One of our main objectives at Nabr Network is to provide a convenient and self-service front-facing user experience for HOA residents. We want to provide residents a technology experience comparable to their experiences in other industries.
The banking industry is a good example. Banks wholeheartedly embrace technology which facilitates ease and self-service for their customer. Teller assisted ATMs and feature rich mobile apps are just a few of the latest innovations. Banks are pushing you there whether you like it or not, however, it’s not a hard sell. Most of their customers, especially late Gen-Xers down to iGen generations, want resident-serving technology for the convenience and flexibility of taking care of their own needs whenever, wherever they want. Bottom-line: banks recognize technology as a driver of new customers while minimizing employees.
Now to HOA’s. For years technology in the industry has focused on automation of back-office functions for management companies and their employees. Chores such as accounting, billing, violation and ARC processing have been automated to increase management efficiencies; however, little has been done in recent years to drive the resident experience. Yes, there are resident portals and websites, but this is nothing new. These are silos of information with few actionable options. At Nabr, we believe the efficiencies of self-service can’t be realized in the HOA industry without a major step to improve the resident-serving experience.
To create a better experience, you have to incorporate multiple technologies. You have to be mobile-focused because this where we live nowadays. Experiences on desktop and mobile are different, so just because you have a website that looks good on desktop doesn’t mean it relates to mobile. And, there are further differences in mobile experiences when you use web versus native mobile apps. The mobile experience needs to be easy, convenient and intuitive. Push-pull integration of data with third-party back office platforms is very important. Integration allows account information to be accessible and interaction to be automated. With an integrated platform, notices and reminders can be sent to mobile devices, empowering residents to initialize account self-service steps like make payments and changes to account information. Finally, resident experiences must include communication features which may not be back-office management related. Residents need reminders of HOA rules and policies, meeting and event notifications, reservations for community amenities and events, and social and private group interaction features.
Using the combination of mobile, integration and communication features will provide a self-service opportunity for residents is a great start for the HOA industry to equal user experiences in other fields. Nabr Network is committed to continue working to better the resident-serving experience, which in turn will create more self-service possibilities while maximizing management company resources.
