Best practices for engaging residents in apartment community activities

As more and more people in India adopt the community living experience, the role of resident welfare associations in increasing resident social engagement holds prime significance. Indians have traditionally been living in independent houses with a strong bind of neighborhood community. Now with freehold independent homes making away for high-rise and community developments, social interactions are often limited due to a number of factors.

Let us look at some of the issues and the best practices that can be adopted by resident welfare communities and co-operative housing societies to increase social engagement between residents.

Challenges in Socializing with neighbors

With the increase in the number of working couples, living in a community environment comes with its set of challenges. Since a lot of couples spend long hours out on work, they do not necessarily have time for socializing with neighbors. The role of resident welfare association is therefore is very important as it can help the members for better social interaction, solve issues and effectively increase the social quotient of the community.

Tips for increasing residents’ engagement in apartment community activities

Regular health and wellness program: Residents welfare societies can organize a regular health and wellness program for residents. This would not only increase social interactions amongst the residents but would also give the opportunity for residents to get a regular checkup at their convenience. Dedicated camps can be organized for the kids, elderly and women residents. Resident doctors can be involved in the health camp making it a perfect social and wellness opportunity for the residents.

After school programs: A lot of resident co-operative housing societies are now coming up with various “after school program” for kids making sure that the children learn something creative each day. From dedicated art and hobby classes to skating tutorials, dancing and drama classes, there are many after school programs that are running successfully.

Formal or informal meetings: Man is said is social animal and socializing remains the most important bind between humans. Resident welfare associations can indulge in organization of regular resident meetings including both formal and informal meetings to increase the level of social interaction amongst members. From for cultural celebrations and discussion of day-to-day issues to specialized meetings with dedicated agenda, everything can be organized with an aim to increase the overall social quotient of the residents.

Communicating with the residents: In his day and age of smartphones and other electronic gadgets, communicating with the residents must be upgraded. Rather than using paper meeting reminders, RWA can make use of emails, newsletters sent directly to the email address of various members and google communities to increase communication between members even while on the move. The use of popular online communication platforms like the one developed by CommonFloor.com can be used to usher in technology to increase social interaction amongst members.

Weekend activities: A common mistake a lot of RWAs make is to organize their meetings on working days while Sundays and holidays are for relaxation and rest. While it is good to unwind on a leisurely Sunday, since most residents are working away from home, holding a meeting on weekdays would automatically reduce the amount of people attending them. Use Sundays and other holidays as an informal meeting background to increase the overall participation of a large number of residents.

Organizing social volunteer work: RWAs can look at organizing of various volunteer drives like setting up and maintenance of community garden, charitable activities for the homeless and the needy and other community exercise that would ensure maximum participation from the kids, youngsters and adults. While such activities help bring in a sense of social responsibility amid members, it also ensures that help is offered to the needy by positive social work.