If you live in a condominium or high-rise, chances are you pass on-site building staff at some point during your day. From the doorman to porters, each plays an important role in front, and behind, the scenes. Learning more about the staff and their roles and responsibilities helps in understanding what it takes to keep a property properly running.
The Super
A building's super is the superintendent of the site. A super oversees general maintenance issues, such as electrical or plumbing issues—as long as they are in common areas of the building. In the past, supers typically lived on-site. These were the days of garden-style, high-rise apartments, where you called the super when you needed something fixed. With the advent of condominiums and individual ownership, the super transitioned to an employee of the association and in most cases, does not live on-site. Even if a super does live within the community, they are not on-call for repairs within the privately owned residences.
A super supervises other building staff, including the doorman and porters. Supers do need basic skills for the job, however, there is usually no required training. Associations review a potential super's employment background for experience related to the position. If it is a management position, they must also keep up morale and be able to motivate staff. The position of super includes a great deal of responsibility, making the hiring decision an important one.
A Doorman
A doorman may appear to be someone who just opens the door—the truth is they spend long hours on their feet. Many doormen are known to memorize each resident's name. They hail taxis, help you with directions, and strive to greet everyone with a smile.
A Porter
The duties of a porter involve cleaning tasks. They are the staff that vacuum, dust, take out the trash, and keep the building clean and presentable. A porter reports to the super and if there are no porters on staff, then the super is responsible for these tasks.
Understanding Roles Saves Time & Frustration
Understanding the roles of the on-site building staff is important when it comes to your time and theirs. A doorman, for example, won't carry your groceries up for you or try to unclog your sink. He may refer you to someone or service instead. A porter's role is to keep the common areas clean and presentable. Porters do not clean private condominiums and are not responsible for your trash. A super may know of a plumber to assist you with a problem but like the porter, the super is there to oversee the common areas and basic building. A doorman, porters, and a super are wonderful sources of referral services, should you need something done in your home.
Community Management is What We Do
GrandManors partners with community associations on topics involving resident communication, board governance, budgets, and overall management. Our work ranges from working with developers during planning stages to managing existing communities. The highly-experienced and professional team of GrandManors knows what it takes to develop top-notch communities that attract buyers. We understand the importance of great, on-site building staff in condominiums and high-rises.
If you are in need of great management for your community, contact us. Residents deserve a strong management team and board members deserve a team they can trust. GrandManors is all of that, resulting in creating thriving communities with happy residents. Reach out today to learn more about our services. You've invested too much time, money, and effort into your community for it to be average or even below expectations. Let us help your community reach a higher level of excellence. We look forward to hearing from you soon.
