The Habitat Management Survey: Crisis Communication in Structural Emergency
Aug. 4, 2014 — I manage an eight-building complex built in the late 1800s. One building was a carriage house; one was a Civil War army hospital. In 2013, an exterminator discovered extensive termite damage to support beams in every basement. We immediately hired an engineer to assess the damage and gathered estimates for repairs. As emergency installation of support jacks began; residents protested the noise, dust, inconvenience and cost.
We e-mailed, posted notices and held informational meetings. With the gravity of the situation clear, tenants, board and management coalesced. Electrical and plumbing problems surfaced. Cracked seals on gas lines had to be replaced. As long as they were kept in the loop, the residents rallied, cooked on hot plates, cleared out storage areas and tolerated service interruptions and noise. It took communication, but the effort to make residents feel they were in the situation together was the key to avoiding chaos and fixing a serious problem. — Josh Koppel, President, H.S.C. Management
From 2010: Josh Koppel on Management Transitions
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