Communication through email for you Association
business is very effective for getting results without the
difficulty of getting the Board together for a meeting.
Follow these six steps to make your email
communication better.
1. Think before hitting Reply All instead of Reply
When only the sender needs to know your thoughts,
don’t click Reply All which includes all the respondents.
2. Don’t add new information to a current email
thread, send a new email
It gets confusing for readers when emails don’t match
the subject. When you want to add a comment about a
new issue, don’t reply to an email with the new
information. Instead, start a new email with a matching
subject.
3. Don’t get personal in the email
It is important to remember that your Board emails
should be professional. Keep your personal comments
out of your emails by sticking to the facts of the situation.
4. Give clear direction
Emails can be confusing when they don’t contain clear
and easy to understand directions. Make sure to state
precisely what you are wanting, such as a vote for an
issue, a maintenance issue to be resolved, or if you are
just wanting to pass on information with no action to be
taken.
5. Save your Board emails
Create an electronic folder in your email program to
save your Board emails in one easy to use location. This
is helpful when you need to refer to a document that was
attached or review a prior email to confirm action steps.
6. If you need responses to multiple questions,
number the question
Numbering the questions makes them stick out. This
eliminates getting email replies without all of the
questions being answered.
THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
Articles of Incorporation: Your association should be
registered as a non-profit corporation with the Ohio
Secretary of State. If it is not OR if your status is inactive
you could be PERSONALLY liable for actions of the
association. Check your status at www.sos.state.oh.us.
Accounting: Since your association should be
registered as a non-profit entity, it is required to file a
federal tax form.
Though you are generally not required to pay taxes, if
you get cable service income, funds from the sale of
goods or easement access, etc., you may be required to
pay taxes on that income.
Have you ever wondered...is our association, and
board, protected by the proper insurance, are we saving
enough money in our reserve account to fund our
association capital maintenance (hint: It’s more than
10%), does our handbook contain the information and
details necessary to lead our association in the right
direction?
All these questions can be answered in less than 2
hours. Find out more by contacting us at
abarzak@cpscolumbus.com.
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