representative
M
ichelle Waye has worked for the City of Toronto since 2004 and during most of that time worked as a Social Housing Consultant with the Social Housing Unit. In that role, she worked with various non-profit and cooperative housing providers and delivered training programs for external clients and also led projects to improve internal operations. More recently, she has been project manager for the City's roll-out of the Social Housing Renovation and Retrofit Program (SHRRP). In November of 2009 Michelle was appointed to the position of Policy, Planning and Project Consultant. Before working for the City, Michelle spent four years with the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing's Social Housing Branch as a Senior Policy Advisor. In this position, she was responsible for program and policy development in the area of social housing. Michelle has a Master's degree in Public Administration from Dalhousie University. She also has a B.A. (Honours) in Political Science from Saint Francis Xavier University. She is a candidate Member of the Institute of Housing Management and sits on the Board of Directors. She also serves on the Institute’s Membership Committee.
Welcome to Our New Members New Candidate Members Aboud, Dawn Balasingham, Sugumar Boulley, Emily Bove, Iladia Casuccio, Zack Murzin, Lisa Peana, Eugen Provan, Mark Provost, Denyse
IHM News • Winter 2010
Sharkova, Anastasia Yeo, Un-Seok
New Accredited Members Bayliss, Bridget
New Affiliate Members Zachariah, Prince
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IHM News
IHM Marketing Team travels to Annual ONPHA Conference!
T
he Annual ONPHA conference was held in Toronto on November 13th, 2009 at the Westin Harbour Castle Hotel, and IHM was there with a booth in the trade show area. IHM Marketing Chair, Deborah Parker, staffed the booth assisted throughout the day by fellow IHM Directors, Kevin O’Hara, Michelle Waye, Kathi Zarfas, Terry McErlean and Deborah Filice. Traffic through the trade show was great and Deborah Parker reported a great interest in the education and membership information provided to delegates by IHM. Our thanks go out to all who attended!
The IHM display provided delegates with vast information on membership, education and general reference materials.
CALLING ALL PROPERTY MANAGERS ...with stories to share!
We know that a Property Manager’s job can be both challenging and interesting. How often have you come to work with your day all planned in your head only to have something unexpected come along … We are looking for some stories to share with your colleagues in the Property Management field. If you have an interesting story that you would be willing to author, please contact the Newsletter Committee at ihm@taylorenterprises.com
IHM Directors and Booth Volunteers: l to r Kathi Zarfas, Terry McErlean, Deborah Filice, Kevin O’Hara and Deborah Parker.
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IHM News • Winter 2010
Mark Your Calendar!
IHM News • Winter 2010
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IHM Job Posting and Resources Whether you are looking for a job or looking to hire a Property Management professional, this webpage has lots to offer. Separate sections have been designed – one for job postings and the other for resources and links to other websites. And remember – posting a property management related position is completely free of charge to IHM members. Just supply us with a copy of the job posting along with the closing date for submissions in either a ‘Word’ or ‘PDF’ format and we will have it posted online – usually within 24-48 hours. Send your job postings via email to ihm@taylorenterprises.com
2009-2010 Board of Directors www.ihm-canada.com PRESIDENT:
SECRETARY/TREASURER:
Deborah Filice, R.S.S.W, FIHM CityHousing Hamilton Community Services City of Hamilton 55 Hess Street South, 23rd Floor P.O. Box 2500 Hamilton, ON L8N 4E5 Tel: (905) 546-2424 Ext. 7817 Fax: (905) 546-2762 Email: dfilice@hamilton.ca
Harry Popiluk, FIHM Victoria Park Community Homes 155 Queen St. N., Hamilton, ON L8R 2V7 Tel: (905) 527-0221 Ext.215 Fax: (905) 527-3181 Email: hpopiluk@vpch.com
VICE-PRESIDENT Kevin O’Hara, AIHM, D.P.A. Communications Committee Region of Waterloo Waterloo Region Housing 235 King Street East, 6th Floor Kitchener, ON N2G 4N5 Tel: (519) 575-4800, ext. 1218 Fax: (519) 893-8447 Email: kevino@region.waterloo.on.ca
IHM OFFICE:
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PAST-PRESIDENT: Greg Grange, FIHM Public Relations Officer Marketing Committee 91 Windsor Drive, Brockville, ON K6V 3H7 Email: greggrange@yahoo.com DIRECTORS: Lynn Alexander, AIHM Communications Chair Region of Durham Housing Services P.O. Box 623, Whitby, ON L1N 6A3 Tel: (905) 666-6222 Fax: (905) 666-6225 Email: Lynn.Alexander@durham.ca
Lynn Morrovat, Administrator Josee Lefebvre, Administrative Assistant
Terry McErlean, FIHM Education Committee Social Housing Division, County of Simcoe 136 Bayfield Street, 4th Floor Barrie, ON L4M 3B1 Tel: (705) 725-7215 ext. 1846 Email: tmcerlean@simcoe.ca
Kathi Zarfas, AIHM, MPA Education Committee Chair Social Housing Services Corporation 390 Bay Street, 7th Floor Toronto, ON M5H 2Y2 Tel: (416) 594-9325 ext 215 Fax: (416) 594-9422 Email: kzarfas@shscorp.ca
Deborah Parker, AIHM Marketing Chair Girl Guides of Canada 50 Merton Street Toronto, ON M4S 1A3 Tel: (416) 487-5281, ext. 209 Fax: (416) 487-5570 Email: parkerd@girlguides.ca
CANDIDATE REPRESENTATIVE
Doug Rollins Education Committee City of Toronto, Office of the General Manager, Shelter, Support & Housing Administration Metro Hall, 55 John Street, 6th Floor Toronto, ON M5V 3L6 Tel: (416) 392-8638 Fax: (416) 392-0548 Email: drollin@toronto.ca
Sennan Vandenberg Candidate Rep - Membership Chair St. Lawrence Youth Association P.O. Box 23003 Amherstview RPO Kingston, ON K7N 1Y2 Tel: 613-384-4869, ext 110 Fax: 613-384-8873 Email:svandenberg@slya.ca Michelle Waye Membership Committee City of Toronto Shelter Support & Housing Administration 365 Bloor St. E., 15th Floor Toronto, ON M4W 3L4 Tel: 416-338-8209 Fax: 416-338-8228 Email: mwaye@toronto.ca
2175 Sheppard Ave. East, Suite 310, Toronto, ON M2J 1W8 Tel: (416) 493-7382 / 1-866-212-4377 • Fax: (416) 491-1670 • Email: ihm@taylorenterprises.com
IHM News • Winter 2010