Many Owners Corporation Committees will have become very familiar with the virtual meeting over the past 6 months during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Born of necessity due to government advice and restrictions, hosting virtual Owners Corporation meetings has actually revealed some unexpected benefits over this period.
While they continue to remain a necessity as we plot our course out of lockdown, some Committees may find themselves opting to continue conducting their meetings this way, well into the future.
Here are three of the top benefits our clients have experienced since going virtual.
1. Cost Savings to the Owners Corporation.
Most Contracts of Management will include a certain number of meetings per year, however additional fees can be charged if the meetings are held outside of office hours, and travel time for the Manager attending the meeting is also an additional charge.
Virtual meetings eliminate the need for travel, eradicating this charge.
Over a year, where there might be multiple meetings of the Committee and sub-committees, this can add up to a significant saving for an Owners Corporation.
2. Virtual meetings are more convenient & more accessible.
A virtual meeting can be accessed from any phone or smart device with an internet connection. This means that Owners can join from anywhere, and that those who live interstate or overseas can now participate where they were previously excluded.
Travel time is as much a consideration for Owners as it is for Managers. Previously, those who live away from the property would have to travel to a meeting, and for properties with no meeting facilities, this would have been the case for all Owners.
Removing this travel time and allowing the meeting to be accessed from anywhere has made meetings more accessible, more convenient and more appealing! This results in greater engagement from Owners.
3. Improved relationship with your Owners Corporation Manager (OCM).
The role of an OCM is highly demanding and traditionally involves irregular and long hours. This is due to hosting meetings outside of ‘office hours’ to allow more Owners to participate. This, unfortunately, can lead to burn out and high turnover within the industry.
As any Owners Corporation who has had a long-serving Manager can attest, the benefits of longevity are numerous.
Moving to virtual meetings, while cheaper and more convenient for Owners, also helps create better work-life balance for OCMs, resulting in an Owners Corporation more likely to experience a long-term Manager relationship, and the heightened property expertise this brings.
Virtual Meetings may have started due to concerns for health & safety and restrictions on gatherings imposed by the government, and seemed daunting when first imposed.
But virtual meetings have proven to be a cost-effective, efficient and convenient alternative to their in-person counterpart, and ease the pressures on Owners, Committee Members and Owners Corporation Managers alike.
This article was first written for and published by The Docklands News.