Society groups and announcements
One group for the whole society, kept up to date as families move in and out. The office makes groups for a tower or the committee, and residents make their own. Any group can be set so only its admins post, for announcements.
PLANSScale only
The problem it solves
- The society's group lives on someone's personal phone, and nobody removes the tenant who moved out last year.
- An important notice from the committee is buried under forty good-morning messages.
- Tower B's water cut is announced to all six towers, and the other five ask why.
How it works
- The whole-society group is made by itself the first time someone opens the chat. Every resident with a login is in it, and the office's managers are its admins.
- To make another group, the office opens Visitors > Residents > Community > Chat Groups and clicks New. It types a name and what the group is for, picks whole towers and / or people, and chooses the admins.
- Under Who Can Post, the office picks Everyone, or Group admins only (announcements). In an announcement group residents read and only admins post.
- Residents open Chat on the resident portal or the Resident app and see every group they are in, with unread counts. They write, add photos or videos, search and mute a group.
- On the portal, a resident can make a group of their own, such as a car pool or a walking club. It holds up to 50 people they may message. The office sees it in the same list and can archive it.
- Members follow the society by themselves. A new resident with a login joins the society and tower groups, and a resident who leaves or moves is taken out.
Everything it does
Kinds of group
- Whole Society: named after the society with (everyone); every resident with a login, kept up to date
- Custom Group (office): whole towers, people added by hand (residents or office staff), or both
- Groups made by residents: from the people they may message, up to 50, with the maker as admin
- Who Can Post: Everyone (the default) or Group admins only (announcements)
- Admins are always in the group and can post in announcement groups
Messages
- Text up to 4,000 characters, with photos and videos
- Search a group by words or by who wrote
- Residents are shown with their flat number; office staff by name
- Photos and videos can be deleted by the office and the group's admins
- Mute: no notifications from that group for that person; the messages still arrive
Who is in a group
- Residents need a login to be in a group; members of the flat without a login are not
- A tower group takes every resident of that tower; Update Members brings it up to date at once
- People added by hand to a custom group may leave it; the society group and tower groups cannot be left
- The maker of a resident group and office staff do not leave; the office archives the group instead
- Archive a group to turn it off; nothing is deleted
For the office
- Visitors > Residents > Community > Chat Groups: name, kind, who posts, towers, members and messages
- Filters: Whole society, Custom groups, Announcements only, Archived
- Open Chat takes you to the conversation; staff answer from Chat in the back office's main menu
Who uses it
Society officeSets up the society group and tower or committee groups, chooses admins and who posts, and archives groups.
Committee memberPosts announcements as an admin of the society or committee group.
ResidentReads and writes in their groups, mutes a busy one, makes a group of neighbours and leaves groups they were added to.
Where you use it
- Web (office): Visitors > Residents > Community > Chat Groups; conversations under Chat in the back office's main menu
- Resident portal: Chat, in the Community group
- The SmartMy Society Resident app: Community > Chat (built and in testing, not in the app stores yet)
- Not in the app yet: making a group and leaving a group are on the resident portal only
- Not for notices that must be on record: use the notice board, which keeps who has seen each notice
- Not voice or video calls: chat is text, photos and videos
What you control
Settings
- Who Can Post: per group, Everyone to start with
- Admins: per group; the office's managers in the society group to start with
- Whole Towers and Members: per custom group
- Mute: per person and group, off to start with
Notifications
- Chat Message: to the members of the group except the writer and those who muted it. By app push (or the browser, where the resident turned notifications on), else in-app. Each person can switch this event off, and it does not wait for quiet hours
Questions
Can we stop residents replying to announcements?
Yes. Set Who Can Post to Group admins only (announcements). Residents read the group and only its admins post.Do we have to remove people who move out?
No. The society group and tower groups follow the residents list. When a resident is archived or moves to another flat, the groups change with them.Can residents make their own groups?
Yes, on the resident portal, with up to 50 people they are allowed to message. The office sees those groups in its list and can archive one.Can I leave a group?
You can leave a group someone added you to. The society group and your tower's group cannot be left, but you can mute them.Is the chat a replacement for the notice board?
No. The notice board keeps notices on record, for every flat or chosen towers, with who has seen them. Use groups for everyday talk and quick updates.Related features
COMMUNITYOne-to-one messages between residents, office and guardsResidents message a neighbour, the society office or a guard without sharing a phone number. Anyone can block a person or report a message, and the office warns or pauses someone's chat. A resident can turn off messages from neighbours.SOCIETY OFFICENotice board for flats, towers and ownersThe society office posts notices to every flat, to chosen towers or to owners only, pins the important ones and attaches files. Residents are alerted when a notice goes up, and the office sees who has seen it.APPROVAL CHAINS AND CHATStaff chat for the office and guardsThe society office, the facility manager and the guards message each other inside SmartMy, one to one or in groups. The chat opens from Chat in the back office and shows only the conversations you are in.FLATS AND RESIDENTSResident app and resident web portalResidents answer the gate, invite guests, follow daily help and parcels and read alerts in the SmartMy Society Resident app or in a browser. Both show the same flat and do the same things.FLATS AND RESIDENTSTowers, flats and resident loginsSet up your towers and flats once, add the owners, tenants and family of each flat, and give every resident a login of their own. Each resident sees only their own flat.
See it set up for your own society.
Tell us how many towers, flats and gates you have. We will show you and your committee the resident app, the guard app and the office screens, set up that way.