Set Goals For Your HOA!

With the New Year comes new opportunities and areas for improvement. Just as we make personal resolutions, now is the time to set goals for your homeowners association.

It’s the start of a new year. You’ve likely set a few goals for yourself and so should your homeowners association! With clear goals, the board can work to successfully make improvements to the HOA community and better serve its members.

How to set HOA goals

Before you get together with your board, reach out to your homeowners to determine their top goals and needs for the community. Asking for homeowner feedback not only provides ideas board members may not have thought of, but also makes homeowners feel they are being listened to—which could help in recruiting volunteers to work on completing some of those very goals.

Then, bring this feedback to your board meeting for review. Together, select the top areas for improvement, prioritize your goal list and put it in writing. Review your list and be sure the goals are realistic in terms of budget, resources and time. Then categorize goals between those that can be completely quickly and those that will require more time.

Break any long-term goals into stages and recruit homeowners to volunteer to help complete each stage. Share your goals with homeowners and your property manager and communicate goal progress—and recognize those who have helped in completing the goals—on your HOA website or newsletter.

At the end of the year, review and communicate your results.

Common HOA goals

Each HOA’s goals will vary depending on the community’s unique needs. However, there are some goals that are necessary for all HOAs. When setting your board’s goals, consider:

• Improving communications. When homeowners aren’t communicated with, they can grow resentful of the board’s actions. When board members don’t communicate to each other, inefficiencies and frustration develop. And when no one communicates with outside vendors, issues exacerbate and costs escalate. Develop a communications policy and method for keeping homeowners, board members and contractors informed.
• Recruiting volunteers. Numerous volunteers are needed to help the board achieve its goals. Attracting and retaining volunteers through gatherings and recognition can build a strong team of interested and motivated homeowners.
• Reviewing your contracts. Look at your expenses over the past year. Were there vendors you didn’t use? Or areas where you could cut back? Or perhaps there were areas that would have benefited from a contracted vendor? Review your contracts so you can budget accordingly for the next year.
• Improving meetings. Ask board members for feedback on how to run more efficient meetings. Use agendas and set time limits for each topic. Be sure meeting minutes are concise, contain only facts and are recorded properly.

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