Small HOA board members: Make it easy on yourself.
You stepped up to help your community. But your volunteer service is not a blank check for your time and energy! When you know where your board obligations stop, it will make your board service easier, and may actually help your community run better.
If you're overwhelmed with board service, here are nine guidelines to help:
-Set expectations of how and when you will be a board member, and when you're just a good neighbor. You don't have to get into an HOA debate when you take the dog for walk! Gently remind that you are a neighbor first, and HOA business must be sent through established channels.
-Establish communication rules for community business. Keep HOA communication where it should be. Use a community portal for HOA communication, or at least have a board email address. Don't get your personal email tangled up with the HOA, and if you are employed, never use a business email address for HOA business. This is a legitimate legal issue; HOA business should be in professionally kept records. If any litigation were to ever occur, all email containing HOA references could be examined by attorneys.
-Establish a reasonable response time for board requests. You are a volunteer, not a 24/7 response team. Consider setting expectations for response times. If you have a board email address, you can set an automatic reply with your guidelines. And include the gentle reminder that you are a volunteer.
-Vague rules make your job harder. So many board volunteers find that HOA rules and enforcement aren't outlined clearly enough to be understood and followed. This creates a lot of work for the board! Make sure HOA rules and consequences are clear. A clear definition of what is required and the consequences of violations makes board response simpler and easier.
-If it's not in the docs, don't do it. Don't be pushed to handle matters that aren't in your duties, and don't accidentally over-reach as a result of good intentions. Review your HOA covenants and bylaws to confirm whether a request or plan is actually a responsibility of the board!
-If it's not in the budget, don't spend it. The board has some discretion, but be mindful that not all owners agree on how funds should be spent. Your fiduciary duty compels you to follow the budget plan. Spending funds on non-budgeted items can create trouble.
-Ask yourself: Is this board business? You want to help, and you can take on all the responsibility you want. But you don't have to---and sometimes shouldn't---take on every owner complaint. Be sure you aren't creating liability by taking on work outside your duties. Is it a matter for the police or child services? Is it a personal conflict or dispute that individuals need to resolve? Of course, compliance with state and federal law is a must for all of us, but board members are not law enforcement agencies.
-Prepare for FAQs. Have pre-written messages or a community FAQ list for quick and easy response to questions. Redirect owner questions to the resources on your owner portal, or how to submit requests. There are pre-written message templates for many FAQs in your portal under Board resources!
-You are not Alexa. Or Siri. Everyone wants to find answers easily---and frequently that means asking someone else to find them! When you have an online HOA portal with community information, direct owners to it to find information they need, rather than digging around yourself. You have enough to do!
Would you like to see more on this topic? Let us know if a class or tutorial would be valuable to you. We want to provide what's most helpful to small HOA boards and owners.
