Moving to Mobile First
Today, we live in a mobile-first world when it comes to technology. We do our banking and shopping on mobile apps, and we even manage our home appliances and thermostats through mobile apps. Unfortunately, the same is not currently true in the HOA Management industry. AAM is looking to address this oversight with the rollout of the HOA Toolkit.
No Wi-Fi, No Problem
Our initial rollout of the HOA Toolkit focused on allowing our managers to perform community inspections on an offline mobile app. The offline mode has been a critical feature for us since several communities are in areas without cellular coverage. In the past, this could mean long wait times when uploading pictures or, worse yet, timeouts. Even in areas with excellent coverage, the ability to cache the violation information on the device and upload it at the end of the inspection has made for quicker and more accurate inspections.
Secure, Fast & User-Friendly
The transition from a mobile-friendly webpage to a mobile app has also paid significant dividends. This shift has allowed us to create a more intuitive interface and enable features on the device that would not have been possible in a traditional web format.
The results have been better than we could have hoped. Even the most technology-resistant users have fully and gladly embraced the new tools. We believe the feedback we have received from our Managers has been so universally positive because we are providing them with a tool in a format they are used to and prefer using, combined with the fact that it helps them perform their work more effectively by cutting the typical inspection time in half.
Resident Information a Few Taps Away
This success encouraged us to deploy a module for Resident Information. We realized that Managers are often away from their computers, maybe because they are in the field doing inspections, meeting with vendors, or meeting with their Boards. This means that many issues that could quickly and easily be addressed have to wait until our Managers are back at their desks where they have access to their computers. Providing a tool to our Managers where they can quickly and easily access all the residents’ information from their phones, anywhere and anytime, allows issues to be addressed more rapidly and allows Managers to have one less thing on their to-do lists. This is especially true for our Afterhours Team, who may take a call at any time and need the ability to access information quickly as they try to solve an emergency in real time.
Expect More
Seeing how impactful these tools have been for our staff has caused us to shift our thinking from “What can we deliver via a mobile app?” to “What can’t we deliver via a mobile app.” We have already added work orders, architectural processing, and vendor management to our roadmap for what we want to add to our toolset. We hope that the HOA Toolkit will add new modules over the next few years, transforming into a primary device for how most of our staff will do their jobs.
AAM HOA Toolkit
