How did you feel the last time you ordered something online and had to wait longer than 2 days for it to arrive? Time is much more valuable than we might think – especially as the world continues to evolve and move faster each day.

Time is a resource. And unlike other resources that you can buy, sell, rent, or save, time can only be spent. You can save time by spending less of it on a specific function but you cannot save it for the future. You can never get more time. Time is a limited resource and in a single day’s time, we all have the same amount to spend.

There never seems to be enough time and every single day the world seems to move just a little bit faster. As the world moves faster and time becomes increasingly more valuable, we must think about how we can leverage both time efficiency and time effectiveness to make sure time is spent on the most valuable functions presented.

Technology Gives us a Better Way to Spend Our Time

Modern technology has granted us the ability to spend our time more effectively. For example: When I want to check my bank account, I can access everything on my mobile phone’s banking app so I no longer have to:

• Call and wait on hold with a customer service representative
• Wait for my account statements to arrive in the mail
• Balance my checkbook to make sure a payment was successful
• Fill out paper forms or call my banker to transfer funds
• Pay my bills with paper checks

The list goes on. The bottom line is with mobile access to my bank, my time can be spent more effectively and access to my banking information is much more efficient – for both myself and my bank.

Self-service opportunities, like mobile banking, allow us to work on our own time, not the bank’s business hours. These types of self-service opportunities eliminate the service provider from stealing a consumer’s time by putting them on hold or in a queue waiting for the next representative to answer the call. Self-service is not only a cost-effective solution for businesses but appreciated by the modern consumer.

The Value of an Amazing Experience

As time becomes increasingly more valuable while the world continues to move at a faster pace, a consumer’s experience increases in value parallel with time. When advancements in technology allow a modern consumer to accomplish a function in less time, the experience is shorter in duration, which increases its value as it become more scarce and saturated with other experiences the consumer is now efficiently spending their time on.

The direct result of a society focused on increasing functional efficiencies allows the consumer more time to accomplish additional functions, which results in increased experiences in a specific period of time – do more with the same amount of time. The possibility of additional experiences means that the experience you provide must be memorable, or it may become forgotten in the midst of every other experience the consumer may have.

Emphasis on the consumer’s experience is directly related to the value of time. As time becomes more and more valuable, experience will continue to rise in value right along with time.

Your Community’s Homeowners and Residents Value Their Time, Too

So, what does the value of time have to do with community associations? Your residents and homeowners value their time just as much as you do. They’re accustomed to the same 2-day shipping that we all love, instant streaming of music and movies, and the reliability of finding information in seconds utilizing Google search.

Whether you’re a board member, community association manager, or hoa management company owner, the time a resident or homeowner spends interacting with their community is important. Not only does the homeowner’s time matter, but your time matters as well. The faster you accomplish the given function or goal, the sooner you can allocate your limited resource of time on to something else.

Your homeowners and residents are consumers and the time they allocate to interact with you is spent to accomplish one goal or another. You must take that seriously and figure out how to effectively assist them with accomplishing their goals in the shortest amount of time possible, while providing a positive, memorable experience.

Leverage Software and Technology to Maximize your Time’s Effectiveness

Technology presents amazing opportunities for consumers and businesses to increase the effective use of time. We all have the same amount of time to spend, so it’s best to leverage available tools to accomplish tasks and functions in a shorter amount of time, which, results in more time to do other things. Leveraging software and technology to streamline redundant homeowner and resident functions will allow you to maximize you and your community member’s time – it’s a win-win.

Technology is Here to Stay

Start now. Leverage technology to stay ahead of your competition and maximize your time effectiveness for both you and your end consumer (homeowners & residents). Make room for new technology in your budget. Leverage those millennials on your team to assist in implementation and testing. The more efficient your organization can become, whether you’re a community association management company or a self-managed homeowners association, the more effective your time can be spent.

Adopting new and emerging technology isn’t easy, serious time and effort need to be spent making sure you find the best fit for your needs, but the time spent isn’t going to waste.