Communicating with residents: how to write an announcement, and who to send it to and when

A large part of a complex manager's job is communication. A water cut, lift maintenance, spraying the garden, the date of the general meeting, a change to parking. All of it has to reach residents on time and in a form they understand. When it does not, the manager answers the same question dozens of times, and residents rightly complain that "nobody told us".

This guide explains how to write an announcement people actually read, who to send it to and when, and how to keep track of requests coming from residents.

Notice board, group chat, phone

In most complexes communication is a mix of channels.

The notice board in the lift is in front of everyone, but only the people who use that lift in that block see it. Paper tears, old notices stay up, new ones go on top.

Group chats are fast, but announcements get lost in the conversation. After twenty replies under an announcement, finding the actual information is hard. People who are not in the group never hear about it at all.

Calling people one by one is the most personal route, but it does not work in a large complex.

Whatever channel you use, what matters is that the announcement is recorded in one official place. Other channels can be used to point people to that record.

The structure of an announcement people read

A good announcement gives short answers to five questions:

1. What is happening? In one sentence.
2. When? Date and time window.
3. Who is affected? The whole complex, one block, certain floors?
4. What should residents do? If they need to do something, say so plainly.
5. Who can they ask?

An example:

Title: Water cut in Block B on Tuesday

Text: On Tuesday between 10:00 and 14:00 the main water pipe in Block B will be repaired and there will be no water during those hours. Other blocks are not affected. We suggest setting aside the water you need before the cut. For questions, contact the management office.

That is all. The title says what is happening and when, the text says who is affected and what to do.

Things to watch when writing

• Lead the title with the key information. "Important announcement" says nothing. "Lift maintenance on Saturday" says everything.
• Keep it short. An announcement is not an essay. If more detail is needed, attach it.
• Avoid blaming language. Instead of "Some residents are still putting their rubbish out at the wrong time", write "Rubbish is collected every day at 20:00". Scolding a few people in a notice that goes to everyone also offends those who follow the rules.
• Do not include personal information. Do not name flats in arrears, people who have been complained about, or anyone's private circumstances in an announcement. These are discussed with the person privately.
• Add a picture. For a parking change or a new rubbish collection point, a photo or a sketch beats a long explanation.

Send it to the right people

Not every announcement concerns every resident. When a water cut in Block B goes to residents of Block A, two things happen. First they are disturbed for nothing, then they do not take the next announcement seriously.

Sending an announcement only to the relevant block, floor or flats keeps announcements valuable. If residents know that every announcement they receive really concerns them, they read it.

In the same way, do not send residents an instruction that only concerns the staff.

Timing is part of the content

• Give notice in advance. Announce planned cuts or maintenance a few days ahead, and send a reminder the day before.
• Do not send at night. A non-urgent announcement should not buzz phones at midnight. Schedule what you write in the evening for the morning.
• Keep emergencies separate. Announce genuinely urgent situations, such as a sudden flood, in a separate short message. If every announcement looks urgent, none of them is.

A few rules for group chats

Group chats are a tool complexes cannot do without. Organising them is more realistic than closing them down.

• State the purpose of the group. Announcements or conversation? Separating the two is often the best solution: only the management writes in the announcements group, everyone writes in the chat group.
• Keep official information in one place. An announcement in the group should be a reminder of the official record. "We posted it in the group" is no answer for a resident who is not in the group.
• Do not take personal disputes to the group. A problem with one neighbour grows when it is discussed in the group.
• Agree on night-time messages. Everyone benefits if non-urgent topics are not posted at night.
• Have someone run the group. Someone needs to remind people politely when the rules are not followed.

Remember that not everyone in the complex is in the group chats. Older residents, tenants or newcomers may not see information shared there. That is why an important announcement should never live only in the group.

The other side of communication: requests

Announcements go from the management to residents. Requests go the other way: fault reports, complaints, suggestions. If this side is not organised, even the best announcements cannot keep residents' trust.

• Collect requests in one place. Requests mentioned to staff in a corridor, posted in a group chat or phoned in to the manager are easily forgotten.
• Give every request an owner, and let the resident know who is dealing with it.
• Tell the resident when the job is done. If a fault they reported has been fixed, they should hear it first.
• Show similar requests together. The fifth fault report for the same lift is a sign of a lasting problem.

In short

Good communication with residents is not about sending many announcements. It is about sending the right announcement to the right people at the right time. Short, clear and non-blaming language, one official record and a request system where nothing gets lost noticeably lighten a manager's daily load.

How it works in Gagent

In Gagent's management panel an announcement can go to the whole site, all residents, a block, a floor, selected flats or the staff, and the number of recipients is shown before sending. Announcements can be scheduled for a later time, carry up to 5 images, and for every announcement sent the panel shows the number of recipients, deliveries and failures. Residents open a repair request in one of 12 categories with photos, the request is assigned to staff, and when the job is done the resident who opened it confirms. For details see Announcements and requests, or try it live.