A critical part of being a board member is communication. As the representative of the owners, board members need to understand precisely what is going on in their building. Brad, a board member at radioCITY Condos, knew he needed to improve the communication and processes to work more effectively.
radioCITY Condos is a vibrant community with two tall towers and a row of townhouses. While the condos are high-end with commanding views and luxurious amenities, their processes were ineffective and behind the times.
Communication became a struggle, which meant that getting the information he needed was difficult for Brad.
Ineffective Pen and Paper Processes
Before Concierge Plus, radioCITY Condo’s lack of technology was creating serious problems not only for board members, but residents and property management as well. Brad stated that they were relying on “pencil and paper” to keep track of all their essential documentation and hadn’t used technology at all to make their lives easier.
It was a cluttered system that meant the concierge desk was full of various binders to keep track of everything. According to Brad, there was “one for parking, one for guest suites, one for the party room or the other boardroom.” It was a mess for attendants to keep track of, and it made for less than ideal customer service for residents.
Because nothing could be filled out online, residents had to visit the front desk if they wanted to use a guest suite or one of the other amenities. Since the records were located in only one of the towers, residents from the other tower had to travel even further to get to it. They then had to check to see if their desired guest suite or facility was available and manually fill out forms to reserve it.
Not only was the system bad for customer service and negatively impacted the resident experience, but they found that they were missing out on potential revenue. Many residents would not or could not bother to go out of their way to use such an archaic system, so they were not booking their amenities as much as they could.
As a board member, Brad struggled with the lack of transparency and the difficulty he had getting the information that he needed to do his job. When residents came to him with complaints or questions, he couldn’t see what property management was doing to reassure them or answer their questions. The board of directors couldn’t see how well the amenities were being used or if there was room for growth.