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What are your hacks for communicating with your owners corporation?
Strata Committees don’t like owners who frequently email them with concerns.
When there are always urgent or important things going on, what is your advice about best communication practice for owners?
Also, I read or motions, minutes and financials and I research, and I attend meetings, but I can never know what’s going on. Do you all feel like that? Do you have to email your Committee to find out what is “going on”?
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Persuade the committee to install an integrated communications hub like our sponsors Stratabox. If they balk at it, go direct to the rest of the owners and get their support.
If you can’t then you are at the mercy of your office-bearers and their desire to go beyond the bare minimum in communications
The opinions offered in these Forum posts and replies are not intended to be taken as legal advice. Readers with serious issues should consult experienced strata lawyers.
As someone who has spent time on the committee where I live, there are some people we hear too much from over often petty issues but there are others who we wish would email when they have a concern. Quite often it is only in a conversation that I would find out about some issue that could have been easily fixed that the committee would have been happy to have fixed if only someone had mentioned it to us sooner or sent an email. Take the time to have conversations. Be constructive. Offer to help.
I think a lot comes down to the size of the scheme and working through what works with the stakeholders. I’ve listed below what we have in place at our building:
We have a social feed for occupiers to chat and share information.
We have a process in place for reporting that is via our SM, however we also have a letterbox and email address that anyone can contact the committee via if they feel it necessary to.
There’s a document provided to everyone with our preferred suppliers in case of an emergency that requires immediate action.
And for the Committee Members we have project sharing site that has everything that is relevant to the Committee.
We have treat the email and project sharing as a business so that is all owned by the SP and not only in someone’s personal inbox.
It’s funny. A lot of people on the forums say their committee are opaque. I had the same issue until I joined the committee. And people warned me “o you’ll have to deal with everyone knocking on your door”, but I have the opposite issue. I feel as a committee member you should be available (with some solid boundaries too). I’ve had a few people (including some committee members) say to me “too many emails.” And they don’t read them. I’m acutely aware of not wanting to be a pest, yet still needing to communicate important information. A lot of owners don’t want to know, don’t care, or find it stressful.
I always find in person to be the best communication, however I also don’t want to be intrusive by knocking on doors. I’ve had to overcome my normal instinct to leave people alone, and be left alone my self, in order to be responsible.
I think some people will prefer emails and others in person, and different people want different levels of involvement and this can change too depending what else they are occupied with at different times.
You still have to legally send out minutes and notices etc.
I’m going to use a portal, but not sure how many will use it. At least all info will be there for anyone who does want it.
Probably need a variety of communication methods. Email, post, in person, meetings, more relaxed socialising, phone, text. I try to adapt to each person. My building is 15 units with about half half owner residents and owner investors. I think it would be a lot harder in a large building.
I also want to send a quarterly news letter with levy notices. And organise some social things like gardening together, cups of tea. It’ll take time.
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