Guide

How to communicate with residents on the record

Communication that lives on the record protects both sides. Personal text threads disappear the day the phone dies.

The short answer

Keep one-to-one conversations on the record with replies routed back to the staff member who wrote them, and use broadcasts for one-to-many with an audience derived from the property hierarchy and frozen at send time.

Overview

Communication that lives on the record protects both sides. Personal text threads disappear the day the phone dies.

Why it works this way

Resident communication fails in two ways: it happens on someone's personal phone and disappears, or it goes out to the wrong audience because the list was hand-built.

Deriving an audience from the hierarchy — this building, these units, these active leases — and snapshotting it at send means the record shows exactly who was told what, which is what matters when a notice period is questioned.

Do it in this order

1. Route everything through the portal or the platform's messaging. 2. Respond to non-emergencies within one business day. 3. Emergencies get a phone call. 4. Retain all communication with the resident record.

Common mistakes

  • Personal phone numbers and staff email addresses becoming the channel of record.
  • Hand-maintained recipient lists that drift from actual occupancy.
  • Sending as a broadcast what should have been a conversation, so nobody owns the reply.

Checklist

  • Route everything through the portal or the platform's messaging.
  • Respond to non-emergencies within one business day.
  • Emergencies get a phone call.
  • Retain all communication with the resident record.
FAQ

Frequently asked

When is SMS appropriate?

As an escalation for urgent, time-bound things — an emergency entry, a shut-off. Routine notices belong in-app and in email, where cost and annoyance are lower.

Related resources

Keep exploring

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