Tech-Forward Living: HOA Community Managers' Guide to Increasing Resident Engagement

Are you looking to increase technology adoption in your community? Factors such as lack of training, security concerns, or residents simply needing to be made aware may prevent residents from using technology. Leveraging technology has many benefits for your community. It fosters engagement and keeps residents informed about the community. It also reduces your team’s workload when residents can easily view information, submit requests, and update their information.?

This blog article will teach you the best practices to increase technology adoption in your community.??

1) Roll out an easy-to-use resident portal

A resident portal is one of the most beneficial tools you can implement for your communities.? A portal provides a central place for residents to securely make online payments, view the latest community information, request services, and connect with other residents.? Promoting self-service in the community can help your team save a significant amount of time.? When residents can conveniently view information and request services, it can increase satisfaction while reducing your team’s workload.? Read on to learn how to promote the resident portal to your community and make adopting the resident portal easy.

2) Convey the benefits of your resident portal

It’s essential to convey the benefits of the community portal to residents.? Let residents know how the portal simplifies their interaction with the community and saves them time.? Show them how convenient it is to make payments or submit maintenance requests online without visiting or calling the office.? A great way to accomplish this is by sending newsletters or announcing it during community meetings.??

• Make online payments.
• View the latest documents and events.
• Residents can update their information, such as contact preferences, guests, pets, insurance, etc.?
• Residents can submit maintenance, support, and ACR requests.? They can also check the status without having to call the office.?
• Connect with other residents through the opt-in directory and discussion board.?
• List items to sell on the marketplace.
• See all of their past communications.?

3) Offer training to residents

Showing residents how to use the resident portal can increase usage.? For example, you can create a short tutorial video demonstrating how to log in, change passwords, set communication preferences, view documents or the calendar, submit requests, make payments, and participate in the discussion board.? Offer support to help residents with any questions or difficulties they may have.?

To go a step further, you can schedule live webinars for residents.? During the webinar, you can show residents how to use the portal, review your community’s processes, and set expectations.? Although a webinar requires more time and resources, it allows you to have live face time with residents and answer their questions.

4) Incentivize residents to use the portal

Another way to increase the adoption of the resident portal is to offer residents incentives to use the portal.? For example, incentives may include partnering with local businesses and restaurants to provide discounts to residents when they sign up or use the portal to make payments.? ???

5) Keep the resident portal up to date

To ensure that residents are continually using the portal, managers and board members need to keep the portal up to date with the latest information.? When you regularly update the portal with documents or events, residents will view the portal as the most reliable source for community information.? Here are some examples of how you can keep your resident portal fresh with the latest information:

• Create a folder structure to make it easy for residents to find documents and add new files as needed, such as community financials or newsletters.
• Schedule upcoming events such as social gatherings and meetings.?
• Encourage residents to participate in conversations about the community through the discussion board.? Provide guidelines for having respectful conversations and moderate the forum discussions as needed.?
• Regularly keep residents informed about the community through announcements.? A history of all notifications is automatically tracked in the portal for residents to view.?
• Provide updates on residents’ requests for work orders, support, and ACRs.????

6) Promote the resident portal

If you don’t promote the resident portal, residents will likely not know about it.? Here are some ways to promote the resident portal:

• Explain how to sign up for the portal in your community’s welcome packet.??
• Do a show and tell of the resident portal during board meetings, social gatherings, or new resident orientation events.?
• If you have many walk-ins to the office, this is an excellent opportunity to show residents how to use the resident portal.?
• Send email announcements regularly reminding residents of the benefits of signing up and using the resident portal.??
• Include a link to the resident portal in your email signature.

7) Facilitate communication between residents

A great way to increase usage of the resident portal in your community is to encourage residents to connect with each other.? However, you’re often concerned that discussions in social media groups may expose confidential information to the public.? Portals often have a secure discussion board where residents can have constructive conversations while keeping your community’s data safe.? Through a discussion board, residents can create topics, share attachments, and have conversations with each other.?

8) Offer multiple communication options

Diverse communities call for diverse communication options. Giving your residents multiple ways to stay informed helps you reach broader demographics. Younger residents may prefer text messages, whereas older residents prefer phone calls. Offering numerous communication options also increases the likelihood that residents will receive your message.??It's essential to ensure your communications platform allows you to notify residents by text, phone, email, or postal mail.?

9) Gather feedback from residents

Actively seek feedback from residents who are using the portal regularly.? Then, identify ways that you can improve the experience for your residents. When you change the portal, share the news with your residents.? Let them know you are taking their feedback and actively taking steps to improve their experience.? Here are some ways to gather feedback:

• Create a survey and email it to your residents.??
• When talking to residents in the office or on a phone call, ask them about their experience with the portal.??

Conclusion

Increasing the use of technology in your communities can be challenging.? However, training residents, regularly updating the portal, and gathering constant feedback can improve the resident experience and boost technology adoption among residents.? Using technology to create self-sufficient communities can enhance operations and reduce the workload for your team.? Implement these tips today to keep your residents informed and improve operations!

Read the full article on Pilera.com: https://www.pilera.com/2023/07/resident-portal-adoption.html