By Rebecca Zazueta, PCAM, Windsor Gardens Association

Thinking back to the first time I used a virtual meeting platform to attend an HOA meeting makes me laugh.  It was called video chatting at the time.  My family vacation was making it impossible for me to attend the most important board meeting of the year. I needed a solution that would allow me to attend the meeting virtually from our vacation spot.  Does anyone remember Skype from the early 2000s? Yes, Skype was the solution.  My family played in the swimming pool that afternoon while I worked and joined the board meeting by Skype.  The internet connection was slow, the video was grainy, the audio wasn’t great, and my face was probably just a tiny spec on a laptop in the meeting room, but the board knew I was there on the other side of the computer screen.  Present and accounted for!

Today, the internet connection is fast and available almost anywhere you travel, the audio and video are mostly great, and you can conveniently join a meeting from your cell phone while on the go.  This makes it way too easy to always be available to attend board meetings.  

Take a Break, Don’t Take the Meetings with You

Years after my first experience with virtual meetings, I’ve come to realize that every board meeting can feel like the most important meeting of the year, and it is okay to miss one occasionally. Vacations serve specific purposes.  Spending precious time with your family is usually at the top of the list, but it is equally important to get away from work to rest and rejuvenate the weary brain of a dedicated and hard-working HOA manager.

Pitfall: I have never met an HOA manager who does not have a full meeting schedule every month.  We live and breathe by our meeting schedule, and there are few breaks between meetings.  We blink, and another month has gone by, and it is time to do it all over again.  It is a constant high-intensity merry-go-round.  If we don’t get off, we get dizzy and just keep spinning faster and faster until we drop.  No one performs well when they are spinning and ready to drop.  This is why it is so important to take a break. 

Best Practice: Let the board know you are going on vacation and won’t be attending meetings virtually. It is unbelievably freeing when you are honest about needing a break, and you may be surprised at the support you receive from board members.  Many are or were business professionals too, and they understand the importance of taking a break.  If the meeting schedule cannot be changed, or a co-worker can’t step in to help you, you still need to take a break.  

Once you get off the merry-go-round, stay the course. Get away from your calendar and hide your phone to avoid the temptation of joining virtual meetings. (I know you want to listen in, just in case something comes up.)   Even if something goes wrong at the meeting, you will recover; it will be a mere memory the following month.  

When you return to work, you will have a clear and rested HOA manager brain and be able to move mountains again! 

Don’t Forget the Importance of Face-to-Face Communication

During the 2000s, my portfolio included mountain communities.  Skype was occasionally used by out-of-state board members, but they typically preferred to schedule meetings during their ski trips, summer vacations, and long holiday weekends when they were in town.  I was not thrilled about Friday evening or Saturday morning meetings, especially over holiday weekends.  This was less than an ideal schedule for me as a manager, and it usually added several hours to my already crazy work week.  I recommended conference calls and Skype meetings as often as possible to avoid making a weekend trip up to the mountains to participate in HOA meetings.  Ultimately, we landed on a hybrid approach that accommodated everyone, quarterly in-person meetings (a couple of communities went to twice a year), and all other meetings were virtual or by conference call.     

Pitfalls: Although there are numerous advantages to having virtual communication, such as convenience and accessibility, which are critical for HOAs, there are some drawbacks.  Virtual interactions are less personal, and relationships between the manager and board members cannot be as fully developed as those in face-to-face interactions.  You don’t get the benefit of engaging each other eyeball to eyeball, which is important for creating and maintaining connection and trust. And as we all know, without connection and trust, the chances of successfully managing community associations decrease substantially.  

Best Practices: Building credibility and trust with the board is boosted with eye contact, physical presence and personal warmth and authenticity in face-to-face exchanges, which virtual meetings often lack.  Being in the same physical space allows for shared moments that deepen relationships—like laughter, gestures, or even silence.

According to Copilot AI, in-person meetings have cognitive and emotional advantages, like:

• Nonverbal cues: You can read body language, facial expressions, and tone of voice, which help you interpret meaning more accurately and avoid misunderstandings.

• Empathy and connection: Being physically present fosters a stronger emotional bond and sense of empathy, which is harder to replicate through screens.

• Mental health benefits: Studies show that face-to-face interactions are linked to better mental health compared to digital communication.

• Instant feedback: You can respond immediately, clarify confusion, and adjust your message based on the other person's reactions.

• Fewer distractions: In-person conversations tend to be more focused, with less multitasking or tech interruptions.

Additionally, there are benefits to real-time responsiveness, like:

Discuss with your board the benefits of virtual meetings and the importance of meeting in person.  To be an effective team, volunteer board members and managers must commit to dedicating time in their busy schedules to conduct association business, virtually or in person. Work on finding some middle ground and being creative to make it work. Accommodating our volunteer board members who can only participate virtually is a reality, but we also need effective communication to do our best work.   If virtual meetings are preferred, be sure to also schedule intentional in-person meeting times.  

Rebecca Zazueta, PCAM has been in the HOA industry for 30 years. She is the General Manager of the Windsor Gardens Association in Denver, the largest condominium association in Colorado.  Windsor Gardens is a 60-year-old amenities-based community for residents 55 and older, and Rebecca’s home away from home.