4 Best Practices for Effective Community Management
When searching for HOA management firms for your Tacoma, WA, neighborhood, it’s important that you find one that has what it takes to enable your community association’s success. Finding good HOA management companies is about more than who can simply get the job done. When it comes to something so personal, you need a management firm that truly understands your local community and what its residents need to thrive. If your community association board is searching for HOA management companies, make sure they follow these four best practices for effective community management.
1. Transparency and Accountability
Transparency and accountability are both crucial components of effective community management. Homeowners want to feel confident that their HOA board is making good decisions on their behalf, and your HOA management company should help facilitate this.
One way to ensure transparency is by providing homeowners with easy access to important information and updates. This can include the community’s bylaws, rules and regulations, meeting minutes, and financial reports. State law often requires that you keep written records of these, so your HOA manager should assist you in these recordkeeping and management services to ensure you’re always in compliance with local regulations.
Your HOA management firm should also be able to help you provide this information to homeowners. By publishing these records to an online portal or other central location, your community manager can make residents can feel more involved and informed about the operations of their community without extra effort on your part.
2. Effective Communication
Open and effective communication is vital for successful community management. It allows for collaboration, transparency, and trust between homeowners, the HOA board, and the HOA management company.
All reputable HOA management firms should reply to any communication right away. Generally, your community manager should return any phone calls or emails within 24 hours, and you should receive regular updates from them about your community operations.
They should also help you communicate more effectively with your residents, including writing newsletters, posting documents on the community website, and maintaining online portals. The community manager is the first point of contact for residents, so they should feel comfortable in speaking to the community manager and feel confident in the HOA management firm’s ability to update them on the latest community happenings.
3. Checks and Balances
Community management is a complex operation that involves handling finances, enforcing rules, and making decisions that can significantly impact residents. As such, to ensure fairness and transparency, your HOA management firm should have an internal system of checks and balances in place.
This system can include two-step financial verification, a customer service buddy system, and more. By having these checks and balances in place, your community management team can avoid any fraud or unethical behavior, ensuring your assets are protected. It also helps build trust and confidence between HOA management companies and their board.
4. The Right Community Manager
One of the most critical decisions for any community is selecting the right community manager. Each HOA has its own unique dynamic, and your HOA management company should pair you with an individual whose professional style fits your neighborhood’s needs.
At The Management Trust, we have a diverse team of employee-owners who live in the same areas they manage, making them uniquely equipped to understand the needs of local residents. We pair all of our communities with a reliable point of contact, ensuring that they always have a familiar face that they can reach out to and trust for any questions, concerns, or needs.
If you want a community management partner that will engage residents and boost your HOA’s success, look no further than The Management Trust. We’ve been an industry leader for over 30 years, with more than 1,500 communities served nationwide. To learn more about our full range of community management services for Tacoma, WA, HOAs, call The Management Trust at 253-472-0825 or fill out our online contact form today.
