Any well-run property management services company will tell you that order is one of many secret ingredients to keeping neighborhoods functioning at their prime. Time not spent chasing down email chains or clarifying bylaws can be spent collaborating to ensure the community’s betterment.
However, maintaining order as an HOA board is easier said than done! Though it may be an ideal you aspire to, board members almost always have a life outside of their community responsibilities, a life which can get stressful and lead to quite the messy HOA management system.
How can you balance it all and stay organized? Gassen, experts in property management services and accounting property management services, is here with some tips!
The Secret to Organization: Stay Organized
It sounds a little silly written out that way, but the best way to make sure things stay organized is to constantly be organized. In other words, preventative organization.
This doesn’t mean that you need to become a suffocating headache to your fellow board members; It just means that you have an organizational system for every process, an organizational system that ensures everyone is on the same page.
What preventative organization looks like varies depending on your HOA, but the following actions might prove of use.
1. Keep Your Inbox and Notifications Clean
Excessive unread emails or texts can overwhelm you and interfere with your ability to help run your HOA.
Either invest in online property management services, so you don’t encounter this problem or make it a point to dispose of read emails once finished with them.
2. Keep Bylaws and the CC&Rs Easy to Navigate
Since these documents basically dictate how you’ll run your neighborhood, it’s paramount that any relevant information within them is easy to find.
Organize them in a straightforward manner and create a table of contents. You’ll thank yourself later!
3. Keep a Calendar of Relevant Events
Yes, even if you swear you’ll remember them! We all have moments where we slip up and forget an appointment, but a calendar practically eliminates this issue.
If the calendar in question is strictly for your HOA obligations, that’s even better, as it helps you compartmentalize and switch in and out of “board member mode,” so to speak.
4. Publicize Your Board’s Calendar
Plan out your meetings and events early, even months or a year in advance, and share those dates with your residents.
Using an online portal tailored to your community is a great way to reach your residents and encourage them to participate in gatherings as well as a way to keep you and your board accountable.
5. Delegate Responsibilities
An orderly and well-run HOA can’t be done alone. It takes a board of several people to work smoothly, especially if your community has a lot of expectations or goals for their neighborhood.
Use all of your board members effectively by delegating tasks to each member’s strengths. This keeps your board members from burning out and enables your residents to benefit from your best team.
Contact Gassen for High-End Property Management Services
Are you feeling like you’re drowning in HOA obligations? Let the Eden Prairie pros at Gassen lend a hand. Give us a call now at 952-922-5575.