All Work and No Pay: Attracting Qualified Board Members Molly Foster

Serving on a community association board can be a positive and rewarding experience. But such service can involve a significant time commitment with no compensation, and associations may find it difficult to attract board candidates with a range of skills who will put the association’s interests first. This article discusses ways an association can attract qualified candidates who will keep the association’s best interests in mind. It will also touch on implementing a board of director code of ethics.

Community association members may not have a clear idea of the roles and responsibilities of a board member. In trying to attract members to the board, the association should first set realistic expectations for potential candidates about: 1) the time involved; 2) the schedule; 3) the work required; 4) how the board conducts business; and 5) any challenges facing the community—whether related to money, personalities, or other issues. Setting these expectations can help weed out less serious candidates and ensure that candidates know what they are getting involved in.

How can an association attract and keep candidates? There are a couple of methods for encouraging members to volunteer for the board. One method is to make the board’s work easier through task delegation. While there is a lot of work involved in running an association, board members do not have to do everything themselves. Many day-to-day operational matters may be delegated to employees or managing agents, allowing the board to focus on more important decision-making. Boards can also appoint committees to evaluate information and provide recommendations about issues like hiring employees or vendors, architectural control, and maintenance. Reducing the board’s workload through delegation may encourage candidates with busy schedules to volunteer for the board.

A second method for enticing members to run for the board is to emphasize that board members have the ability to shape the community and affect resident quality of life. If a member wants to have influence or control over the association’s budget, rules, landscaping, construction projects or other affairs, the member needs to be on the board. Members may be encouraged to run for the board if they understand the impact they can have on ownership issues that are important to them.

The fact that the association is a non-profit corporation and that board members are volunteers does not, however, relieve the board members of the responsibility to act with the association’s best interests in mind. Both the Washington Condominium Act and the Homeowners’ Association Act require that elected board members exercise reasonable and ordinary care in the performances of their duties; they also must act in the best interest of the community. See RCW 64.34.308, 64.38.025, and 24.03.127.

16 Community Associations Journal | January 2014