Individual filling out an online form on a tablet. Credit: Pexels

4 Benefits of Using Online Forms for Your HOA or Condo Community

Online forms are a relatively simple and paperless method of gaining insight into your residential management operations.  A well-designed form has immense value if it has purpose, the target audience in mind, and is aligned with company objectives.  In this blog article, we discuss four reasons why you as a community manager should make the transition from paper forms to online forms.  Have a read.

  1. Makes processes more efficient

    Efficiency is all about saving resources and time that can be spent on more important tasks.  By creating online forms that your residents and staff can fill out, you reduce the need for expensive resources in several ways:

    • Reduce the need for printing out stacks of paper forms and mailing them to residents, thereby saving paper, ink, and money.
    • Employees and residents will receive the online form instantly, so you reduce form delivery time.
    • Reduce form delivery time as online forms are sent to residents and employees instantly.
    •  Eliminate analytics errors by receiving data real-time instead of manually organizing and analyzing information.
  2. Handle and fulfill requests

    Forms also help facilitate the exchange of resources and fulfilling a request.  When a resident wants to implement major landscaping changes to his or her property, an “architectural change request form” will be filled out.  The management receives ample information and will either approve or reject the request along with a processing fee if applicable.  The resident makes known his or her property enhancement plans to management.

    Remember that a well-designed form will help your team gain ample insight and have more control over the types of information allowed for input.  Online forms also enable validation – certain questions must be answered before you accept the form.

  3. Gain resident and employee feedback

    When you take into consideration the feedback from your residents and employees, you can then start to make improvements to various business processes.  Design surveys or polls to gain detailed insight from residents and employees to drive business decisions.  The benefits of a feedback response system are:

    • Residents are happier when they know their opinion is valued and implemented.  Increase resident retention rate and gain new prospects by word of mouth recommendation.
    • Employees will appreciate that their opinion is taken seriously.  This leads to employees that are more motivated and better overall performance.
    • Eliminate repetitive actions or business decisions that don’t align with objectives.
    • Enhance value of your community and properties by implementing feedback.
  4. Instant results for community voting

    Residents can vote on important community issues or board elections through a secure and well-designed form.  The benefits of voting using online forms are:  

    • Residents can vote either at the community’s poll station, at the convenience of their own home, or whichever location they are at.
    • Managers can restrict one vote per resident.
    • Results are obtained in real-time.

Pilera’s comprehensive residential management solution allows you to build any type of form that aligns with your business needs.  With our customizable forms, you can easily drag and drop form elements, have resident data auto-filled, and gain insight in real-time.