Ideas to help boost attendance at your AGM
I think that most people will agree that having a good turnout for your AGM is important to running a happy and healthy strata property community? While having more people attend MAY generate more questions, and it MAY make the meeting run a little bit longer, ultimately this is a good thing for the strata corporation, as it can lead to healthy and often much needed debate.
I’ve seen a growing trend at AGM’s over the past couple of years with declining turnout at Condo AGM’s. When this happens, it can create a divide between the Owners and Strata Council members, which is not a good thing!
Many Strata Corporations are struggling to make the minimum quorum, which is generally 1/3 of owners in person or by proxy.
The Strata AGM is an important platform for communication, and often times the only meeting between owners and the executive during the year where ideas can be shared?
Having stressed the importance of high turnout at Strata AGM’s, what can be done to reverse this trend?
Here are a couple of ideas to boost attendance at your Strata AGM’s:
If in person meetings are not getting the numbers, switch to video meetings! Video, particularly for buildings where many of the owners live out of town, can be the only way for some to join! They allow for people in different timezones to join, people who are sick, people that are stuck at work, etc. In general, they allow for more flexibility. And if video meetings aren’t drawing the numbers, then you can always try in-person meetings to see if that works, or perhaps a hybrid approach!
Add something “important” to the agenda. You can’t really blame anyone for not attending when there is nothing noteworthy on the agenda! If you want to try lighting a fire under people, add something controversial to the agenda, like a smoking, or pet bylaw change, OR a Special Levy! Special Levies are sure to draw a crowd, as most people tend to only concern themselves with what it is going to affect their personal financial situation.
Looking for more ideas to increase attendance at your AGM’s? Reach out to us here today for more!