• Bimonthly Staff Meetings: Sedgwick ….
• Bimonthly Staff Meetings: Sedgwick has implemented bimonthly staff meetings to provide department heads with a platform to interface. This has led to a cohesive approach to solving community problems and meeting resident needs. Community Management Expertise
• Education and Credentials: Sedgwick has spearheaded the credentialing of top management, starting with the M-100 class on the Essentials of Community Association Management. Several directors are taking the course, which is the first step toward earning the Certified Manager of Community Associations (CMCA) credential. In addition, several new hires, such as Finance Director Mallorie Hall, already have the credential.
The instruction covers every aspect of community management— responsibilities, management ethics, rules enforcement, budgeting, assessment collections, risk management, recruiting and more.
• The Bigger Picture: Sedgwick herself is a certified manager of community associations (CMCA) and thus, a subject matter expert on all that entails. Historically, LW has been parochial in management style and remains decades behind in some procedures.
For example, until this year, year-end financial statements were delivered as an insert in the LW Weekly. Davis Stirling demands that such documents be mailed to every household. So, this year, the Finance Department mailed documents to all LW households.
In another example, there are currently no managed email systems for most of the Mutual boards. Members of the boards use their personal emails, which can expose them as targets for spam, phishing and other attacks. Davis-Stirling recommends dedicated email accounts for conducting board business to protect confidentiality, promote professionalism and avoid litigation, among other reasons.
At the December meeting, the Information Technology Services Committee recommended that the GRF Board consider a plan to help Mutuals standardize board email addresses and develop usage policies.
These are just a couple of the unseen improvements that will bring LW into compliance with best practices in the world of community management, which is now an industry onto itself. Nuts and Bolts Decisions
Not all of Sedgwick’s accomplishments are behind the scenes. She has a nuts-and-bolts practicality that can be seen on several levels. For example, after conferring with staff, it was decided that GRF departments with high resident traffic, such as Mutual Administration and Stock Transfer, should be clustered together on the first floor of the Administration Building. This will allow for ease of access for every LWer who needs to do business with the GRF.
Finance will move upstairs and be headquartered near Administration to consolidate departments with heavy interface.
Also, Sedgwick and Mutual Administration have been proactive in protecting GRF records with the signing of a contract to digitize hundreds of boxed GRF documents dating back decades and taking up valuable office space.
Once all the records are digitized, they can be easily accessed and are forever preserved.
She also implemented bus tours for new residents, so they can learn more about their community.
Those tours will soon be accompanied by a comprehensive new-member orientation to help people quickly acclimate to LW life.
It’s been a busy six months for Sedgwick, and 2023 promises to be even more productive, as she works on every level to protect your retirement community.
