By Meaghan Brown, CAI-RMC Editorial Committee
For over a year, our industry has been forced to endure a number of challenges as a result of the COVID 19 pandemic. With people’s homes and communities at stake, there’s little time to spare. We’ve had to rise to the challenge and come up with alternative solutions quickly in order to continue business as ‘usual.’ One of those solutions that we’ve all come to know well is the use of virtual meetings. Here,, I’ve asked four industry leaders to share their experiences around virtual meetings and ultimately examine the question we’ve all been waiting with bated breath to find out…. Are virtual meetings here to stay?
- How receptive have your boards been to the use of virtual meetings? Do you think their perception has changed over time?
Ben Sloman (Associa): Boards were generally quite hesitant when we all started moving fully to virtual meetings. They had to learn new things and change. We did not just have meetings for Board and Owners, but we also started some computer skill meetings. These included getting on the phone with the owner and guiding them through opening up web browsers, reading and following instructional emails, and seeing themselves on camera!! We still complete these virtual meetings and all throughout these meetings we always have owners that would prefer to connect via phone or physically want a meeting. Over time we have seen a lot more participation via the virtual meetings platforms - a lot more people are attending and Board members are much more familiar with how to use the virtual platforms.
Kevin Lovett (Summit Resort Group): We have found that Board member response to virtual meetings is split… We have about half of the HOA Boards that have accepted (and even prefer) virtual meetings and the other half of Board members prefer in-person meetings. I do not think the perception has really changed over time… It seems that the folks that were ok with virtual meetings at the beginning of the pandemic are still ok with virtual meetings now, and those that were not fond of virtual meetings at the beginning of the pandemic, are still preferring in-person meetings.
Chris Marion (CAP Management): The majority of our Boards gladly embraced the use of virtual meeting technology to maintain Association business during the initial social distancing restrictions. Like the rest of the country, our Boards, Managers, and Homeowners all experienced some level of “zoom-fatigue” and were looking forward to resuming in-person meetings sometime in the future. Since the alleviation of the restrictions, we’ve seen a mixed response from our Boards. Some are quite eager to open up the clubhouse for the next meeting, while others are perfectly happy to continue meetings virtually.
- What do you see as the benefits to the use of virtual meetings? What do your boards and homeowners see as benefits?
Ben: I see a lot of benefits with virtual meetings although there certainly are pros and cons for both physical vs virtual meetings. One of the main benefits of having online meetings is that you are able to use functionality, such as sharing your screen. You can show maps, documents, budgets, and photos, for example, and all attendees can see and hear well since they sitting right in front of the computer and not 40 feet back in a conference room. We are able to follow the agenda through sharing the screen and everyone is looking at the same thing rather than having printed packets that get rustled in the background and side conversations going on for additional distractions.
Kevin: There are many benefits to the use of virtual meetings. One is efficiency for both the managers and the Board members (and owners). In today’s hectic, fast paced world, minutes add up and when managers and board members can eliminate commutes to attend meetings in person, valuable time is saved which can be put toward completing needed tasks. Additionally, virtual meetings allow for increased attendance at meetings. Here in resort communities, many board members and owners live in other parts of the countries and are unable to attend meetings in person. There are also benefits of cost-savings with conducting meetings virtually… no need for paper copy expenses, meeting venue rental fees and refreshments.
Chris: Many Board Members have appreciated a more electronic experience, including the use of digital Board packets (rather than printed), an organized homeowner forum via chat rooms, and the ability to “screen-share” RFPs and Agendas, for example. Perhaps the most noteworthy benefit is the convenience of joining and participating in a meeting from anywhere! We have received wonderful feedback ranging from working parents who can listen while cooking dinner, to off-site owners living in different states.
- What challenges or difficulties have you experienced when using virtual meetings? What about your boards and homeowners?
Ben: The biggest challenge is getting people into the meeting in the first place since they need to enable their camera, microphone, and speakers.
Kevin: The main challenge with virtual meetings is user issues… many of our homeowners are retired and lack some of the technical skills that are considered standard for the younger working population.
Chris: The occasional audio/video issues can of course be disruptive to the flow of a meeting. However, these occurrences seem to be less and less frequent as we’re all becoming virtual meeting experts. The most challenging aspects of the virtual Board meetings seem to arise during an Annual Meeting. First, for a large community, it can be difficult to record attendance, which is critical for communities that require a quorum of members. Secondly, the ability to conduct an anonymous membership vote during a virtual meeting is problematic to say the least. We are still working on an efficient solution for secret voting.
- Do you think virtual meetings are here to stay? Why?
Ben: Yes, I definitely think they are here to stay, they are more convenient, can happen all over the world and have a lot of functionality that can accomplish nearly every task.
Kevin: Yes, I think virtual meetings, or at least a “hybrid,” (holding meetings both virtually and in person), are here to stay… The younger working owners are very used to virtual meetings and seem to prefer them. The retired owners still seem to prefer in-person meetings, so I see hybrid meetings becoming more popular!
Chris: Yes, we believe some version of virtual meetings will become a norm in the industry because of the many benefits discussed. The problem we are seeing is the configuration of a hybrid meeting. Without proper audio/video technology, the hybrid meeting model can be very frustrating and largely ineffective for virtual participants. For now, we have invited our Boards to utilize our company’s tech-enable conference room for hybrid meetings while we slowly decide which format is truly the best for each community.
About our Participants:
Ben Sloman is a Supervising Community Association Director and oversees the Associa Community Association Management team in Colorado Springs. Ben holds both CMCA® and AMS® credentials from the Community Associations Institute and is currently completing his Real Estate license and working towards his PCAM credential. Ben has worked as a licensed Community Association Manager in major cities and resort areas throughout his career. He enjoys getting outside every day to enjoy the sunshine and everything nature has to offer, he is an avid mountain bike rider, but will take anything in step to have fun with friends.
Kevin Lovett is President of Summit Resort Group, which is a full-service property management company serving the Summit County, Colorado area. Summit Resort Group specializes in HOA management as well as short-term and long-term rentals and has a number of experienced Real Estate Brokers.
Chris Marion is the Chief Sustainability Officer of CAP Management, serving community associations around the Denver Metro Area. Chris holds a Masters Degree in Sustainability Planning and Management, bringing many years of experience working with buildings and landscapes to the industry. Chris primarily works with Boards on development of long-term, comprehensive plans to modernize community infrastructure in a cost-effective way.
About the author:
Meaghan Brown is an Account Executive at EmpireWorks Reconstruction, working with HOAs, multifamily, and commercial properties for their exterior, community-wide reconstruction projects. As an Account Executive, Meaghan acts as the liaison between their production team, the community/property manager, board of directors, and residents throughout the course of each project. Some of their core services include roofing, carpentry, EIFS/stucco, concrete, painting, decks/walkways, steel fabrication, and construction defect services.
