Every day, HOA managers take on the responsibility of ensuring the smooth operations of their communities. With the constant stream of resident inquiries and the need to demonstrate your value to the board, it can be challenging to regain control of your day. This is the perfect opportunity to reassess your current processes and technology stack.

However, with the ever-improving technology landscape and so many software options available, it\’s easy to feel overwhelmed.  How do you identify the right technology partner that will help you boost operational efficiency and improve client relations? In this article, we share a list of 7 important factors to consider to make searching for new software easier.

1) Diverse resident communication & engagement options

Communicating regularly with residents is vital because it reduces frustration, helps you operate more efficiently, and leads to overall community satisfaction. Residents of all ages and backgrounds have their own preferred methods of staying connected. For instance, older residents, who may not be tech-savvy, tend to favor postal mail or phone calls. On the other hand, millennials prefer text messages. 

Does your current software or process ensure that everyone feels included?  If not, it\’s important to consider adopting software that offers diverse communication options.

With HOA management software, you can cater to the unique preferences of your residents by offering text messages, email, phone calls, postal mail, websites, portals, and community-only discussion boards. Everyone can receive important updates and stay connected in the way that suits them best. By letting residents choose how they want to hear from you, you can increase participation and alleviate the workload for your team.  

Here are some features your automated communication platform should include:

• Phone, text, email, and postal mailing options
• Distribution groups
• Resident communication & language preference
• Advanced scheduling
• Templates
• Message delivery analytics
• Invalid contact reports & troubleshooting
• Strong message delivery reputation

Pilera Communications

Pilera\’s all-in-one messaging tool covers every aspect of your communication lifecycle.  You can cater to every demographic with phone, email, text, and postal mailing options.

Our dynamic distribution groups automatically update as residents join or leave the community, so you know you’re reaching the right people. Plus, you can track the delivery of your messages in real time and know who opened a text or email or picked up a phone call. Our team monitors delivery reputation, guaranteeing your messages reach every time.

2) Eliminate repetitive tasks

Is data entry, managing repairs, or fielding board member tasks taking up a lot of time? If so, it\’s important to consider HOA software that simplifies your workflow and helps you regain control of your day. That way, you can focus on what matters most, such as improving client relations. HOA software enables you to automate time-consuming tasks like communicating with an entire community, storing and sharing documents, managing maintenance, tracking resident requests, and managing resident data. 

Here are some ways that HOA software can help you automate vital community tasks:

• Maintenance – Residents can submit work orders, which you can assign to your team and monitor for completion. You can send automated notifications to vendors, staff, and residents, keeping everyone informed.
  
• Document management – You can store and organize community documents such as CC&Rs, meeting minutes, financial statements, and newsletters.  You can restrict access to documents to staff, board members, tenants, and owners to increase security and ensure no unauthorized access to confidential documents. Residents and board members can then login and view documents, thus reducing calls to the office. 
  
• Events – Manage community gatherings and meetings more efficiently with features such as recurring events and email notifications. Residents can log into the portal at their convenience and stay up to date about the latest community.
  
• Architectural reviews – Residents can submit architectural change requests online and supply photos or documents.  You can assign ACRs to committee members to approve digitally.  Residents can track their requests online, reducing the need to contact the office for updates.  When you have one place to streamline your ACR process, you can reduce paperwork, speed up the review process, ensure compliance with community guidelines, and improve resident satisfaction.
  
• Online payments – Residents can make payments online, helping you create a predictable flow of operating income for the communities you manage.
  
• Voting –  Online voting or survey platforms eliminate the need for paper forms and manually compiling responses. With HOA software, you can conduct board elections and other voting activities securely online and view results instantly. 

How Pilera can reduce administrative burden

Pilera’s HOA management platform takes the burden out of managing important community tasks such as document storage, maintenance, ACRs, events, voting, and more.  In our recent client survey, 89% of managers say that time savings with Pilera freed them up to work on more strategic tasks for their communities. Having a single place to manage essential community tasks opens up an environment for managers, board members, residents, and vendors to all work together on their shared community goals.

3) Stability

Whether doing on-site visits, working in the office, or at a meeting, it\’s important to have reliable tools to work uninterrupted from anywhere. We recommend choosing software that is known for its stable and reliable performance.  Before investing in software, research user feedback on review platforms like Capterra to understand what your peers like and don\’t like about a particular software vendor. Then, schedule a demo with your interested software providers to help you understand how they can solve your challenges and serve as a technology partner you can rely on.  

Pilera has a 99.9% uptime, so you can count on uninterrupted access to the platform.  Our platform is also built with other measures in place, such as fault protection for communications and a responsive design so you can work from anywhere.

4) HOA Management Software that grows with you

The industry is continuously evolving, and so should your software. Consider choosing an HOA software solution that updates its platform regularly, is responsive to market changes, and can adapt to your needs.

One of the common myths about finding new software solutions is that a software provider may offer more features than you need. This often results in you overpaying for features you don\’t need, potentially diminishing the value you provide to your clients. Choosing a software provider that can tailor its offerings based on what you need is important. That way, you can feel confident that you\’re getting value.

At Pilera, we are committed to providing our customers with the best tools to improve their workflow. Pilera regularly rolls out new features, enhancements, and bug fixes on a monthly basis.  We continue to develop many new features backed by our client\’s feedback, such as discussion boards, bulk ticket creation and editing, and more. Our software is designed to cater to the unique requirements of management companies and associations of all sizes and processes. With our a-la-carte model, you have the freedom to choose the specific products that meet your needs. As your business grows, you can easily add more products to further streamline your operations.

5) Proven customer service, training, and onboarding:

The right technology partner should be there to assist you with questions when you need it, right from onboarding and throughout your journey. In the beginning, it’s essential to have comprehensive onboarding and training so you can start managing your communities more effectively. On-demand and responsive support helps you to get quick resolutions to your questions, so you can focus less on getting help and more on the tasks that matter. It’s important to ensure your chosen software solution offers many ways to get help when needed.  These include self-help options such as videos and help articles.  It’s also essential to have rapid email and phone support for detailed questions.  

Pilera’s support team is highly regarded for providing exceptional service in a timely manner, at no additional cost.  We also offer many ways to get help via phone, email, a self-help knowledge base, and videos.  Our onboarding team guides you through the rollout process and provides extensive training to help you get started.  

6) Visibility & security:

You’re working with a lot of community and resident data daily, so security should be a top priority.  Choosing a software provider that is built with security in mind is vital.  Look for a software solution that offers password-protected portals and different permissions levels.  That way, the right people in your organization can access only what they need.  

Pilera is built with industry-standard security from the ground up to keep your community’s data safe.  Our cloud-based platform is hosted on Amazon Web Services (AWS), which has been proven to work in the toughest situations.  Our team is on call 24/7 to handle any security or stability issues.   

7) Value for Money:

Maximizing the value of your software is essential to improve operations and grow your company. Digitalizing all your community processes, such as communications, document storage, resident data management, forms, and voting, can reduce paperwork, time, and money.  Through task automation, you can allocate more time and resources towards other important aspects of community management, improving productivity, keeping your team happier and organized, and enhancing client satisfaction. View community management software as a positive long-term investment for your company rather than an expense.

Pilera\’s community management software helps you automate repetitive tasks and provides on-demand access to important community information. In our recent client satisfaction study, managers report getting one day back per week on average.

Resource: Community Management Software ROI  

Conclusion:

Choosing the right HOA management software can help you boost efficiency, improve resident satisfaction, and create stronger client relations. Your chosen software should be easy to use, flexible to meet the needs of diverse communities, reliable, and secure. In a tech-driven world, where communication is critical, and residents expect quick and accurate updates, HOA software plays a vital role in the success of your communities. By considering the factors above, you can find a software provider that will cater to your specific needs, optimize your workflow, and achieve ROI – leading to happier residents and less stressed management teams.

Smarter HOA Management with Pilera

Pilera Software is the premier community and property management software that has helped thousands of community managers enhance communications, improve customer service, and manage compliance and operations. To learn how Pilera can help to improve efficiency and reduce costs, book a personalized demo. Discover how you can communicate with residents 30x faster and regain work efficiency by 25% with Pilera today!

A condo building has a board of directors that runs the property. Its members are elected and it runs the condo’s homeowners association. The board members have a lot of responsibilities that include collecting and managing HOA fees, handling legal issues, developing and enforcing rules and regulations for the building, maintaining the property, and regularly communicating with community members about finances, regulations, or anything else that needs to be discussed.

That’s a lot! And presumably, board members also have day jobs, because these elected positions typically don’t pay.

This is where a management company comes in. The overworked board members can delegate some of their responsibilities to a management company. In short, the board creates regulations and the management company enforces them. The management company secures insurance for the property, manages finances, communicates with residents, and prepares reports to keep the board aware of everything going on in the property, such as tasks the company has accomplished or detailed financial information.

A management company will never replace a board of directors, but it’s a useful tool for board members who simply are unable – or unwilling – to keep up with all the responsibilities their position entails.  

Pilera is a best-of-class, easy-to-use, comprehensive online property management solution for apartments, condos, and associations. Pilera provides the easiest, most comprehensive data management capability available to property managers, leasing agents, boards of directors, and back-office personnel. Quickly and easily access whatever you need, whenever you need it, from wherever you need to be with office or mobile phone connectivity. You are never out of touch. Act on the document/information accessed from the office or “on-the-road” with Pilera-supported mobile capability. Contact us today!

Keeping residents informed is one of the most essential functions of an HOA. As residents become more involved in their community, they expect transparency and up to the minute information from their community leaders. That\’s why placing communications at the center of your HOA operations is crucial to a community\’s success. Excellent communication fosters a positive community culture and increases resident, board, and manager satisfaction. When HOA communication is done the right way, it also saves managers and board members an incredible amount of time and energy to focus on bigger projects.

In this blog article, you will learn how to:

1. Identify topics to cover in your message
2. Designate responsibilities
3. Use a mix of modern technology and traditional communication methods
4. Craft the right message
5. Monitor the results of your communication efforts
6. Collect feedback from your residents
7. Create a communications policy

Identify topics to cover in your message

Before you begin communicating with your community, it\’s important to understand your audience. As a board member or a community manager, you\’ll need to communicate with owners, tenants, other occupants (who live in the community but aren\’t primary owners), tenants, other board members, and community managers. Then, identify the kind of information that is useful to them and will enrich their experience in the community. Consider creating a table like the one below, so you can keep track of the messages you need to send, who needs to receive them, and how often.

Designate responsibilities

Assigning responsibilities on who will be communicating with residents ensures that no communication falls through the cracks. Additionally, assigning communication tasks brings consistency to the messages you send. Within the association or management company, it\’s often most effective to assign responsibilities by role or expertise. This way, a board or staff member with the most knowledge in a particular area can lend their expertise to the message and make sure it is accurate and consistent. For example, a maintenance manager can send notices about water shutoffs, a board treasurer can send emails about late payments, or the community manager or board president can send a message about emergencies.

Use a mix of modern technology & traditional communication methods

Each person in your community has unique communication needs – a resident with a busy work schedule may prefer a quick text message whereas a resident who owns a flip-phone prefers to get a phone call. Therefore, using a mix of modern HOA communication tools and traditional methods gives you the flexibility to reach every resident. Consider these options to communicate with residents:

Resident Portal

A resident portal is a central place for residents to access all important community information such as documents, events, financial balances, and more. In addition to accessing pertinent information, residents can update their contact information and preferences. Having a self-service portal saves time for board members and managers, as they are fielding fewer phone calls. Through Pilera\’s mobile-responsive resident portal, residents can access community information and update their contact information on any device or location.

Website

Having a community website to showcase the community culture, upcoming events, and contact information is another great way to keep current residents connected with the HOA. On a community website, residents can view the latest information, access documents, learn about upcoming events, and make payments. A website also presents the community with an opportunity to attract prospective buyers. Pilera\’s HOA website solution is mobile-friendly, customizable, and easy for non-technical staff to maintain. Additionally, website administrators can integrate the website with many of Pilera\’s portal features such as documents, events, payments, and more for a seamless resident experience.

Phone, Email or Text Communication

Sending out message blasts through phone, email or text increases the effectiveness of your communication. It also saves the HOA money and time as they no longer have to print and stamp messages only. However, it\’s important to note you should treat each method of communication differently. There are instances where one communication method is more effective than another.

Phone Call

When sending out emergency messages, the key is to get the message out instantly. In this case, an automated phone call is more effective and immediate than an email.

Text Message

If you need to send an important but short message, text message can be a great tool to use. According to studies, people read text messages within five minutes of receiving them.

Email

When sending a message that isn\’t urgent, such as updates to the community\’s CC&R\’s, consider sending an email. Pilera\’s HOA communication tool enables managers/boards to send mass phone, email, and text messages to hundreds of residents within a few minutes.

Default to the resident\’s communication preference when possible

One of the best ways to reach residents is to allow them to choose how they want to hear from you so that they are more likely to receive your message. In Pilera\’s resident portal, residents can select email, phone, text, or direct mail as their communication preferences and update their contact information.

Direct Mailers

Direct mail is still a good way to get information across to your residents in 2021. Some residents in your community who are not as technologically savvy may prefer to receive information through the mail instead of email. With direct mail, residents can also read the information at their own convenience whereas their emails may get buried. Direct mailers are a good way to send general information to this audience such as late payment notices, information on upcoming maintenance activities, or invitations to upcoming events.

Flyers

Posting flyers in the common areas can help increase awareness of community information when a resident is walking by. Post flyers such as resident portal access and benefits, maintenance activities, upcoming events, and amenity rules.

Social Media

There\’s no shortage of social media platforms to keep your community engaged but it\’s best to connect with them where they are most likely to look for information. Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram are some of the most popular platforms to share information. Since these are all public platforms, it\’s important to create a policy for what information can be shared and shouldn\’t be shared, how to maintain regulatory compliance, how to manage conversations, and who is responsible for monitoring these platforms and interacting with residents. Let\’s take a look at how you can leverage each of these platforms:

Twitter

Twitter is a great platform to post short updates on your community. You can post information such as upcoming events, maintenance activities, new or updated amenities, and more.

Facebook

Facebook can be used to share important community information and encourage resident engagement. As a popular tool within the platform, board members and managers can use Facebook Groups to help residents connect with one another. When implemented carefully and with constant monitoring by a board member or manager, Facebook Groups can be a useful tool to communicate with residents, encourage discussions, and identify resident sentiment.

Instagram

Instagram is primarily a social media tool for sharing images and short videos, but when done right, can be a great tool for promoting your community\’s culture. Share photos of events, upcoming events, maintenance updates, amenity guidelines, contests, and other updates on what the community is doing.

Craft the right message

Getting your message across in the right way is just as important as how you choose to send a message. Residents are looking for transparency from their community leaders, so it\’s important to give them accurate and honest information. Here are some tips to communicate the right way:

• Be concise – Your messages should be short and to the point. Since residents are busy managing school, work, and or family, they won\’t have enough time to read long messages.
• Show compassion – It\’s important to show empathy whether you are sending an individual message or a community-wide message blast. You can show empathy by recognizing the resident\’s concerns, apologizing for the inconvenience, and letting them know you are happy to help them.
• Encourage open dialogue – The key to fostering a positive culture within your community is to encourage residents to communicate back with you. Provide an outlet for residents to respond back to you through email, phone, or social media. On the resident portal and website, make it easy for residents to get in touch with you.
• Segment your audience – It\’s important to send the right information to the right people so that you are mindful of their time and provide the most relevant content. Your HOA communication technology solution should provide you with advanced segmentation options. In Pilera\’s communications solution, you can create distribution groups and further segment your audience by location and user type.

Monitor the results of your HOA communication efforts

Measuring your current communication efforts will help you to identify elements that are successful or could be improved for the future. Once a month, set aside some time to understand how your current efforts are panning out. Here are some elements to analyze in your communication strategy:

• Email open rates – This metric will help you identify what information residents find the most useful. If your community newsletters are getting high open rates, identify the successful elements such as the type of content or the images you use and repeat the idea in future emails.
• Email or phone unsubscribes – If you are getting a large number of people unsubscribing, it may be an indicator the message isn\’t right or there\’s too much communication.
• Social media and email interactions – When you analyze social media or email interaction with your residents, it\’s important to look out for two things. The first is resident sentiment. How are your residents responding – are they happy, thankful, confused, angry, disappointed? How they respond can help you understand how to communicate better the next time. It can also indicate if you\’re on the right track. The second is common responses or questions. If residents are asking common questions, consider posting more information about it on social media. Additionally, you can create a knowledge base with commonly asked questions or send a message about it.

Collect feedback from your residents

Getting feedback from your residents on a regular basis can help you to identify and resolve problems, so you can make the community-living experience more enjoyable. When you ask residents for feedback, they will appreciate that their opinion is valued, leading to increased resident satisfaction. Here\’s how to get started with collecting resident feedback:

• Resident satisfaction survey – In every communication you send to residents include a basic resident satisfaction survey asking them what they like about the community\’s customer service and what can be improved. In Pilera, you can create a custom email footer that will display at the bottom of every email communication.
• Deep dive surveys – A month or two before budgeting season, consider sending your residents a survey on different aspects of the community and how it can be improved. Ask them about customer service, amenities, work-order services performed, and more so you can come up with goals for the next year.
• Take action on the feedback you receive – It\’s important to not only ask for feedback but respond to those insights, even if you can\’t fully implement the suggestion. If residents are asking for a new amenity but the budget is too tight, let them know that you hear them and that although it\’s not possible right now, you\’ll consider it in the future.

Create a HOA communication policy for board members & community managers

Now that you have all the above elements in place, it\’s time to create a communication policy that documents it. An HOA communications policy outlines all decisions your community makes about how to communicate, measure efforts, and ask for feedback. Once created, the document should be shared with fellow board members and community managers communicating on behalf of the board members. Additionally, HOA\’s should evaluate their communication policy every year based on efforts from the previous year to identify any opportunities for improvements.

Here\’s what you should include in your communications policy:

• A table displaying topics to communicate about, description, audience, frequency, who is responsible for communicating, and communication channels.
• Establish some do\’s and don\’t\’s for communicating with residents. Provide examples such as \”Be empathetic in your response\” or \”Don\’t be defensive in your response, even if you are correct\”.
• Identify the tone you\’ll use when communicating so that your message is consistent and professional.
• How you will measure your communication efforts so that you can improve future strategy.
• How often the HOA communication policy will be reviewed internally and who is responsible for maintaining the document.

As many HOA communities look to improve their communications, developing a strategy with these best practices in mind can foster a sense of community and save time for community leaders in the long run. If you\’d like to learn more about how Pilera\’s HOA software can support your communication strategy, contact us or email us at [email protected].