As a management company, when we work with your Board of Directors to review and update your community’s strategic plan, we always want your input! In this article, you’ll learn about what a strategic plan is, what its advantages are, and the type of information that’s used to review and update it.
What is a strategic plan?
A strategic plan outlines a particular community’s priorities and projects for the immediate future and for years to come. It can also accommodate revisions as changing circumstances dictate—without conflicting with the vision behind its creation. Essentially, life is unpredictable, so a strategic plan is designed to be flexible. It also helps determine what this year’s budget will include and suggests what future ones might feature.
What are the advantages of strategic planning?
The strategic planning process has many advantages. It stimulates ideas to make good use of association resources, identifies responsibilities, assigns work, coordinates efforts, reveals obstacles, identifies opportunities, and guides decisions.
Where do we start?
The plan begins with our mission and vision statements. The mission statement explains our organization’s (HOA’s) purpose, such as serving the community and preserving property values. The vision statement is also broad, and it provides a picture of what the community will look and feel like in the future. It can project a well-managed community, a place where homeowners’ needs are met and a community where residents have a sense of involvement.
What information is crucial to a strategic plan?
As we review our plan, we’ll examine all critical association documents, such as the governance process, facilities and infrastructure, financial statements (including the reserve study) and community demographic trends. We also may conduct a needs assessment, which includes an analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats—a tactic used by many businesses.
Resident feedback is also crucial to the strategic plan. We may ask for your input via surveys and town hall meetings to determine needs and interests. Through these opportunities, you can indicate priorities and suggest projects. After reviewing your comments, we’ll develop and prioritize short-term projects, longer-range projects, and how and when to fund them.
Stay tuned and start thinking about the future of our community. You may also submit suggestions and input anytime by utilizing your homeowner account.