5.2 Communication Systems & Channels¶
5.2.1 How the House Communication System Works¶
The operator sets up and maintains the communication channels the house uses.
For most shared houses, that means a group chat, a house email group, the house board, and the resident portal. Each one has a different job.
A. What the System Needs to Do¶
Residents need an easy way to talk to each other without going through the operator. Most day-to-day household communication is simple coordination: whose laundry is in the washer, who needs a car moved, who wants to make dinner, or whether anyone has seen something that went missing.
The operator also needs a way to reach the whole household at once. House meeting notices, changes that affect the household, utility interruptions, and new resident introductions should not depend on contacting each person separately.
The shared channels give the operator some visibility into how the house is doing. Participating in every conversation is not necessary, but keeping an eye on the group chat can show when something is starting to become a problem, or when the household is coordinating well on its own.
In-person conversations with residents matter too. Monthly property visits give residents a chance to bring up things they may never email or text about.
B. The Channels¶
The group chat is for fast household communication. Residents use it to coordinate with each other, and the operator can use it for short household updates and check-ins. A platform that makes residents easy to add and remove works best. WhatsApp is one common option.
The house email group is for longer or more durable communication. Meeting details, household updates, surveys, new resident introductions, and anything residents may need to find again later fit better here. Everyone in the group can email the whole house.
The house board holds standing information. House guides, house information, the Community Contract reference copy, and other information that changes infrequently stay available there. What belongs on the board is covered in The House Board.
The resident portal handles the property-management side of communication. Residents use it for things such as rent, maintenance requests, documents, and formal notices.
Residents are expected to keep access to these channels and check them. The Community Contract sets that expectation: within 24 to 48 hours for channels that push notifications, and at least weekly for channels that do not.
C. Using More Than One Channel¶
Sometimes the same issue should use more than one channel.
When an email needs prompt attention or a response, send a short group-chat message telling residents to check it.
Time-sensitive information may also need both. For example, if the water will be shut off the next day, send the details by email and send a group-chat message so residents see it quickly.
The email holds the full information. The group chat gets their attention.
Which channel to use for different kinds of communication is covered in When to Use Which Channel.
5.2.2 Group Chat Setup & Use¶
The house group chat is where the household coordinates day to day. The operator creates it, stays in it, and keeps the membership current as residents come and go.
The group includes the operator and all current residents.
A. Creating the Group¶
Create one group for the house on the platform selected when setting up the property's communication tools. Give it a clear name residents will recognize.
B. What the Chat Gets Used For¶
Most of the conversation is residents coordinating with each other: laundry sitting in the washer, a car that needs moving, an unidentified item in the kitchen, someone looking for help carrying something, dinner plans, or other social plans.
The operator can use the chat for short household updates and check-ins, including letting residents know about an upcoming property visit, following up after a visit, or telling everyone to check an email that needs their attention.
Routine maintenance requests go through the resident portal. If a resident reports a maintenance issue in the group chat, direct them to submit the request there so it gets into the system used to track it.
Restocking requests follow the process established for that house.
C. Adding and Removing Residents¶
Add a new resident about 48 hours before move-in, and no later than 24 hours before. This gives them time to coordinate parking, moving, or other arrival details with the residents already living there.
Introduce the new resident when they are added, with their name, room, and move-in date.
Remove a departing resident when their lease ends, not simply when they physically move out.
Adding and removing residents is the operator's responsibility.
The house email group is covered in House Email Group Setup & Welcome Message.
5.2.3 House Email Group Setup & Welcome Message¶
The house email group is for communication that is longer, more involved, or worth keeping. The operator creates it and keeps the membership current. Everyone in the group can email the whole house.
The group includes the operator and all current residents.
A. Creating the Email Group¶
Create one email group for the house using the service selected when setting up the property's communication tools. Google Groups is one common option.
Give the group a clear name based on the house. A house on Maple Street
might use an address such as maplehouse@yourdomain.com.
Make sure every resident knows the group address.
B. What the Email Group Gets Used For¶
The operator sends most of what goes through the email group: house meeting details, household updates, surveys, and new resident introductions.
Longer or more involved household communication, especially information residents may need to find again later, generally belongs here rather than only in the group chat.
Residents can email the whole house too, although most day-to-day coordination happens in the group chat.
Communication meant for one resident should be sent directly to that resident rather than through the house email group.
C. Email Group Membership¶
Add a new resident to the email group at the same time they are added to the group chat, about 48 hours before move-in and no later than 24 hours before.
Remove them when their lease ends.
Adding and removing residents is the operator's responsibility.
D. The Welcome Message¶
When a new resident is added, send a welcome message to the whole email group. It introduces the new resident to the house, reminds everyone what the email group is for, and asks the new resident to introduce themselves.
The Welcome to House Email List template covers this message.
Companion SOP
- SOP - Launching House Systems and Culture. Covers standing up the house communication channels and the first house meeting when a house opens.
Point-of-use signs and posted reminders are covered in Point-of-Use Signs & Posted Reminders.
5.2.4 Point-of-Use Signs & Posted Reminders¶
Some things are easier to communicate where they happen. A sign on the dryer reaches a resident at the moment they are using the dryer, which no email or group chat message can do.
Point-of-use signs are short, stable, and posted at the spot where the action takes place.
A. What Gets a Sign¶
Post a sign when something is not intuitive, or when residents benefit from a simple reminder at the place where they do it.
Common ones:
- On the dryer. Clean the lint trap after every use.
- On the washer. Only liquid soap, or whatever that machine requires.
- On the lid of the garbage can. The trash day for that house.
- On the wall by the kitchen sink. Do your dishes and put away clean dishes from the rack.
- In the bathroom. The Cleaning Bucket Reference, which residents need while they are cleaning rather than while standing at the house board.
Anything else that is specific to a machine, a spot, or a task in that house can get one on the same basis.
B. Making the Signs¶
Keep them short. Most are simple reminders or one- or two-line instructions rather than full operating directions.
Laminate them. Point-of-use signs live around water, heat, grease, and cleaning products, and they get handled.
Most point-of-use signs do not change often. If a sign repeats information that also appears somewhere else and that information changes, update both copies.
C. Temporary Signs¶
Temporary information almost never goes on paper. As a general rule, if the information will matter for less than a month, send it by text or email instead, where residents will actually see it.
The exception is when the temporary information belongs at a specific spot. An out-of-order sign on the dishwasher is the clearest example.
Take temporary signs down as soon as they no longer apply. If the operator is not at the property, a resident can post the sign or take it down once the issue is fixed.
Where each kind of message belongs is covered in When to Use Which Channel.
5.2.5 When to Use Which Channel¶
Most household communication sorts itself once you know what each channel is for. Fast coordination goes to the group chat. Longer or more durable information goes to the email group. Requests go through the process set up for them. Anything meant for one resident goes directly to that resident.
A. Common Communication Situations¶
| Situation | What the operator does |
|---|---|
| A car is blocking the driveway | Group chat |
| Trash pickup is delayed this week | Group chat |
| An immediate safety problem | Text or call, whichever reaches the right person fastest |
| A house meeting needs to be scheduled | Email with the details, plus a group-chat message telling everyone to check it |
| The water will be shut off tomorrow | Email and group chat |
| The WiFi password changed | Email, group-chat prompt, and update the House Info Sheet |
| A decision was made at a house meeting | Email confirming what was decided; update any standing reference only if it actually changed |
| Rent is increasing | Formal notice through the required process |
| A shared appliance is broken | Make sure a maintenance request is in the resident portal. Make sure the house is notified in the group chat, post an out-of-order sign at the appliance, provide repair updates as needed, and let the house know when it is working again |
| The house is out of a supply | Restocking through the process set up for that house |
| Residents keep forgetting the lint trap | Point-of-use sign |
| A resident reports a problem with another resident | Redirect them to the conflict resolution process if they have not already worked through it. Operator Review comes after residents have made at least two good-faith attempts and the issue has not resolved |
| A resident contacts the operator privately about something that is not a conflict with another resident | Respond directly to that resident by text, email, or phone as appropriate |
| The operator needs to discuss something with one resident | Contact that resident directly by text, email, or phone. Do not use the house group to get one resident's attention |
The conflict resolution process is covered in Conflict Resolution & Enforcement.
B. When to Send It Twice¶
Residents are generally more reliable about the group chat than email. When an email needs prompt attention or a response, use the group chat to point residents to it.
The email carries the details. The group-chat message is short and tells people to go read it.
A water shutoff the next day is a clear example. A house meeting that needs everyone to respond with a date or what they are bringing is another.
C. Following Up With One Resident¶
When a resident has not answered, follow up with them individually, ideally by phone or text. Do not use the house group to get one resident's attention.
5.2.6 Operator Communication Practices & Boundaries¶
The operator should keep an eye on the house group chat without becoming the person who answers every question.
Answer less than you want to.
For operators who naturally want to be helpful, it is easy to start answering questions residents could have worked out themselves. Over time, that can train the household to route ordinary coordination through the operator instead of through each other.
A. How Much to Say in the Chat¶
Read or at least skim the group chat. It is the main way to know what is happening in the house.
Respond when the question actually needs the operator: something about the property, a decision the operator needs to make, or a message directed specifically to the operator.
When a resident asks something another resident could answer, give the house about 24 hours to respond. If nobody does, prompt the group or answer the question yourself.
Live-In Operator Note
A live-in operator will naturally participate more in the house chat because they are also a resident. They should still avoid becoming the default person for every household question. Give other residents a chance to answer and coordinate with each other before stepping in as the operator.
B. When to Step In on a Household Decision¶
Residents will decide things among themselves in the chat. Most of the time, that is the system working and the operator has nothing to do.
Step in when a decision affects the property, the operator's responsibilities, the lease, or future residents. Rearranging the living room furniture is theirs. Painting the walls is not.
C. When Someone Is Being Disrespectful¶
The Community Contract sets the expectation that residents communicate respectfully with each other. That expectation applies in the group chat and the email group.
If it happens in an official channel, do not ignore it.
When disrespectful communication happens in a space the operator maintains, the operator should step in and redirect the conversation. Ignoring it can make the behavior feel tolerated, even when that was not the intent.
Complaints about another resident should not be worked out in the official house channels. Redirect the resident to the conflict resolution process. Where each kind of message goes is covered in When to Use Which Channel.
D. Response Times¶
Respond within about 48 hours for most things. Emergencies are different and are covered in Triage: Handling Requests, Emergencies & Crises.
Set reasonable expectations for availability outside normal hours and communicate them to residents.
Template Reference
This chapter uses:
Operational Template Pack
- CHK - Cleaning Bucket Reference
- EML - Welcome to House Email List
- PRN - House Info Sheet
Get the Operational Template Pack →
Legal Template Package
- ADD - Community Contract Lease Addendum