7 minute read
Going that extra mile and beyond is the secret to success
By Trevor Rawnsley, CEO, ARAMA
The most successful strata complexes are those built on a foundation of togetherness and harmonious communal living.
The most successful resident managers are those who foster a sense of community in the buildings they are entrusted with.
The business of Management and Letting Rights (MLR) thrives when resident managers go above and beyond their contractual requirements and build a community within their scheme that is orderly, neighbourly, and focused on making that community the best it can be.
The best resident managers are those whose enthusiasm for running their complex translates into a vibrant and harmonious community around them.
The remarkable Maree and Ian Smith manage an astonishing 230 townhouses across four complexes, and in the three years since they bought into their first MLR business they have shown the way for the whole industry to deal positively with tenants, owners and body corporate committees.
Maree says she and Ian have done their best to make everyone at their properties feel a sense of inclusion. They have a Facebook page covering residents at all four complexes they manage, and owners and residents are encouraged to put up “buy, swap and sell” messages as well as community alerts for incidents like their power going off or if anything, or anyone, strange is around their townhouse. Ian and Maree encourage all the residents to look out for each other.
Their four complexes are within a few km of each other just north of Brisbane. All the units are three-bedroom, two-bathroom, single lock-up garage townhouses and this year they have added two complexes to the two they had been managing.
Ian and Maree encourage all the residents to look out for each other
They reside at Hidden Grove at Griffin surrounded by 90 townhouses in the complex. A hundred metres away at Vista on Brays are another 60 homes. They also look after 10 townhouses at Mariposa Place in Kallangur and are just taking over another 70 at Nigella Views at Dakabin.
They have added a community herb garden to Hidden Grove this year, and they run hidden duck competitions, Halloween activities, and visits from Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny. All these things are designed not only to entertain the kids living there but to foster a sense of community among the adults.
For a recent duck hunt competition, fellow ARAMA members Karen and Michael Cross from the Dorchester on the Gold Coast donated two nights’ accommodation at their property, so a large number of adults were encouraged to take part. Maree says the competition caused many of the residents at Hidden Grove to spend much of their downtime wandering through the complex looking for hidden yellow ducks to claim a prize. While the adults were rummaging through the gardens looking for the plastic ducks, they would meet and converse with each other and realise that their neighbours were nice, decent people just like them, and thus a greater sense of community was constantly being established. The competition also had people constantly coming to the office to engage with Ian and Maree and that community spirit was strengthened.
Bonds such as these certainly make some of the difficult conversations over such things as rent rises or bylaw infringements far more palatable.
That sense of camaraderie and community is so important in strata living especially when something serious happens such as flooding or other emergencies and neighbours have to rely more than ever on each other.
A hundred kilometres or so to the south, Bruce and Jill Christie go that extra mile to ensure a great relationship with residents and their body corporate at the Surfers Hawaiian apartments.
They’ve been there for eight and a half years, and the first thing they did when they arrived at the complex was to build trust with the owners who had seen many different managers come and go, often after only a year or two.
Bruce and Jill listened patiently to the many complaints of residents before rolling up their sleeves and getting stuck into the task of making the apartment building the very best it could be. They organised working days so that all the owners could come along and be part of the upgrades to the grounds and save money at the same time.
They introduced regular lift notices to inform the owners about what was going on around the place, and to make sure all residents and owners felt part of the community rather than being on the outer and not being informed. They then started organising little parties and get-togethers so residents could come down and have a drink and a chat, lubricating the wheels of community spirit. The body corporate took the move on board and now they are well attended get-togethers on the first Friday of every month.
During COVID some of the older residents at the Surfers Hawaiian became despondent when travel restrictions meant they could not see their families who lived interstate or overseas. They relied a great deal on Jill and Bruce for companionship and to lift their spirits. This hard-working couple organised birthday parties for many of the residents because they had become just like family to them.
Jill and Bruce also introduced a defibrillator to the building, and knowing that Bruce used to be a lifesaver, the residents know he is well-versed in first aid. It’s not part of his agreement, but a lot of residents have him on speed dial as their first call in an emergency.
All those things are a way of building up real community spirit.
Chris Puplett, a senior building manager who will soon notch up 20 years with Oaks Hotels and Resorts, says there is no real mystery to being a great manager. It’s about being decent and polite and working hard to help others, he says.
Some of the main buildings Chris looks after are Festival Towers and Charlotte Towers in the Brisbane CBD, and the Mews apartments in nearby Bowen Hills.
He’s had to help many residents through tough times, including the floods of 2011, 2013 and most recently at the Mews, which suffered a lot of flood damage in February 2022.
Chris worked tirelessly to ensure the minimum disruption to residents and guests during projects such as lift upgrades and the ongoing Cross River Rail project.
In a similar way, Marion and Chris Simon from the Boulevard North Holiday Apartments, at Broadbeach, have gained a well-earned reputation for always striving to contribute wherever they can to the happiness of their strata community.
They realise that the MLR business is a service industry, and they have provided exceptional service at their complex to keep it in the best possible condition during holiday seasons that have recently been blighted by COVID, concrete remedial work at the property, fires and floods.
On a complimentary basis, Marion undertook the total refurbishment of the interior of one owner’s apartment, and upgraded several other apartments, all to improve the guest and owner experience.
She didn’t have to do this work but Marion realised good service translates into a great vibe in the MLR industry.
The best managers in this wonderful industry of ours provide a service that goes that extra mile - and beyond. ■
