It’s your neighborhood and you should be able to communicate freely with the other homeowners about emergencies, right? One of the trickiest topics is how to effectively handle and moderate internal neighbor communication.
As a former board member, I can promise you that this still gives me anxiety. If you open up a portal and encourage community members to participate, this does create a potential need for channel moderation. The channel should be positive, helpful and uplifting. It should not be used to air grievances.
There are multiple communities who do a great job of making sure the communication portals are open, active and most importantly, positive.
Here’s some of the communication channels we would recommend if you decide to move forward with a cross-community communication platform:
1. Text Chains
The quickest solution in small neighborhoods is to create a text chain. As events happen or questions arise, homeowners start a new text to the HOA text chain.
Setup Process
- Each member of the community would provide their mobile phone number to the text chain administrator to opt into this communication
- The text chain administrator would be responsible for adding and removing community members as they move in, move out or opt out
- Any member of the community can message all of the other homeowners through this text chain
- We recommend adding in hours so that homeowners know there are regulations and don’t start a text chain at 1 am
Pros
- It’s quick to send a message, easy to set up, and simple to manage
- In most cases, people already know how to use their phones to text
- No login onto a website or management portal required
- Not cost prohibitive, because most homeowners have phone plans with unlimited texts
Cons
- There is no control or moderation of content
- Homeowners may not want their phone number “public” for all other homeowners to access
- If you have a transient community where homeowners move in and out regularly OR a community larger than 20 units, a text chain can become difficult to manage
2. Facebook Group
Another great solution is creating a Facebook group for the community. As events happen or questions arise, homeowners start a new post within the Facebook group.
Setup Process
- A board member creates the Facebook group and publicizes the group to the entire community
- Each homeowner logs into Facebook, locates the Facebook group and clicks “Join Group”
- The moderators would make the determination as to who is an HOA member and approves only those join requests
- The moderators would be responsible for removing members once they leave the community
Pros
- It’s quick to send a message, easy to set up, and simple to manage
- Notifications can be turned on, alerting all members of new messages as they happen
- Moderation controls are available
- This is a free solution
Cons
- Some homeowners may not be active on Facebook
- If you turn on moderation, someone has to read and approve all comments before they are posted – which may delay the timing of urgent notifications
3. Slack
As working from home has become a new normal, Slack has become even more integral in helping businesses communicate. With Slack, having a series of channels for the community could be a solution to help manage communication across topics and serve as a resource for information for your community. As events happen or questions arise, homeowners start a new post within the appropriate Slack channel.
Setup Process
- A board member creates the Slack channel and invites the individual homeowners to join
- Each homeowner would need to download the app or login via web browser, then set up their account
- The moderators would set up public and private channels
- Moderators are responsible for removing members once they leave the community
Pros
- A private channel for the board members only could be instrumental in facilitating board communication
- It’s quick to send a message
- Notifications can be turned on, alerting all members of new messages as they happen
- Moderation controls are available
- The free version of slack should work to get you started
Cons
- Homeowners that already have Slack channels for their business may not want to login to another account to review HOA notifications
- Homeowners may not be able to use the app on their phone
- Homeowners may struggle to learn the technology
- As communications and needs increase, there will eventually be costs associated with a bigger package for Slack
Need help with your communication?
Our marketing partner, Rockstarr & Moon, has extensive experience working with HOAs. Click here to learn more.
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