"Of course, you are interested in what you want. But no one else is. The rest of us are just like you: we are interested in what we want." Dale Carnegie.
Mechanics of the Maintenance and Repair Committee.
For our plan to work, things need to operate smoothly, kind of like a machine with gears and lots of moving parts needs oil. Before we go there though, lets remember that no form of colorful guide will achieve this without good people skills, and that's our oil. We'll just repeat them since its not a once off thing. Give people what they want,not what you want before much else. Before you speak, pause and ask yourself, “how can I make this person want to do it? How can I frame this in terms of their wants?”.
These initiatives wont be easy so learn to give praise genuinely, listen & provide help and encouragement without a hint of criticism. In part 3 of our guide, we show you how to get the committee working, roles and responsibilities. Some of these methods can be applied by you the individual just looking to manage your private property.
Responsibilities
Your committee will be responsible for planning and supervising all maintenance and repair activity in the building. It's important to remember that this is a lot of work for anyone involved & it may be best to give members specific responsibilities according to character, free time and ability, to keep them interested. You, the M&R committee are also responsible for leading by example and motivating others to join in.
Acquiring Skills
Under many circumstances, the true motivating factor is not money or benefits, it's the work itself, the human desire to excel. If people are allowed self-expression they will find enjoyment in the work. Find out what each person enjoys doing most be it carpentry, masonry work etc and throw down a challenge for them. Many hardware centers offer D.I.Y training and as a committee it would help all of you to be trained. You could also look at hiring a project consultant or approach your local council to train everyone on the basics. Provided this is free or at a minimal cost for the member, they have gained vital life skills that will be passed down to other tenants on repair & work-days and also take better care of their apartments. Personal home repair costs will see a huge reduction while improvements come frequently.
As a committee, its best to meet fortnightly to discuss and prioritize repairs. If a repair job comes up that needs an independent contractor, the correct method of finding one is either through calling individually or a tender bid, then involve all stakeholders to compare bids from contractors and choose the best one.
M&R responsibilities guide
Now that its time to take on responsibility, it's very understandable on anyone's part to feel overwhelmed particularly if the building has been neglected and deteriorated over time. Don't worry, the right path is to approach things step by step and keep in mind that this guide will work if you take it into consideration that almost everyone will be new at this. Make it interesting and arouse an eager want in people through appreciation and avoiding criticism and complaining, offer your help willingly and others will do the same for you.
These are the necessary steps you should take from the beginning right to the end. You can edit some of the processes to suit you. The order follows a top to bottom, left to right path.
Building condition survey
After you've understood the responsibilities process, it might be time to do some checkups. The checkpoints guide will show you what items and areas to check. This shouldn't be a technical assessment, just a visual inspection to check if appeal and functionality are in order. If something isn't functional, it gets noted down. A full checklist will be detailed in later parts of the guide when we go in-depth.
M&R policy
Its easier to follow policies when they are in order so we've made you a chart of important things you should have a reference policy for maintenance & repairs.
Handling people & mistakes
It's a new experience for many people, great accomplishments as well as a few mistakes will occur. One sure way of keeping up such a good initiative lies in how you handle this sensitive part.
Here are 5 tips for you..
Address mistakes quietly & indirectly — No one wants to be embarrassed in front of others and by right they should not be. I have never seen an instance were public shame benefited both parties, it could make you feel powerful & your point driven but think about the other person will feel and others listening. We learn from our mistakes and if you are going to prove anything, don’t let anybody know it or feel that you're doing it.
Always be a model of best behavior — It is critical to set a good example, it catches on and sets a standard quietly. Mentors spread the word, find the most influential in the team and help them model the behavior you want to promote.
Accept and apologize immediately — You can make a situation manageable by simply owning up to your mistake. The real reason people avoid this is because they fear criticism, so if you quit that, see how much more efficient your work would become?. Plus, it is simply the right thing to do.
Focus on the greater good — It will influence both action and thought if you focus on whats best for everyone and not just one side especially when things go wrong. A person will recognize his own real reason he does something, and many times we don’t need to point it out.
Make changes easy to adopt for everyone — Make sure resources and support are available for everyone. Participants will be of different gender, age and physical ability and its good to remember that this affects roles you set up.
As James Joyce once said, “Mistakes are the portals of discovery.” Remember that mistakes are unavoidable. Your project consists of people & it's normal for them to slip up and make mistakes from time to time. You have a choice of allowing everyone to go into a chaotic, frenzied panic internally, or to play it smart and help solve the problem in a nice way. Thank you for reading and if you enjoyed it, please leave a comment below.
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