Interactive
Technology Lets You Manage Your
Community Website and Personal
Homepage
ACM’s community portal website, www.acmhome.com, is a critical
component of our business and provides the platform where
our innovative systems merge. We have designed a portal that
serves as a gateway to homeowner interaction and community
involvement. Communication, awareness, and proactive residents
are vital to all associations and our goal is to create a
site owners feel inclined to visit frequently. This is achieved
by links to various types of community related information
and a “one stop shop” for access to pertinent association
documents.
Through this secure, interactive website system,
owners are conveniently kept apprised of the latest news,
announcements, and information posted by ACM and/or the Board
of Directors. Once registered online, residents have access
to: governing documents, meeting agendas, meeting minutes,
newsletters, annual budgets, classified ads, local merchants/contractors,
message boards, user manuals for home appliances, and “how
to” instructional videos. We have established a resident-centric
experience for our clients, in which association fees, utility
service payments, maintenance requests, architectural requests,
resale request info, clubhouse reservations, and pool pass
applications can all be easily submitted online. Owners can
also create a personalized homepage, ostensibly customizing
their site with selected applications, such as: local news,
events, sports, traffic, weather forecasts, movie reviews,
and special interest groups or clubs. These selected applications
flow through to the homepage, along with informational memorandums/notices
from your community website, each time you log in.
To launch
our dynamic website program, ACM created the position of Website
Coordinator, a full time employee solely dedicated to operating
and overseeing all aspects of our portal, including the community
websites accessed through it. Erin McCullin, a talented and
vibrant professional, was hired in 2009 to take on this position.
She is responsible for establishing training programs for
our staff, residents, and board members, as well as responding
to all inquiries relating to website functionality and administration.
“The Electronic Neighborhood,” an article written by Erin,
was published on the front page of the Community Associations
Institute (CAI) spring 2010 edition of The Beacon. This publication
focused on the evolution of the community website and how
today’s technologies can vastly improve communication amongst
owners, managers, and board members. Erin has coordinated
our website program since its inception. She continually strives
for innovation through new features and improvements to our
website systems, a product that distinguishes us from our
competitors.
Boards of Directors for associations throughout
the communities we manage, appreciate the impact our exceptional
website technology has on their productivity. Since its inception
in 2009, we have received vast positive feedback from boards,
expressing their satisfaction with the overall convenience
and effectiveness of this service. Board members have 24 hour
a day access to: status of architectural and maintenance requests,
proposals and contracts, violation notices, pertinent correspondence,
and current financial information (including the report of
owner arrearages). Email notifications are also automated
once a new management report and/or monthly financials are
generated. We appreciate the fact that board members are volunteers
and have chosen to give up valuable time to serve their associations.
We also recognize this is often a thankless job amidst the
challenges of balancing busy personal and professional schedules.
Our objective is to make the tasks facing association boards
as easy as possible to navigate through and accomplish.
We
ardently encourage a transformation to “The Electronic Neighborhood”
and this progressive “green” approach to community management.
Amongst other inefficiencies created by not incorporating
ACM’s website technology, associations should be mindful of
the cumulative costs of unnecessary printing, copying, and
postage. These considerations notwithstanding, we understand
there are many owners and board members who do not embrace
interactive websites and electronic information flow. Bearing
this mind, ACM will cater to the requests of each board/association
and remains adaptable to the preferred management practices
of our clients.
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