Volunteering as a condo board member can be exhausting. The amount of work required tends to be more than condo board members can imagine.

As a result, board members and directors are at risk of burnout.

For condo boards to become more cohesive it takes continuity. However, when board members burn out, you face endless reorganization and adjustment.

An effective way to help balance the workload is to enlist more volunteers. If you can get more people in the community involved, you can ease pressure on the condo boards.

Here are ways to encourage more volunteers to assist on your condo’s board of directors.

Condo Boards to Reach Out Often

Because you hold the reins of communication, you can reach out to your community to stir up interest in what you do. Some ideas to get people thinking:

• Tell people what the condo board does. Come right out and ask for volunteers with a list of actual tasks that could use attention.
• Mention a special project you might be working on and the areas where you could use some expertise.
• Ask for advice on challenges you might be overcoming such as finding a good contractor, communication issues due to language barriers or ongoing problems like people tossing their flyers on the mailroom floor.
• Tell stories about condo boards and their achievements and say with a little help you can achieve even more.

You are sure to have many communication opportunities to reach out to your community.

But there are also opportunities to reach out to individuals. Is there someone in the community with special skills that could come in handy?

Is there someone who has made a polite complaint who might be willing to help resolve the issue?

Expand your reach and consider who might be responsive to a personal invitation to join in.

Create Positions

Members of the condo boards aren’t always equipped with the skills to perform their role. By looking at the specific areas where you need help, you can create volunteer positions.

Recruit community members based on these positions, advertising what duties are required and the frequency the work must be completed.

With the right support, you can distribute work more effectively and close those gaps to alleviate pressure off of your condo boards.

Offer Good Incentive

Often people overlook the opportunities volunteer work presents. Advertise the benefits to the community and you might find more people stepping up to the plate. Some benefits your condo boards can share include:

• Professional development: Just because someone isn’t paid to do something doesn’t mean that experience isn’t valuable. Volunteers can develop professional skills, learn something new, or expand their experience by taking on specific tasks. These skills can then be applied to their career development, and mentioned on their resumes.
• Creating a better community: Residents might have beef about their community, yet do nothing to improve it. Letting people know their help can allow you to achieve more is an excellent incentive to make people feel it’s time to get involved.
• Community involvement: Meeting neighbours, planning community events, proposing community charity work, and more can help people become part of the community and interact with a broad range of new people.

While you have risen to the task of building a better community, being spread too thin makes it impossible to achieve your goals. With a little effort, you can help alleviate the workload of your condo board with some willing volunteers.

To learn how CPO Management Inc., Toronto’s property management company specializing in condo management, can help your condo board avoid burnout, reach out to our team today.