Less Email, Better Results: How Great Condo Boards Communicate With Their Manager
When the board sends frequent emails, requests regular updates and follows up continuously, directors may feel highly engaged.
But activity is not the same as effectiveness.
The real question is not:
“How often are we communicating?”
It is:
“Is our communication helping the work get completed?”
A condominium manager has a limited amount of time available for each property. Boards must decide whether they want that time spent improving the community—or repeatedly explaining that the improvement is still in progress.
More Communication Is Not Always Better
Imagine that the board asks the manager to arrange repairs to damaged exterior stairs.
Over the following week:
· One director suggests a contractor.
· Another asks whether three quotes will be obtained.
· A third asks when the contractor will attend.
· The president asks for a progress report.
· Someone replies to the full email chain with a different preferred repair method.
· Another director starts a new email chain with the subject line “Stairs.”
The manager may now spend more time organizing the communication than organizing the repair.
The board intended to create accountability. Instead, it created administrative work.
Start With Clear Delegation
Every delegated task should answer four questions:
1. What Needs to Be Done?
Describe the assignment clearly.
2. What Outcome Does the Board Expect?
Explain what success looks like.
3. What Authority Does Management Have?
Confirm whether the manager can proceed, obtain quotes, spend within a limit or return to the board for approval.
4. When Is the Next Update or Deadline?
Set a realistic reporting date.
For example:
“Please obtain competitive quotes to repair the exterior stairs. The repair should address the immediate safety concern and provide a durable solution. Management may spend up to $1,500 if urgent temporary work is required. Please return with the quotes and your recommendation for our September board meeting.”
That instruction gives the manager direction, authority, an expected outcome and a deadline.
It does not require six follow-up emails.
Use One Board Contact
One of the simplest improvements a board can make is appointing a primary liaison.
This is commonly the board president, although the board may select another director.
The liaison does not make decisions on behalf of the board unless the board has specifically delegated that authority. Their role is to consolidate communication and deliver clear board direction.
At Mission, we recommend appointing one board liaison so the condominium manager does not have to interpret instructions from multiple directors.
Without a liaison, the manager can become trapped between conflicting instructions:
Director One: “Proceed immediately.”
Director Two: “Do not proceed until the board discusses this.”
Director Three: “Why has this not been completed?”
No management system can make that efficient.
A Practical Communication Benchmark
At Mission Management, we use a simple rule of thumb when assessing board communication:
A well-organized board should generally send approximately one board email per unit per year.
For a 100-unit corporation, that would be roughly 100 substantive board emails annually.
This is not a law or rigid limit. A major insurance claim, construction project or legal dispute may temporarily increase communication.
However, it is a useful indicator.
The board will already have several formal meetings during the year, receive management reports and hear directly from the manager when decisions are required. If a 100-unit corporation is producing thousands of board emails annually, the issue is probably not simply a “high level of service.”
It may indicate:
· Unclear delegation
· Repeated follow-up
· Too many communication channels
· Directors acting independently
· Decisions being made by email
· A lack of trust
· Poor management reporting
Match the Message to the Right Channel
Not every matter requires an immediate email.
Use Emergency Channels For:
· Active flooding
· Fire or serious safety concerns
· Major loss of essential building services
· Immediate security threats
Use the Management Portal or Service-Request System For:
· Routine repairs
· Owner requests
· Maintenance observations
· Non-urgent follow-up
Use the Board Meeting For:
· Policy decisions
· Contract approvals
· Budget decisions
· Strategic discussions
· Competing board viewpoints
Use Email For:
· Clear direction arising from a board decision
· Time-sensitive approvals
· Questions that cannot reasonably wait
· Confirming responsibilities or deadlines
The subject may be important without being urgent.
Stop Requesting Constant Status Updates
Follow-up is necessary when a deadline has passed or a commitment has been missed.
It is less useful when the manager is contacted repeatedly before the agreed reporting date.
A board that asks for daily updates on a three-week task creates extra work without accelerating the contractor, engineer, insurer or lawyer involved.
Instead, agree on milestone reporting:
· Quotes requested
· Quotes received
· Recommendation ready
· Contract awarded
· Work scheduled
· Work completed
The manager should report at meaningful stages—not every time someone leaves a voicemail.
Focus on Outcomes, Not Personal Preferences
A board may delegate a task and later discover that the manager completed it differently than one director would have.
That does not automatically mean it was completed incorrectly.
The manager may:
· Use a different contractor
· Organize information differently
· Communicate in a different style
· Schedule steps in a different order
· Recommend another solution
Boards should assess whether the approved outcome was achieved, the process was reasonable and the corporation’s interests were protected.
Delegation does not mean:
“Do this independently, provided you make every decision exactly as I would.”
That is micromanagement wearing a fake moustache.
Trust Must Be Supported by Accountability
Efficient communication does not require blind trust.
The board should establish:
· Clear performance expectations
· Regular management reporting
· Defined response standards
· A list of open tasks
· Assigned responsibility
· Due dates
· An escalation process
Clear systems reduce the need for repeated emails because the board can already see what is underway.
At Mission, we emphasize that managers execute board decisions and oversee day-to-day operations, while boards remain responsible for governance, policy and major corporate decisions. Understanding that division of responsibility improves expectations and accountability on both sides.
Protect the Manager’s Productive Time
Every board email has a cost.
The manager must read it, determine what it means, check the file, decide whether action is required and often prepare a response.
Five directors sending “quick questions” can quietly consume several hours.
Before sending an email, ask:
1. Does this require action before the next meeting?
2. Has the manager already been given a deadline?
3. Could this be consolidated with another question?
4. Am I speaking for the board or only for myself?
5. Is this the best use of management time?
The best boards are not silent.
They are deliberate.
They communicate clearly, establish accountability and then give professionals room to complete the work.
Mission Management works with condominium boards to create practical reporting, communication and delegation systems that help managers spend less time sorting through email—and more time improving the community.
