Professionals leading by example
Business is a bit like sports: The moment of victory is much too short to live for and nothing else, as said by the famous 1990s tennis player Martina Navratilova.
I agree to the extent that a certain degree of side projects are necessary to keep you going while you are awaiting important outcomes – such as the continuation of the much wanted legislation review. While there is no mentionable forward movement in Queensland yet, the board is focusing on the seven key performance goals developed at our strategic planning day in February.
We aligned core focus activities with our constitutional objectives and set our emphasis back on advocacy and education. These two are our key member value propositions.
Increasing the sector’s professional attributes and knowledge is now firmly placed on our agenda. The most valuable and most important point of difference between an SCA strata manager and a non-accredited manager is the level of education and commitment to conduct business with respectable professional standards. None of us are infallible in a sector where so many government acts apply to what we do day-in and day-out and the main business is people based. However, our members make a conscious effort to keep up with education and to adhere to our new clear code of ethics.
Our code promotes openness, fairness, honesty and diligence. Naturally we require members to act in a lawful manner, adhere to the technical and professional standards relevant to managing strata schemes’ affairs and with competence. This competence requirement is supported by SCA (Qld)’s education program that puts strata manager needs the centre of our planning. Our education is from members, for members, and is always based on recent feedback from various sources, including external stakeholders. We raise awareness of any current and future issues as they come to our attention.
A good example is our seminar series The Speed Letting Stoush, that we held in the last two months with the commissioner’s involvement as well as ARAMA and SCA representatives. The series addressed the issues arising from private short-term letting – common property wear and tear, nuisance, insurance and legal aspects. What we have seen through this series and the year is an influx in participation in our education. Members are attracted to the hot topics and we have had an exceptional participation rate with some members even achieving double the CPD points they were required to accrue.
For the next year it is our ambition to continue the successful training agenda we have started and to identify the educational gaps that need addressing. We aim to incorporate a program for positive reinforcement of the ethical standards we have set to the benefit of consumers. We have also made a commitment to structure our member offerings, in particular our training, to suit the digital age.
After all, we are asking for modernisation of the strata sector so we must lead by example.
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