November 2018
Serving as a condo director is a challenging role for a volunteer position. Being effective requires long hours and dealing with many people to get important work done on behalf of the community.
For those who become condo directors and who enjoy helping people but lack professional business experience and time management skills, the task can be too much to handle. The hours can be comparable to that of a full-time job without effective time management.
Time management is controlled by how directors choose to operate.
Condo management software provides a way to manage condo corporations more efficiently thus freeing up director and management time to focus on more pressing issues. This technology, used by thousands of condo corporations throughout Canada and the USA, makes the task of condo management easier.
Creation of committees and meeting management are also important to time management.
Committees are a way to spread the burden of condo management. Committees of non-directors can take on tasks or responsibilities thus relieving directors of some burden.
Meetings, a necessary part of condo corporation management, can be effective or a waste of time. Limiting director and other meetings to no more than once per month is important in light of other commitments, priorities and concerns of volunteer directors.
Dealing with resident concerns and requests may require more time than any other aspect of condo management. In addition to matters coming through a management office, directors can be stopped by residents in hallways and elevators. Residents may knock on a director’s door, send them e-mail or phone them. There may be general questions, minor matters such as a door not closing properly, or something more significant.
Streamlining this process requires that residents understand who to contact and how best to do so. Many condo corporations require residents to put concerns and questions in writing to the management office. When the office is unable to resolve an issue or answer a question it may become a matter for directors to consider at their next meeting.
Condo management software aids in these communications. Written communications through the system can facilitate a quicker response and speed up resolution. The technology retains a historical record accessible in the future should the need arise. An electronic process helps ensure communications are not missed, matters not forgotten and information disseminated to all appropriate individuals.
Consider what happens when one resident has a malfunctioning door when they get home one evening. A typical reaction is to visit or call the management office the next business day. A conversation will ensue after which someone will look at the door in the coming days, determine what action needs to be taken and possibly arrange to repair the door. This may require multiple conversations between resident, condominium manager, superintendent and possibly an external service person. If the matter is not resolved in a timely manner and to the resident’s satisfaction, or if the resident fails to receive updates on when the problem will be fixed, communications increase along with frustration or dissatisfaction.
Condo management software allows the resident to immediately submit a service request in the form of an e-mail, perhaps with a photo attached. Management would see the service request the next morning and possibly fix the problem that same day. The resident can track management response to their service request through electronic updates until the service request is closed. The result is fewer communications, regular updates provided to the resident and less effort expended by all parties. Multiply this by the hundreds or thousands of service requests that can occur each year and the benefits are considerable.
Another situation may be broken equipment in the exercise room. It may be that a dozen people report this problem through the course of a day thus requiring a conversation with each individual and possibly multiple visits to the exercise room. An electronic system allows management to view these multiple service requests more efficiently, gauge impact by the number of service request submissions and deal with resolution in a more efficient way.
Directors who wish to monitor the status of problems can do so electronically by receiving updates through the system on an on-going basis.
For matters affecting a large number of residents the ease of electronic communication makes it easier for management to keep everyone updated while dedicating more of their time to resolution rather than communication.
Faster resolution and more communication in less time is a winning combination for any condo corporation.
Condo management is a hard job. Condo management software makes it easier by streamlining communications and minimizing paperwork. Another feature of these systems reduces the number of times residents need to contact someone for information. Booking elevators, reserving common areas, informing security about visitors and access to condo information – inclusive of governing documents, financials and meeting minutes – is all simplified through condo management software.
Done well, these efforts do more than make the job of a condo director easier. They reduce the burden placed on the management office which is likely to receive fewer visitors and calls. And this is a sign of a more content and smoothly running condo community.
