Elizabeth's Training Suggestions for Large Companies

Obtaining the compliance training for a large company that you need and can afford is difficult. The coordination alone is daunting especially when your company is spread across multiple states. Often I see companies take a "hit or miss" approach resulting in noncompliance and then training after the fact. Yikes! Owners and their investors can lose thousands and thousands of dollars in tax credits using this approach. Not to mention the aggravation and frustration it causes supervisors and the employees themselves. 

You also have to deal with all levels of experience and expertise with the rules; employees that come to your company with "experience"; and different State Monitoring Agency and investor viewpoints on compliance.

Some large companies have had success by creating full blown training departments. Others turn the responsibility over to regional directors or portfolio supervisors. And still others hand it off to a centralized compliance department. None of which are bad ways to approach the task. But... there are still problems. Mainly in the fact the person or department put in charge must become an expert in EVERYTHING Tax Credit and management related. First and foremost, they must understand compliance, but they also must be very, very familiar with each State Monitoring Agency's compliance interpretations and rules, the investor's requirements, and the companies policies and overall mission. Beyond this expertise, they must have the skills to train and communicate effectively with their staff. And they must be highly organized and have the ability to track numerous employees' education needs. That is a lot!

Whether you are a lone individual charged with this task or a department given this task in conjunction with other responsibilities, Elizabeth outlines 5 steps that will help make the task of training your entire staff easier and more effective!

Step #1... Assess Each Team Member's Current Knowledge

The most important thing to do first is understand what type of training each team member needs. Because of the different levels of experience and knowledge, putting everyone through the same courses can be a waste of time, cause frustration and disgruntled employees. Certainly not conducive to getting your people up to speed quickly and efficiently! Remedy this by having all compliance and property management staff take the Compliance Assessment which will pinpoint exactly where each of your team member's current compliance knowledge is at.

Now, understand, the Compliance Assessment is not a course. Rather a tool to help you determine your staff's current compliance knowledge. This assessment is comprised of a series of questions divided into 5 sections with each section assessing the understanding in a specific area of compliance that must be mastered in order to protect your portfolio from noncompliance. The 5 compliance areas assessed are (1) general compliance understanding; (2) income eligibility and income/asset calculations; (3) eligibility and special program rules; (4) income limits, rents and utility allowances; and (5) fair housing.

Each of the 5 sections represents the concepts taught in a specific Online Training Center course...

• Section 1 = Housing Credits 101: Compliance Basics
• Section 2 = Housing Credits 103: Income & Assets
• Section 3 = Housing Credits 204: Unique Program Rules
• Section 4 = Housing Credits 205: Income Limits, Rents, and Utility Allowances
• Section 5 = Fair Housing 101: A Fair Housing Primer

so by completing the section, you will not only have a clear picture of each of your team member's current knowledge, you will know what class or classes in which to register them to improve their knowledge level.

Now, I know it can be daunting to get all of your team members to take the compliance assessment. Especially if you are not their direct supervisor and/or have no real control over whether they comply. Consider offering an incentive to complete and make the incentive stronger for those who complete the assessment the quickest. Gift cards, movie tickets, and extra time off or extended lunch hours are great examples of incentives. Now, even with a great incentive program, it is best if you have upper management or corporate office support. Talk to the powers that be and explain to them why you need the employees to comply and how it will save the company training dollars AND MORE IMPORTANTLY help you prevent loss of tax credits. Ask them to make completing the assessment and any assigned courses part of the consideration that goes into the employees next raise or promotion. And ask them to be sure this is communicated effectively down the chain of command as a company priority!

Once all 5 sections of the Compliance Assessment are completed, direct each person to print their transcript which indicates the score the person earned in each section. Either you or the individual can then compare these section scores to the proficient chart which looks like the following:

Proficiency Chart
Knowledge Range	Training Recommendations
Scores 80% or higher	Understands the concepts assessed in this section. No further training is warranted.
Scores between 65% - 79%	Understands many but not all of the concepts assessed in this section. Should enroll in the corresponding course as a review of the material is warranted.
Scores less than 64%	Further study in the concepts assessed in this Section is definitely needed. Should enroll in the corresponding course to learn these concepts.

So for example, if one person's results looked like this...

• Section 1 = 100%
• Section 2 = 85%
• Section 3 = 77%
• Section 4 = 92%
• Section 5 = 52%

the person should be enrolled in Housing Credits 204: Special Program Rules and Fair Housing 101: A Fair Housing Primer.

The Compliance Assessment is ONLY: $49/person

ADD COMPLIANCE ASSESSMENT TO SHOPPING CART
(When registering multiple individuals for the Compliance Assessment, you will need to go through the shopping cart purchasing process separately for each individual.
If you have a large group, contact our office at customersupport@housingcredits.com to determine how we can help you enroll everyone all at once.

HINT: The Housing Credit Online Training Center's Unlimited Training Subscription includes UNLIMITED access to the Compliance Assessment for UNLIMITED team members for an ENTIRE YEAR allowing you to assess your team member's current knowledge at anytime. Great for new hires so you can determine exactly what they know on the first day and beneficial for your veteran staff who need continuing education as it allows you to pinpoint the course that is best for them! Also, more and more companies have discovered it is a great hiring tool as it allows you to assess your candidates before they are even hired! CLICK HERE to learn more

Step #2... Determine Which of the Suggested Courses You Should Enroll Each Team Member

Once your employees have completed the Compliance Assessment and you have compared their results with the Industry Proficiency Chart, you have a clear plan of attack.

Now BEFORE you begin registering individuals for courses, STOP for a moment and think about each person's level of responsibility, current position within the company, length of time with the company, and the long-term goals you have for this person as far as compliance goes. You probably aren't going to want to register everyone for all the courses. Quite frankly, some just don't need that comprehensive of an education to function well at their job. For example, if the team member is only responsible for taking in applications and determining initial eligibility, it is probably not necessary for them to take Housing Credits 205: Income Limits, Rents & Utility Allowances, especially if there is another person within the company that oversees this. However, if the team member is a supervisor or has a decision making role for a property, you will want to ensure they have a comprehensive knowledge and enroll them in all of the courses suggested by the Industry Proficiency Chart. Also, don't forget education is often a great way to keep your prized team members happy and keep them from getting antsy in their current position.

Once this decision is made, you can register your employees for individual classes or, if you have employees that are new to the program or you feel need an overall compliance education, save money and sign them up for the Course Package Plan. Courses taken individually range from $199 to $249 per person. The Course Package Plan is a comprehensive bundle of courses designed to provide the individual with all the fundamentals they need to master site compliance and is $799 per person.

GO TO COURSE CATALOG
where you can view course descriptions and added selected courses to shopping cart

HINT: The Housing Credit Online Training Center's Unlimited Training Subscription includes UNLIMITED access to all of our core and advanced courses for UNLIMITED team members for an ENTIRE YEAR! The courses are available 24/7 from any computer with high speed internet access and can be started and stopped at anytime without losing your place. Perfect for busy site and compliance staff who often get interrupted or cannot drop everything to go to a live training or participate in a webinar! CLICK HERE to learn more

Step #3... Keep Track of Each Team Member's Training

Just like fair housing training, team members should regularly take compliance training to keep up-to-date with the changes and show a strong sense of due diligence to the program requirements. More and more states are even requiring annual training for staff on each property. Using a simple spreadsheet program or database, keep track of all the courses each staff member has taken so you can quickly and easily determine when they should be enrolled in another course. Also, make this education tracking sheet part of each team member's employee file so it is available to the supervisor.

HINT: The Housing Credit Online Training Center's Unlimited Training Subscription includes the ability to track each team member's compliance education. Not only can you track the course each person completes, you can track their scores, the dates they completed courses and the number of continuing education credits they have earned. You can also monitor their progress from beginning to end and send them reminders if they haven't completed a course within the specified timeframe or extend courses if something unexpected arises that prevents them from meeting your original goals. Truly a unique system that makes it EASIER to meet the task of training your large staff! CLICK HERE to learn more

Step #4... Get Selected Team Members Compliance Certified

Once your individual team members have completed the courses you have selected for them, you should determine which of them should become compliance certified. Any team members that completed the Course Package Plan or any that scored 80% or higher on EACH of the sections in the Compliance Assessment, is certainly ready to take the Site Compliance Exam which when passed will give them their nationally recognized Site Compliance Specialist or SCS designation.

It is highly recommended you have at least 2 people compliance certified at a minimum. The actual number will be based on the size of your portfolio and how you have compliance monitoring set up at your company. If compliance is decentralized, meaning each property is responsible for compliance and its oversight individually, you should have at least one compliance certified person per property and possibly even 2 for a back up. If compliance is centralized, meaning you have a compliance department in charge of overseeing compliance on the entire portfolio, you will want at least 2 people compliance certified. Quite frankly, more is better here as it shows your State Monitoring Agencies and investors that you are concerned with maintaining compliance and have the existing knowledge to do a great job. And also, assisting team members in becoming compliance certified is a great company benefit that is often overlooked! I know many a company that has their entire compliance and management team certified in compliance!

To become compliance certified, you will want your selected team members to take the Site Compliance Exam which can be taken online at the Housing Credit Online Exam Room conveniently and securely. Once this exam is passed, the individual is compliance certified and is awarded with their Site Compliance Specialist (SCS) designation.

Now it should be noted, the SCS designation is a site compliance certification focusing on day-to-day compliance. You may also want to consider having selected individuals in supervisory roles certified in advanced compliance. Advanced compliance goes beyond day-to-day site compliance and moves into development and allocation, finance, and complex compliance concepts. Such concepts include, but are not limited to, understanding...

• How tax credits are calculated and how that calculation affects compliance;

• The applicable fraction, noncompliance, and recapture;

• How the decisions made at allocation and throughout development and financing affects compliance and the property's overall operating success;

• Advanced compliance concepts such as acquisition/rehabs, mixed income properties, and subsidy-layered properties.

If you desire to have any of your team members certified in advanced compliance, you will want them to take Housing Credits 445: National Compliance Professional. Once this is completed, you will want that person to take the National Compliance Exam which can also be taken online at our Housing Credit Online Exam Room. Individuals who go down the path to obtain our advanced compliance designation must meet both an Education and Experience Requirement before the full blown designation known as the National Compliance Professional (NCP or NCP-E) can be earned. Individuals who successfully meet these requirements and become an NCP or NCP-E are considered the elite of the industry!

LEARN MORE
about becoming certified in compliance

(This link will take you to a page within this website that will explain how to become certified in compliance,
the difference between site level and advanced level compliance certifications,
the steps you must complete to earn both types of certifications,
and allow you to register for the specified exams.)

HINT: The Housing Credit Online Training Center's Unlimited Training Subscription includes several courses that fully prepare students for either Site Level or Advanced Level Compliance Certifications as well as significant discounts on our compliance exams -- the Site Compliance Exam and the National Compliance Exam. By following the Unlimited Training Subscription's Automatic Training System, you can have each and everyone of your staff members earn 3 major designations -- Compliance Diploma, Site Compliance Specialist (SCS) and the National Compliance Professional (NCP or NCP-E) -- in no time!! CLICK HERE to learn more

Step #5... Annually Refresh and Update Your Team's Knowledge 

Now after this process is complete, you will have a team that has the education level required to successfully meet their job responsibilities. That is great but you cannot rest on your laurels. This program changes constantly and the compliance rules are full of interpretations that are constantly being tweaked as time passes. It is crucial as part of designing a training program for your team, you keep in mind the need for continuing education. Most State Monitoring Agencies today require it as do investors. Also, it is just a smart way to do business and keep your properties in compliance. The good news is this is easier than ever.

• FIRST, I highly recommend you have each team member sign up for our FREE Industry Information Network which includes regular emailed Industry Updates.

• SECOND, I recommend you have them subscribe to the longest running compliance and management newsletter -- The Compliance Monitor as it is an excellent resource to everything that is going on in the industry and is like a training session in each issue.

• And THIRD, I recommend each team member take a refresher course at least annually.

Now as far as training courses are concerned, of course, you should consider having your team members attend your State Monitoring Agency's training but you should also consider having them take one of our online courses to keep refreshed and current. When selecting what course or courses to have your team members take, don't forget about the Compliance Assessment tool as it is a great way to determine and show your staff the holes in their knowledge. Consider having them take the assessment annually and then register them for the courses recommended. If they have already taken a course and are balking at the idea of repeating a course, be sure to explain to them that this program is quite complex and each course addresses numerous concepts. By repeating a course, I can GUARANTEE they will learn something new. Also, understand, if there are changes made to the rules or within the industry, I will update each of the affected courses, so by repeating them on an annual basis, your team will be assured they have the most current information and knowledge!

ADD INDIVIDUAL COURSES TO SHOPPING CART
(This link takes you to the Course Catalog where you can add your selected courses to the shopping cart.)

HINT: The Housing Credit Online Training Center's Unlimited Training Subscription includes unlimited access to all the core and advanced level courses contained in our Course Catalog so picking a course for continuing education never got so easy. Plus, if you aren't sure which course is right for the individual, have them retake the Compliance Assessment, which is also included in the Subscription on an unlimited basis, and pinpoint the exact class that is best for them! And remember... the track tool will allow you to monitor and track this education, and provides you with a fantastic reporting tool that will allow you to view their progress in courses, a list of completed courses and the total CEUs earned in any specified timeframe!! CLICK HERE to learn more