Can You Ever Really Switch Off As An RMC Director?

Last week's heatwave has made me think about summer holidays ahead.

Over the next few months, many Residents' Management Company directors will be planning a holiday. Whether your board has one director away or several over the course of the summer, your RMC still needs to keep running.

For many volunteer directors, that means keeping one eye on your emails, just in case something comes in that can't wait.

Does it have to be that way?

Doesn't your managing agent take care of everything?

This is a fair question, and one I do hear quite often. If your RMC has a managing agent, they'll keep the building running day to day. But an RMC is still a company, and its directors remain responsible for making sure it meets its legal obligations. That means there will always be occasions where the board needs to make a decision or give its approval.

If your RMC is self-managed, those responsibilities are even more visible.

It's all part of being an RMC director. The challenge is making sure those responsibilities don't stop you from ever being able to properly switch off.

What’s the reality for most RMC directors?

You probably didn't volunteer to become an RMC director because you wanted another job. You did it because you care about where you live. But over time, it's easy to become the person everyone turns to.

You tell yourself you'll just keep an eye on your emails while you're away. Just in case.

Then your managing agent needs a decision. Meeting papers need reviewing. Minutes need approving. Before you know it, you've spent part of your holiday dealing with RMC business because you don't want to hold anything up.

None of those things is a problem on its own. But put them together, and it can start to feel like you're never really off duty.

It doesn't have to feel like that

In my experience, the boards that work best aren't the ones where one or two people carry everything.

They're the ones where responsibilities are shared and the administration behind the company is organised, so directors aren't constantly worrying about what they've forgotten or what might be waiting for them when they get back.

The directors still make the decisions. They always should.

But that doesn't mean they have to carry every piece of administration themselves.

A different way of looking at it

If your first thought before going on holiday is, "I'll just keep an eye on my emails," it might be worth asking why.

Is it because something genuinely can't wait?

Or is it because you don't feel comfortable leaving the company without you for a week?

I've seen boards transform simply by putting better administrative support around them. Not because the directors became less involved, but because they stopped having to think about every Companies House filing, statutory record, meeting minute and piece of company administration themselves.

The result isn't that directors do less.

It's that they can spend more time making decisions and less time worrying about paperwork.

Could we help?

If you've found yourself nodding along as you've read this, we'd be happy to have a conversation.

Our Professional Services team supports RMC directors with the administrative side of running a Residents' Management Company, from Company Secretarial services and statutory obligations to board meetings and company records.

And if you've reached the point where the role itself is starting to feel like too much, it's also worth exploring whether a nominee director could provide the additional support your board needs.

Being an RMC director is a voluntary role. It shouldn't mean you never properly switch off.