As a board member, you’ve volunteered for your role, but at times it may feel like you have overcommitted between your day job and personal responsibilities, not to mention your well-deserved downtime. If this is you, here are three ways you can lean on technology to help cut down on association busy work that can eat up your time.
1. Boost Association Communication
Just because you and your fellow board members are all working to make your association great, it doesn’t mean you’re all working at the same time. Everyone has different day jobs and personal commitments. That’s why it’s critical to have clear, documented communication to keep everyone on the same page.
Use technology to facilitate your communications with each other, homeowners, and your manager more efficiently. Look for association management technology that allows for two-way communication, as well as bulk email and texting. Modern software will enable you to communicate through the software itself, while keeping a record of all conversations viewable to anyone involved. This reduces the risk of something being missed due to conversations left on individual phones or wasted time re-communicating issues, or questions to multiple people.
2. Implement Self-Service Options
Self-service options are quickly becoming the norm. Waiting for bank statements or going into a branch to determine financial health is a thing of the past. Instead, all of this can be done online. This is because the banking industry leveraged technology to make the experience of banking more efficient. The world of community association management is no different.
Online portals put the power in the hands of you and your homeowners to instantly access information like board meeting minutes, statements, reports, and balances with the added ability to submit architectural reviews and service requests, along with paying dues and assessments. As a board member, you can do all of this, including the ability to approve invoices and access financial reports and statements. With easy access to self-service options, you’ll see a decrease in the number of homeowner inquiries, so you can be assured that your entire association is on the same page until the next board meeting.
3. Go Mobile
Using association management technology with fully mobile capabilities can have a tremendous impact on your work-life balance. With modern software that utilizes mobile apps, you and your fellow board members can move association business forward from anywhere, at any time. Gone are the days of having to meet in-person to sign checks and approve invoices, now it can all be done from the palm of your hand.
Learn more about how you can leverage the power of community association management software to maintain a healthy work-life balance.
________________________________________
Beth Gilbert is the Sr. Director of the Community Association Market at AppFolio and its all-in-one association management software. Beth brings over 15 years of product experience to AppFolio and is currently responsible for developing the vision and strategy for the association market. She is passionate about building relationships with customers to learn about new ways to partner in the success of their businesses. You can read Beth’s articles in various association management publications and join her in webinars where she is often joined by industry experts to discuss a variety of topics.
