How HOA Managers and Boards Can Improve Communication in Their Communities

Strong communication isn’t just vital to healthy homeowners’ associations (HOAs); it’s also essential to helping association managers and board members prevent burnout. Only 37% of management teams rate their current communication tools and methods as highly effective. As annual meetings and election season approach, clear and consistent communication becomes more crucial for keeping residents informed, leadership supported, and community decisions moving forward.

Read on for simple, practical ways HOA managers and boards can strengthen communication, improve transparency, and create smoother interactions during one of the busiest times of the year.

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RELATED: Understanding HOA Elections: A Homeowner’s Guide to Voting, Rules, and Leadership Changes

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5 Ways to Improve HOA Communication for Annual Meetings & Election Season

Preparing for annual HOA meetings and elections is no small task. It requires direct and consistent communication that supports boards and managers while engaging residents. Here are five easy-to-apply ways to empower teams to strengthen conversations, streamline processes, and improve trust across their communities:

1. Encourage active listening practices

Annual meetings and voting events can heighten expectations—and emotions. Strong listening habits can help community leaders keep meaningful discussions focused and productive. HOA management companies and portfolio managers should introduce best practices for active listening, including:

• ‍Be present, only leaving early if necessary.
• Avoid multitasking, focusing on one issue or topic at a time.‍
• Engage fully and remain open to questions and feedback. ‍
• Clarify by repeating what you hear before responding.

2. Give residents clear ways to participate

With 70% of residents attending annual meetings, structured participation keeps discussions efficient and fair. Encourage teams and board members to provide residents with simple, clear participation practices to allow everyone’s voices to be heard without sacrificing productivity. Start by introducing engagement guidelines, such as:

• ‍When and how residents should speak. Offer a designated comment, question, and answer period with time limits.‍
• How to submit questions in advance. Guide residents to email, online forms, or a dedicated community management platform to track submissions in advance.‍
• Which topics are appropriate for discussion. Redirect operational issues to management and keep meeting time focused on governance.

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LEARN MORE: Do Homeowners in Your HOA Feel Included? Here’s How to Build Real Community Engagement

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3. Promote transparency and visibility

Transparency becomes especially important during annual meetings and elections. This is the time residents are paying closer attention, and small communication gaps can quickly grow wider. Management company leaders can strengthen transparency by equipping teams with simple communication tools—announcement templates, project updates, meeting agendas, and recaps—that make quick sharing easy and consistent. And encourage them to log updates, questions, and follow-ups in a single location to keep information accurate and organized.

4. Adopt digital tools to streamline communications

Manual interactions can create confusion, leading to frustration and stress for association management leaders. But centralized communication can improve meeting outcomes. Here are a few simple ways HOA software, such as TownSq, can help streamline communications portfolio-wide:

• Send automated reminders for meeting dates and deadlines.
• Store agendas, candidate bios, governing documents, and FAQs in one accessible hub.
• Track resident communication with direct messaging, dedicated forums, and more.

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LEARN MORE: Why Outdated Communication Tools Are Holding Your Communities Back

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5. Follow up quickly to build trust

Post-meeting communication prevents misinformation and doubt, helping residents feel confident in the outcomes of votes and discussions. Fast follow-ups also instill trust in leadership’s ability to navigate important association decisions effectively. Encourage management teams and community leaders to:

• Send a concise recap of points covered and outcomes.
• Share election results, voting insights, and next steps.
• Point residents to future updates, community policies, and essential documents.

Let TownSq Close the Gap in Your HOA Communication

Clear, consistent, tech-supported communication is the foundation of successful annual meetings and smoother HOA voting events. By actively listening, setting structured participation guidelines, communicating openly, centralizing information, and following up swiftly, both community managers and boards can reduce stress, strengthen trust, and amplify homeowner engagement. These practices don’t just support better decision-making; they support higher meeting turnout and more confident leadership across every community you serve. Start your improvement journy today with a free demo.

And if you’re ready to continue improving your HOA communication and engagement year-round, don’t miss our latest article: 5 Ways HOA Management Companies Can Increase Engagement and Reach Quorum.