Setting Up HOA Goals the SMART Way

For any professionally-run community association, goal setting is an annual task. First off, one of the roles of a community association is to improve the community through fresh ideas, coming up with achievable goals, and putting in measures to ensure all the community's goals have been achieved.

Having community goals in place helps the community to track, account for, and make financially sound decisions that will, in the end, improve or maintain the high-quality standards of the community.

How to Set Achievable Goals the SMART Way

Coming up with community association goals is not a complex task. The problem comes when it's time to put in the effort and ensure the set goals are achieved. Unfortunately, many goals are not achievable for various reasons.

For instance, a goal can be unachievable because it does not have a clear and defined outcome, has an unrealistic timeline, or lacks a measure of progress. So, how do you set up achievable community association goals? Here are some tips:

1. Be SMART about It

Incorporate and manage environments, SMART is an acronym widely used to help stream ideas, focus efforts, and correct usage of time. For any community association goal to be achieved, it must check the following boxes:

• It Must Be Specific
  An achievable community association goal is specific; everyone involved knows what is expected and what the end result should be. Everything that should be achieved within a specific period is clearly laid ou
  
  
• It Should Be Measurable
  After setting up a goal, you must be able to track its progress. Are you on the right path? Have you accomplished what you planned to achieve at that point? A measurable goal allows you to figure all these out.
  
  
• It Must Be Achievable
  

  Depending on the resources (money, effort, time), strive to achieve community association goals. Unachievable goals will strain the board members and will lead to unhappy residents.

• Relevance is a Factor
  

  How relevant is your goal? Is it improving your community in any way? How will achieving the set goal make a difference in your community? Every goal created must benefit the residents in one way or the other.

• It Should Be Time-Based
  Deadlines are critical in ensuring that a goal is achieved. For longer projects, you can divide them into phases, with each one having its own deadline. By doing this, the residents will be able to see your commitment.

2. Have a Planning Checklist

For all the ideas you have developed, a planning checklist is important in keeping them organized and ensuring that nothing is skipped. Some things to include in your checklist include checking whether you need any government documents to facilitate your goals, audits, taxes, budget and assessments, and meetings.

Also, have plans on how maintenance, renovations, and replacement projects are going to take place.

3. Invest in Education or Arrange Expert Help

After setting up your community association goals, you need every board member to understand their roles and responsibilities. In addition, education on the same is needed for the ideas and goals that may not be popular with the board members. Resources for such information include magazines, blog subscriptions, conferences, and online courses.

On the other hand, your professional management company is more familiar with what you are trying to achieve as aboard. Therefore, they can assist with planning and bringing in other professionals as needed to assist with items that may be legal matters, insurance issues, and financial dealings.

4. Incorporate Emergency Plans

The community goals you set might hit a dead end. When this happens, do you have a contingency plan? Well, you should. Have plans on how your community will deal with natural calamities such as storms, floods, and anything else that might pose a danger.