Transforming community meetings from pain-points into progress-drivers

Community meetings are a cornerstone of good governance and decision-making for Bodies Corporate and Homeowners Associations (HOAs). Despite their importance, however, they are often one of the most challenging – and least popular – aspects of a Community Manager’s job.

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Our latest WeconnectU survey confirms this, revealing community meetings as the number one pain-point felt by Community Managers. But what if these meetings didn’t have to be time-consuming burdens, and could instead become an invaluable opportunity to demonstrate professional value and expertise?

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The Challenges of Community Meetings

The fact is: community meetings come with a number of complexities that can quickly add up to an overwhelming workload – particularly for Community Managers working with multiple Bodies Corporate and HOAs.

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Each community requires several meetings a year, including Annual General Meetings (AGMs) and trustee meetings. Each meeting requires extensive preparation, execution, and follow-up. Each of these steps consumes hours of time, and precise attention to detail.

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The rise of hybrid meetings (combining in-person and online formats) only adds to the complexity.

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Delicate act of managing diverse stakeholders, including trustees, owners and external participants. Disengaged parties, disruptive personalities and resistance to the adoption of new technologies are all hurdles community managers must overcome in order to maintain productivity.

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The rise of virtual conferencing tools have changed the game and made virtual meetings a reality, but sadly they do not cater for all the complexities  pre- in and post Community meetings. Take voting according to PQ’s as an example…

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Did you know?

‍Community Managers spend an average of 7 hours preparing for, running, and concluding an AGM, and 4 hours doing the same for a trustee meeting. That means a community manager running 30 communities, each with 5 meetings a year, will be spending up to 690 hours a year just on meetings!

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The Value of Community Meetings

Despite their undeniable challenges, community meetings offer significant value when managed effectively.

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Firstly, they enable Community Managers to engage directly with community members, building trust and fostering lasting relationships. These interactions are a great opportunity to educate members, influence decisions, and guide the community toward positive outcomes, positioning the Community Manager as a skilled and effective leader with valuable specialist insights.

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This approach can transform community meetings from a compliance checkbox into a powerful platform for community managers to drive progress and remove roadblocks by leveraging their professional expertise and knowledge of industry trends and best practices. The result is an environment far more conducive to decision-making and collaboration in which the Community Manager is recognised as an invaluable asset, worthy of appropriate respect (and compensation).

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Leveraging technology for better meetings

So how do we unlock the full potential of community meetings? The key lies in leveraging modern technology to reduce the pain points and create efficiencies that benefit everyone involved.

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Comprehensive meeting management solutions like WeconnectU’s MeetingSpace integrate all the necessary workflows – including pre-meeting preparations, in-meeting tasks, and post-meeting actions – into a single platform. This enhances transparency and communication, streamlines participation management, and automates complex tasks like voting and minute-taking.

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MeetingSpace also makes it easier to close the loop after meetings by helping Community Managers create trackable tasks and generate detailed reports. This ensures that all decisions and actions are followed through effectively, building trust and reinforcing the Community Manager's role as a reliable, professional – and valuable – leader.

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Conclusion

When managed correctly, community meetings are more than just a regulatory hurdle – they are a significant opportunity for Community Managers to showcase their skills and add value to their clients.

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The adoption of advanced meeting technology, such as WeconnectU’s MeetingSpace, can transform these meetings from a painful chore into a productive and value-adding process. By leveraging these tools, Community Managers can not only enhance their own professional reputation but also ensure the communities they manage are well-governed, desirable living spaces, ready for whatever the future brings.