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Condovoter

CondoVoter
In Condovoter, Virtual Meetings

New Ways to Improve AGM Attendance

New Ways To Improve AGM Attendance, CondoVoter

Poor attendance at your condominium’s AGM can delay your building’s initiatives. Failure to achieve quorum typically results in having to reschedule a new meeting. It’s frustrating, disheartening, and a waste of everybody’s time and money, especially for those volunteering on the board of directors. 

When the year’s most important meeting fails to draw the bare minimum of the invited participants, it’s often a sign of a bigger problem. 

What is it that is keeping people away? Is it apathy, poor communication, or a little bit of both? Whatever the reason, it’s an issue affecting many condo properties. 

The CondoVoter Virtual Meeting and Electronic Voting service is the booster your condo AGM needs.  

The Reasons You Had an Empty AGM 

People just aren’t interested  

Whether it’s reading the latest set of minutes or assigning their proxy, there will always be people who don’t want to be bothered. The old way of doing things is no longer effective. 

People expect convenience in every aspect of their lives. And that means thinking digitally.

People value their time. No matter how simple your request may be, it will likely be ignored if you don’t make it easy to respond. 

And that’s where CodoVoter comes in. With CondoVoter, owners can participate and vote at their convenience. Owners can join via phone, tablet, or laptop. If the owner cannot attend a meeting personally, he or she can vote in advance using an electronic ballot. With CondoVoter, electronic voting is intuitive and easy to use for those who are unfamiliar with this technology.

The growing gap between property management companies, condo boards, and owners

Paper minutes slid under the door. Flyers posted in common areas. Mailed reminder notices. 

All are easily ignored.

But that’s not the only issue facing a board of directors looking to improve AGM participation. 

For some, attending an AGM in person with their fellow neighbours isn’t exactly an inviting situation. 

Even if you haven’t filed a complaint against someone down the hall, you may not be comfortable with the idea of everyone seeing how you vote with “a show of hands.”

CondoVoter delivers important messages to the one place everyone pays attention: their electronic device. People can respond instantly and privately, which makes it a more appealing method for collecting votes. 

How to Boost Attendance/Participation at AGMs

It’s a familiar scene, it’s your annual general meeting

You’re on the board of directors. You’ve made yourself a coffee and you’re taking a visual headcount. The meeting is about to start and things aren’t looking good. Where is everyone who lives in the building?

Give advance notice for AGMs so that attendees can plan accordingly

The typical problem with condo AGM’s is that you never know who will attend. CondoVoter eliminates this problem as invitees are prompted to register well ahead of time. No more surprises. With CondoVoter, achieving a quorum is always predictable. 

Have a clear agenda 

When people come together in a public space, the situation lends itself to impromptu conversations that can easily veer off course. CondoVoter lays out the itinerary for the meeting on the screen to keep everyone focused. 

With screen shares, virtual hand raising, and moderated real-time Q & A sessions, there is less chance of distractions while providing ample opportunity for people to express their concerns and ask their questions.  

Location (and timing!)

With CondoVoter, everyone involved shares the same easy-to-access interface. Why stress about booking a cheap spot for your next AGM? With CondoVoter, people can join in from any location and vote by phone. Users can see the voting results in real-time. 

Stick to the timeline

CondoVoter doesn’t complicate your AGM discussions and voting, it streamlines them. The intuitive interface invites participation and offers full transparency. All pertinent information is clearly laid out. AGM speakers are listed before the meeting to help manage expectations.Getting started with a Virtual or Hybrid meeting can be daunting, so we take the setup process off your hands entirely with a dedicated setup and a practice session for Panelists before the meeting. In addition to the dedicated setup, the CondoVoter moderator interacts directly with the participants/attendees during the meeting (Poll, Chat, Motions, Q &A, troubleshooting) which keeps the meeting flowing.

Plan well in advance

Once CondoVoter has sent all the owners the notice of meeting, email reminders are sent to only those who need the follow-up (those who haven’t registered or used advance voting) to keep everyone informed about the AGM in the weeks and days leading up to the big meeting.

Consider a Virtual or Hybrid AGM

The pandemic has changed how businesses operate, with video conferences and remote work seemingly the new normal. They’ve followed provincial health guidelines for a long time, so now owners may not be comfortable going ahead with in-person meetings. It is important to consider the comfort level of everyone involved. Owners should be able to attend condo AGMs from the comfort of home. Forget the glitchy video conferencing. CondoVoter’s on-screen presentations and convenient phone-voting capabilities ensure a trouble-free electronic AGM experience for all.  

One thing’s for sure, as younger homeowners enter the housing market, the traditional ways of conducting business will need to modernize in order to adapt. 

We know getting familiar with new technology can seem daunting. At CondoVoter, we’re here to offer the guidance and support you need to help you ace your next meeting. With our tech expertise, we can provide our Communities with confidence as they navigate their electronic AGMs and SGMs. We’ve hosted thousands of meetings, and we’re committed to working with you to support your big day.

CondoVoter
In Condo Law, Condovoter, Electronic Voting, Remote Voting, Virtual Meetings

The Post-Pandemic Road: Leaders Share their Perspectives

CondoVoter - Team - Electronic Condo Corporation Voting

Left to right: Angel-Marie Reiner; Darryl Fulton; Catharine R. Beatty; and Shawn Pulver.

It’s mid-summer hot in Ontario. After months and months of stops and starts, you can begin to feel a difference in people’s outlook and demeanours. Most Ontarians have received at least one vaccination and many have now double dosed. Businesses are slowly reopening following the Government of Ontario’s Roadmap to Reopen. There has been a collective sigh of relief that perhaps the worst is now behind us.

So, what does this mean for the condominium industry? Will condo corporations return to the status quo pre-pandemic and hold in-person AGMs and owners’ meetings? Will each corporation choose its own path forward? We reached out to several condominium industry leaders to gather their thoughts. We hope you enjoy their observations.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

In my opinion, as we slowly experience the easing of restrictions, invariably meetings will shift back to in person. Already many meetings are being held outside to meet with contractors and for exterior inspections to name a couple. Many board members naturally prefer in person and the same with property managers. The effectiveness of meeting in person versus virtually will have an organic effect on this change in the industry. For owners’ meetings, most feedback seems to be a vocal anticipation of being able to meet again and make those connections many of us in the industry are missing. Owners’ meetings are often as much about business as they are about the social and community aspect of the corporation. Residents with language, technological or other hindrances may have been adversely affected throughout the past two annual general meetings. I do expect that people want to go back to in-person meetings to have that personal touch and interaction. Not to be forgotten, virtual meetings are quick to set up, easy to hold, allow for good communication and eliminate attendance challenges. Many corporations likely experienced a nice feeling of knowing that their quorum numbers were met well ahead of the meeting. I feel that some buildings/boards will want to have a hybridized meeting of some sort to assist better to achieve quorum. I foresee larger buildings being able to support the hybrid meeting platform with the extra costs that would be associated. Small corporations will likely fall back to meeting in person for cost reasons mainly. Some may opt for virtual just to ensure quorum. For board meetings, I anticipate the virtual meeting will become another tool in the tool box to be able to have quick meetings set up or even become an alternating meeting style. It has been a difficult road but, amongst other efficiencies that have been ferreted out in this pandemic, the virtual meeting is here to stay … but in a more useful, helpful way rather than the now vanishing forced obligation it has been.


Darryl Fulton
Regional Condominium Manager

Goldview Property Management

______________________________

I opened our Condominium Management Division in 2019; I was surprised at how dated technology was, how heavily “papered” the industry was/is. I heard from my peers in the industry who seemed to fear change, saying, ‘we have just always done it that way.’  

Can you imagine if we lived in a society where the above statement was acceptable and we didn’t grow professionally and, for that matter, personally?

I knew there had to be better ways. Before COVID-19, I could not understand why board meetings were being held in person, particularly those after hours. The mere suggestion of holding a meeting virtually was not well received.  

Board members are volunteers; many of the members work during the day, why after a full day of work, would they want to drive to our office or another location, take the meeting, and then drive home? Would it not be nicer to be home when the meeting is done, save the drive time? Plus, it would be a better solution for our property managers to save drive time and promote balance.  

We tried in 2019 to introduce virtual meetings with little success. Then the pandemic changed our lives. Virtual meetings became the norm and not the exception to the rule.    

It took time to get used to these meetings, to get a rhythm going, there were many “Bob, we can’t see you”, “Susan, you are on mute”, “Everyone, please mute as the background notice is distracting.”  

After an adoption period, our boards now prefer the virtual experience from virtual meetings, e-voting and automated payment processing.  Further the response from virtual AGMs was overwhelmingly positive. Even with the thoughts that we may be able to have AGMs in person, in the future, we have booked most of our corporations for virtual AGMs because they are more efficient and who doesn’t love efficiency!

 
Angel-Marie Reiner
President 

Onyx Condo Management

______________________________

There is no doubt that the ability to hold virtual meetings has been a saviour for the condominium industry throughout the pandemic. It has allowed unit owners to continue to stay informed about key operational and financial aspects of their corporation. As the restrictions are lifted, boards of directors will need to make decisions on whether to continue with these virtual meetings.

One of the major positive aspects of virtual meetings is their inclusiveness. As the auditor, we attend the annual general meetings for our condominium corporation clients to present the financial statements. Prior to the pandemic, some in-person meetings for buildings with over 400 units would only have 10 people in attendance. Now, when held as a virtual meeting, that same building may have over 100 people in attendance.  Virtual meetings allow many people to participate who would otherwise be unable to attend. For example, parents with young children, individuals with disabilities when a meeting is offsite and owners that do not live in their units. This increased attendance has tremendous value to a board, as it allows them the opportunity to communicate directly with more unit owners, address their concerns and share ideas to improve the management of the corporation.

From our perspective, we believe that our presentation of the audited financial statements has been greatly improved through virtual meetings. At in-person meetings, we have found that few unit owners have the financial statements with them; however, at virtual meetings, the financial statements are displayed on screen, so unit owners can follow along as we review them. This has allowed us to more effectively educate and inform the unit owners, and we have received positive feedback on the experience over the past year. 

These are just two of the positive aspects of virtual meetings, but there are many more.  For this reason, we believe that virtual meetings will continue for many corporations, in particular, the larger buildings or those that need to hold meetings offsite. The benefits of holding virtual meetings will be hard for many of the boards to ignore post-pandemic.

Catharine R. Beatty, CPA, CA
Client Service Manager

Rapkin Wein LLP

_____________________________

It is clear that virtual condo meetings are here to stay for the long term. The pandemic has forced service providers in many industries (including legal) to look at other ways to provide strong services, by relying more on technology and innovation. The days of paper proxies and paper ballots are clearly numbered. As someone who has litigated election-related disputes, I can see first-hand the benefits of having electronic votes that avoid the possibility of human error, and provide owners with the opportunity to change their vote at any time. I have seen far too many situations where owners attend a meeting where the outcome of an election has already been predetermined before any candidate has even spoken. Owners may have wanted to change their vote after hearing from certain candidates, but it was too late. I am thrilled when I see condo voting and condo elections back in line with the current technological environment. 

Shawn Pulver
Founder and principal

Pulver on Condos

_____________________________

CondoVoter
In Condovoter

Meet the CV Team: Sarah Pilon, Client Intake

CondoVoter - Team - Electronic Condo Corporation Voting

Educate, Inform and Guide

Q: Sarah, you’ve been described as a Jill-of-all-trades at CV. What’s your favourite part about your day-to-day role?

A: I think my favourite part of the day comes down to a toss-up between being given opportunity for inventive endeavours and client interaction. I enjoy building something from concept to completion, which helps with intake. I especially enjoy when a client calls with an issue and I can help design a simple solution – that’s the best of both worlds.

Q:  What are the steps you take to build great connections with new CV clients?

A: I’m quick to pick up the phone. We’ve missed a lot of human interaction during COVID, so if I receive an email deserving a phone call rather than an email response, I will call them. Emails are a wonderful tool, but often lack personable effort. I try to find a way to put the client at ease with reassurance and confidence, but I’m always happy to take the time to hear about what you did for dinner last night. People often tell me I’m easy to talk to; I guess it just comes naturally (although my dad would say I get it from him).

Q: If a client has specific questions or concerns, how are you able to address these and bring about a successful outcome that puts the client at ease?

A: You have to just address the problem presented. If you come home from a long day lamenting a specific work task you don’t want to hear about the leaky faucet. Addressing the problem head on gives people confidence that we have the solution. I’m also good at creating solutions on the fly. I’ll attempt to build a service on the phone with a client if I know we can do it.

Q: Finish this thought – One thing I believe I do really well is …

A: Making connections anywhere. We will be out for dinner and, suddenly, I’m best friends with the server. I genuinely don’t know how this happens, I have no strategy or intent, it just is. I’ve been asked before how I do this; the only thing I can think of is that I try to connect with people by relating to their interests.

Q: What have you learned about yourself during the pandemic?

A: I think I knew this before, but many pandemic circumstances have proved to myself that I can handle anything, mostly stress-free. It’s been a challenging year and was quite tough at times, but I’ve learned I’ve got grit and an extremely loving support system.

Q:  What’s your favourite part about working with people?

A: I think it’s just interesting getting to meet so many different people with so many different needs. I also want to promote efficiency and simplicity. So, even if it’s just helping to book an AGM, if I can do it as efficiently as possible and take a minimal amount of stress away from someone, I feel good about that.

CondoVoter
In Condovoter, Electronic Voting, Remote Voting, Virtual Meetings

From e-Voting to Virtual Meetings … an Easy Transition

CondoVoter - Team - Electronic Condo Corporation Voting - Toronto

The road from Albania to Canada has brought Violla Kapllani to manage The Spire condominium highrise in downtown Toronto. Violla has worked for Y.L. Hendler Ltd. since 2013, starting as an administrator and, not long after, a property manager. In 2015 she obtained her RCM. This same year she was recognized with ACMO’s inaugural Genesis Award for ‘a condominium manager who is new to the profession and has displayed exceptional service.’

Now eight years working as a condominium professional and Violla enjoys industry participation and attends events as often as she can. “We learned about CondoVoter at an ACMO luncheon a couple of years ago,” explains Violla. “At 359 units, it was sometimes difficult for us to achieve quorum, which requires 90 owners to meet the 25% threshold. The board of directors approved the electronic voting by-law on September 2018 and it was passed at the 2018 AGM. In 2019, the board of The Spire began using CondoVoter for electronic voting.”

As a property manager, Violla has experienced many benefits of e-Voting not only for herself but for owners too.

“Owners are able to cast their votes ahead of time, which saves so much time at the meeting, not to mention money saved too.”

E-Voting gives all owners the opportunity to vote, whereas in-person meetings were not always easy for everyone to attend. “I saw a difference right away with more owners who came forward to e-Vote. Thanks to e-Voting, we are now well above quorum for our AGMs and other owners’ meetings.” She is also appreciative of the email reminders that CondoVoter sends to owners on behalf of the board. “This one step saves me so much time in preparation and money for printing.”

Violla agrees owners see benefits as well.

“Owners have a better opportunity to participate, which makes them happier. Many owners have told me they like e-Voting because it is convenient and saves time.”

In 2020, when COVID-19 prevented in-person meetings, the board of The Spire switched easily to virtual meetings. The first virtual meeting (held in August 2020) was an adjourned AGM to pass three bylaws that did not pass at the 2019 AGM, followed by a special owners’ meeting. The board of directors hired CondoVoter again for the November 2020 virtual AGM. Since e-Voting was already in place and widely used by owners, Violla reckons a proxy ballot has been used just once. “In my experience, most proxy ballots were invalid anyway due to mistakes in filling them out.”

In addition to virtual meetings, CondoVoter provides various value-added meeting services to The Spire. “Our AGM packages are sent through CondoVoter,” explains Violla. “I previously would get these printed. With virtual meetings I don’t need to order chairs or choose a venue either,” she adds with a laugh.

At their November AGM, Violla noticed more offsite owners participated than at in-person meetings. She feels virtual meetings gives everyone a chance to participate in their community. “Plus, meetings are generally shorter. We don’t have to wait for quorum. We no longer have scrutineers who retire to another room to count ballots and miss parts of the meeting. CondoVoter counts ballots for us electronically.”

All in all, the virtual meeting experience for the board and owners has been extremely positive. “One of the best things we did is hire CondoVoter. We have been impressed every time we complete a meeting.”

CondoVoter
In Condo Law, Condovoter, Electronic Voting, Virtual Meetings

Are Hybrids the Future?

team - CondoVoter - Electronic Condo Corporation Voting - Toronto

As more and more people are fully vaccinated and businesses begin to reopen, there has been lots of discussion among board members and condo managers about “hybrid” meetings and what this entails. So, what exactly is a hybrid meeting? The simple answer is “a virtual meeting and an in-person meeting.”

First of all, let’s be practical here. Although smaller gatherings will be permitted, will condominium corporations want to get into expensive meetings and complicated procedures. Combining two types of meetings is not an easy task and the question should be asked – what do you want to achieve?

Objectives
1. You want to achieve quorum
2. You want to get the greatest participation from your owners
3. You want your owners to vote
4. You want to give the greatest accessibility to your owners
5. You want to run an efficient and cost-effective meeting
6. You don’t want to solicit proxies if you don’t have to
7. You don’t want that rush at the registration desk
8. You don’t want complicated and lengthy voting tabulation

Once you determine what your objectives are, ask yourself the following questions:

Audio Visual requirements
• Will the chair, auditor and any presenters be virtual or physically at the meeting?
• If they are not in person, will there be a screen and sound system for in-person attendees to see and hear the presenters?
• How will virtual attendees see in person participation? Is a laptop computer with a camera sufficient for individuals to use if they are participating in person? What about physical distancing?

Registration
• How will registration be handled? Online just for virtual attendance and in person as a separate registration list? If there are separate lists who will report on quorum and how?
• Will in person registration be online so there is one registration system?

Voting
• Which Voting Method:
1. Electronic voting only
2. Electronic voting and paper ballots
3. Electronic voting and proxies
4. Electronic voting, proxies and paper ballots

• How will you know to give out a paper ballot at the meeting if you are doing electronic voting where owners may already have voted electronically? Remember advance electronic voting will get you your quorum without the need for proxies.

• How will you know to accept a paper proxy at registration if you have electronic voting?

• How will you confirm if a proxy giver already voted in advance or if the proxy giver decides to vote in real time electronically during the meeting?

• Should you only allow electronic voting so there is only one voting system?

• Should you have in person real time voting from smart phones and have a laptop or iPad available – such as a polling station?

• Scrutineers – how will reporting on the vote be determined if you allow paper ballots, proxies and electronic voting?

I am sure that once you answer the above questions you will see that a “hybrid” meeting is a complex undertaking. It may be that condominium corporations just stick to virtual meetings for awhile and use electronic voting but put a visual screen and speakers in the party room for owners to come down and watch. Those owners can register for the virtual meeting online even if they attend in person and vote from their smartphone or computer prior to and at the meeting.
For the many condominium corporations that used electronic voting prior to the pandemic, having the in-person meeting and using electronic voting made the whole meeting process a lot easier than the past practices of proxies and paper ballots. Now having condominium corporations continue with virtual meetings and setting up a screen for those that want to view the meeting and may not have a computer, may be the most cost effective and less complicated way to go for now.
CondoVoter is developing online information sessions to outline the benefits of hybrid meetings and to answer questions just like these. Watch our social media and your email for upcoming dates.

CondoVoter
In Condovoter, Electronic Voting, Remote Voting, Virtual Meetings

You can focus on managing the meetings

CondoVoter - Team - Electronic Condo Corporation Voting - Toronto

In their own words
Interview with Diana Belshaw, president MTCC #1299

Diana Belshaw is an experienced condominium director and a 4-year president of the Board of Directors of MTCC #1299, a 181-unit condominium in the Distillery District of downtown Toronto. She and the Board made an early switch to virtual meetings in 2020 when the Ontario government announcement was made at the start of the pandemic.

“In some ways we were early guinea pigs,” she laughs, as the Board, aided by their corporation lawyer Denise Lash and management, soldiered ahead. “We consistently held virtual meetings. We did a lot of online engagement starting with Board meetings, bylaw meetings and, finally, our AGM,” she explains.

“We found it easy working with CondoVoter. They have a good combination of efficient vote tabulation and meeting management.”

Diana adds “We all can do Zoom. But this was different!” Diana is referring to the many pieces of documentation that are required for condo owners’ meetings and AGMs.

Having gained successful virtual meeting experience, Diana is keen to share her knowledge with others. As a condo Board president, she is particularly pleased with the ability to monitor and know in advance of a meeting how many people have voted. She concedes that there are still a few occasional paper proxies that are used for a handful of owners who remain uncomfortable with online voting while others are whizzes. “There are still some individuals who do not use online banking, and that’s one of the most secure online transactions. So, I suppose these people will not cast a vote online either.”

A huge part of Diana’s experience with electronic voting took place when the Board decided to review all its bylaws at once. “For our bylaw meeting we had 90% voter participation. And for the subsequent AGM, we achieved 80% participation. CondoVoter hosted each of these meetings and were able to produce [and prepare for virtual presentation] the required documents for us. They are very supportive partners.”

The corporation was sometimes on the edge of reaching quorum at in-person meetings, but thanks to a core of fairly active owners they always made it. Now, understandably, Diana’s favourite benefit of virtual meetings is advance voting. “There is more security knowing how votes are managed and it’s most helpful to know you have reached quorum prior to the meeting,” she says. “You aren’t juggling. You can now focus on managing the meeting.” Two other benefits to virtual meetings she has found to be important include: less likelihood for emotions from the floor, and more space and time for other business. “All these benefits occur because our virtual meetings are run efficiently, professionally and carefully.”

Looking back to when in-person meetings were the norm for condominiums, Diana has made this observation. “People are sometimes afraid that virtual meetings are less personal. But that’s just not true,” she states. “In my experience, there is just as much capacity for interaction and commentary.”

She and the Board all agree that they would like to continue with some combination of virtual and in-person meetings in the future.

“We have owners who travel, who have young families, who have busy lifestyles. A hybrid meeting [in-person and virtual] can accommodate all owners.”

We’ve come a long way from 2020, through a pandemic and now halfway through 2021. “Everyone’s online meeting fears have been put to rest,” says Diana. “Virtual meetings work well and they are convenient. I really see no downside.”

CondoVoter
In Condovoter, Virtual Meetings

Welcome to the CV Team: Paras Anand, Meeting Coordinator

team - CondoVoter - Electronic Condo Corporation Voting - Toronto

Q: You’re the new Meeting Coordinator at CV. What do you hope to accomplish in your new role?
A: I must say we have a great team where everyone appreciates and complements each other. I aim to work proactively and cooperatively work with each one of them to make CV more successful. My goal is to efficiently and effectively coordinate Virtual Meetings by providing all the technical support/assistance to our clients and team members.

Q:  What business skills or talents do you need to be a great meeting coordinator?
A: I would say a Meeting Coordinator must know how to work well under pressure and should be able to respond quickly and calmly to last minute changes. It is a tough job to manage six to seven meetings virtually at the same time.

Additionally, I believe to manage the meetings efficiently, excellent planning and time management skills are very important. One has to be in constant touch with all the moderators throughout.

Last, but not the least, in my opinion a meeting coordinator must have strong people skills and should be able to get along with a wide variety of personalities.

Q: What client concerns have you been able to address since you started (or in your previous role?)
A: It has not been an easy job and definitely not virtually as this is entirely a new world which people are not used to. Initially when the government allowed condominiums to hold their meetings virtually, there was a flood of meetings where I was, in addition to coordinating the meetings, also moderating them.

I remember a meeting where about ten unit owners (mostly elderly) were not able to get into their virtual Annual General Meeting. I was getting back to back calls while moderating a meeting. I very calmly helped each one and made sure that all of them were able to get into the meeting. Even the property manager was facing technical issues. Later, after the meeting my efforts were highly appreciated by all the board members, unit owners and by the property manager as well.

Q: Finish this thought – One thing I believe I do really well is …
A: Manage time.

Q: What have you learned about yourself during the pandemic?
A: The pandemic has made me realize that I’m good at multi-tasking. I have definitely learned that my drive to succeed is not affected by obstacles, I have used this as an opportunity to help me grow, network and learn a lot about the virtual world. I have updated myself by learning a lot of technical things which really help me coordinate the virtual meetings, which I strongly believe are here to stay. This has helped me get a long way in making these meetings a success. With each day I learn something new and keep updating myself with the new technology.

I strongly believe that a lot of things can be done without paper, for example paper proxies, our work notes etc. We can definitely use our laptops/desktops/phones etc. thereby saving paper and contributing a little to save the environment.

Also, I have learned to try and find one positive thing a day – everyone has the ability to shine and preserve through this time. It’s a matter of believing in yourself and keeping the end in mind.

Q:  What’s your favourite part about being a meeting coordinator for virtual meetings?
A: I love that I have a direct means to create a new experience for people and facilitate a happy environment. Seeing everyone connecting virtually does boost my morale. Executing the meeting in itself is a great feeling, knowing that you helped a group of unit owners hold their meetings while sitting at home is exciting.

CondoVoter
In Condovoter

New 2021 Pricing

We have Exciting News to Share!

The team at CondoVoter is excited to announce we have updated our pricing list for all our meeting services. You can choose from the following service options: online voting only; virtual meeting only and our exceptional bundle pricing with meeting. Our new pricing schedule allows CondoVoter to continue to offer affordable, best-in-class virtual meeting and voting services to the condominium, HOA and strata industries.

Click on the link below to see our pricing list and compare. We encourage you to read our Guarantee. We feel it’s the most comprehensive in the industry. It confirms our commitment to deliver the highest quality service to our clients and deliver remarkable benefits and customer experience for managers, boards and unit owners.

https://condovoter.com/pricing/

CondoVoter Guarantee

Part of our commitment to you is the CondoVoter Guarantee. CondoVoter guarantees to you that;

1. Quorum Guarantee: We guarantee that you will meet quorum for your upcoming meeting by using our services. If a quorum is not met, we will host your meetings at no extra charge until you achieve quorum. 99% of our meetings achieve quorum in advance of the scheduled date.*

2. Service Guarantee: We guarantee that you will receive best-in-class services. We work closely with leading legal, privacy, and solution experts to ensure that our service to you meets legislative requirements as well as privacy and industry best practices.

3. Price Guarantee: We guarantee the lowest market rates for comparable services and solutions. Our service fees align with industry averages and include additional services like the ability to vote by phone or vote in advance of your meeting. If you can provide us a quote from another provider for the same service, we will match that price and offer an additional 5% discount.

*Quorum guarantee is only available for clients using advanced voting services.

Of course, we appreciate that you may have other questions or concerns about your community’s needs that are not outlined in our guarantees. We encourage you to reach out to us for more information or answer any questions you have.

The marketplace for virtual AGMs and electronic voting is constantly evolving. You can trust and count on our team to ensure your building leadership and community’s excellent experience.

CondoVoter
In Condo Law, Condovoter, Virtual Meetings

Online Learning Workshop

It’s Great to Chair a Virtual Meeting!
Moving Beyond the Basics – Advanced Virtual Chair Certification, Part II

Virtual meetings are here to stay. And for those property managers or condo board directors who want to sharpen their meeting chair skills further, this CAI Canada workshop is for you.

Building on the skills you learned in the recent 2-part CAI Canada Virtual Workshop, this advanced workshop is for those who participated in the first sessions and those who have experience chairing virtual meetings.

With in-person meetings currently on pause, this is your chance to increase your knowledge and gain confidence in your role as a virtual chair.

What you’ll learn: Requisition meetings • Adjourned meetings • By-law meetings • Two AGMs in One – Catch up • Information meetings and Amendment to Declaration Discussion meetings

When: Thursday, June 10, 2021 from 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon

Cost (includes workshop, CAI Certificate of completion, sample scripts and checklists):
$25.00 CAI Canada Members (to get member pricing contact hello@caicanada.com)
Special offer: JOIN CAI CANADA today and get this WORKSHOP for FREE –https://caicanada.com/membership/
$75.00 for non-members

Your course leaders: Rod Escayola and Graeme MacPherson, Gowling WLG
Natalia Polis and Denise Lash, Lash Condo Law
Adam Arcuri, moderator, CondoVoter

Co-Sponsors: CondoVoter and CondoBusiness, REMINetwork.com
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Bonus! Learn more about Virtual Meetings.
Watch some of the discussion on the topic of virtual meetings and electronic voting from CondoAdviser’s webinar series:

Virtual AGMs & Electronic Voting – https://youtu.be/HgNEG0pdVPQn 
Notices for Virtual Meetings – https://youtu.be/8vDnnagIrZY
Proxies vs. Advance Electronic Voting – https://youtu.be/IbEcyl5QNdA
Registration for a Virtual Meeting & Electronic Voting – https://youtu.be/RLSpb3ufDGw
Hybrid Meetings – https://youtu.be/-qa7VSXjd4E
Controlling a Virtual Meeting – https://youtu.be/VVtOnhrPe0w
The Recording – https://youtu.be/KI6CmjW76SY

CondoVoter
In Condovoter

Product Update: Workflow & Tasks Lists to Make Your AGM Run Smoother

CondoVoter is excited to announce our most recent product update, which focuses on assisting property managers in scheduling and organizing your virtual meetings. We appreciate how much work goes into ensuring your virtual meeting runs smoothly. In this new virtual world, it can be easy to forget all the steps leading up to your next AGM.

As part of our April update, our CondoVoter Manager Portal now has workflow and tasks lists that assist you in the requirements leading up to your next AGM.

  • Confirm registration in advance – See who is planning on attending and whether they have placed an advance vote
  • Schedule auditors, lawyers and other presenters – Easily send an invitation and access link to your virtual meeting and confirm if they’ve accepted the invitation in advance
  • Insight into real-time updates on which units have voted and whether you have achieved quorum before your meeting begins
  • Tracking Owner Occupant Status and Units in Arrears

But that’s not all… Our product update also includes several improvements geared towards unit owners and candidates running in the election. Most notably, we are excited to announce the launch of our Candidate Portal.

Be informed: Speeches and videos let you know who, why a candidate is running

A common question we get asked is, “How am I expected to vote in advance if I don’t know who I am voting for?”

The Candidate Portal enables potential candidates to create a personalized bio about themselves, why they are running, and how they can assist the community. Included in these bios is the option to upload candidate speeches and videos! When unit owners view their ballots and place their vote, these dynamic profiles ensure that they are making an informed decision.

Want to find out more? Contact us to discuss how we can assist your community during your next AGM, Townhall or SGM.