2014 CHRA Congress on Housing and Homelessness

Transformative Practices in the Business of Affordable Housing

Kevin A. Albers, CPA, CGA, CAFM Chief Executive Officer
Outline
Makola Group
Scope of Services
Projects and Expansion
Business as Usual?
Deliberate preparation
Turning Points
Critical Success Factors
Challenges
Closing Thoughts

Makola is
Visionary
Strategic
Deliberate
Responsive
Relevant
Nimble
Sustainably Focused

Makola Group
Not for Profit (1984)
Registered Charity
1600 units in BC
4500 people housed
80 FTEs
$Billion in Assets (MV)
Scope of Services
Aboriginal Affordable/Subsidized
Housing Manager
Assisted Living Operator
Project Manager
Development Consultant
General Contractor
Projects and Expansion


Property Manager Assisted Living Operator Development Consultant
BC Housing Prince Rupert
Management Transfer (April
2014)

267 units
Jesken Aerie Assisted Living
60 units (February 2005)

Boundary - Supportive Housing
41 units
Hope Center Homelessness
25 units
Rural and Native Housing
Provincial
Ownership/Management
Transfer
75 units Vancouver Island
(April 2012)
322 units BC Mainland
(March 2013)
Tsitsuwatul Lelum
50 units (July 2012)
Goldstream Family Rental
36 units
Goldstream Commercial
Office
5,500sf purpose built (Makola)
Rosalies Village Rental
40 units
Business as Usual?

No complacency
Entrepreneurial
Focused
Calculated
Closing the loop


Deliberate Preparation
O/A Expiration Analysis/Profile
Regional Portfolio Analysis
Consistency - Standardization
Visioning exercises
Jump off points defined

Turning Points
Regionalization
Board Development
Strategic Plan
Homelessness
Aboriginal Housing Programs
The move off the rock
PM and DC departmentalization

Critical Success Factors
Board Consultants
Strategic Plan Check In
CEO as vision holder (staff buy-in)
Phased approval process
Business model
Scalable infrastructure
Strategic Partnerships (partners success)
SMEs
Cultural Competency

Board Consultants
Connectedness to the BOD
Creative engagement methods
Facilitation
Integration with CEO
Board Policy development
Strategic Plan
Realistic goals, objectives and timelines
Succinct
Living document
Reviewed quarterly (traffic lights)
Departmental SPs tied to Society SP
Updated every 3 years
Concepts and plans tested against it

Phased Approval Process
3 Phase Approval Process
Phase I Concept Approval
Phase II Deeper investigation and
resources
Phase III delegated authourity

Business Model
Diversified community decision
making
Centralized administration/finance
PM and DC Divisions
Sustainable focus/economies of scale
Standardization and consistency
Replicable



Scalable Infrastructure
Information Technology
Management model
Training model
Administration
Finance

Strategic Partnerships
Partnership Protocol
Mutually beneficial
Leverage strengths of partners
Focus on Partners success factors
Capacity transfer

Subject Matter Experts
Task and Project focused
Ownership project continuum
Change management experience
Engagement with Team
Knowledge transfer/training
Challenges
Human resources
Workload balancing
Geographical dispersion
Technology not always a solution
Communicating the good news
Closing Thoughts
POWER of a Strategic Plan
only things that are measured can be improved
Processes must support growth
Systems shouldnt curtail growth
Not everyone can be the visionaries,
we need clean-up crews
Plan, do, check, act!

Q&A and Discussion


Contact Information

Kevin A. Albers, CPA, CGA, CAFM
Chief Executive Officer

Email: kalbers@makola.bc.ca
Website: www.makola.bc.ca
Phone: 1-877-384-1423 Ext 110