Category Facility Management

Women’s Day Special: Exclusive interview with Super Women at ApnaComplex

International Women’s Day is no longer a new topic today. It is celebrated across the World in order to recognize and appreciate the contributions and achievements of the women in various fields. Starting from being Home-maker to Management Committee members to Working Professionals, they truly define the spirit of today’s women. Today, we decided to talk to three such women about their journey in ApnaComplex and how they are leading their lives with multiple roles and responsibilities.

These women are super confident and self-motivated either at home or at the workplace. Mrs. Prema Robert, Head of Human Resource at ApnaComplex quoted that “Confidence comes from the kind of responsibilities that I get it, more the responsibility that is given to me, the more I feel confident and that makes me explore more, learn more and motivates me to give my best.” Mrs. Arundhati Sen Pradhan, Head of Strategic Partnerships at ApnaComplex states “Motivation comes from the team that I work with, the people that I work with, gives me the motivation to do best in what I do”.

They mentioned that it has been a great journey so far and it is fun working at ApnaComplex. It is quite an experience for anyone to manage multiple roles. Ms. Monika Mitruka, Software Developer at ApnaComplex finds the experience ‘’very challenging and satisfactory.” They also mentioned that the key to confidence is knowledge & learning. These women feel privileged being women as they feel that they have the ability to handle both work and family life.

At ApnaComplex, they all have built stronger social connections amongst themselves. They advised that everyone has her own way of doing things and everyone should have belief in themselves first. Mrs. Arundhati concluded as “It is a very fun life, live to the fullest.” At ApnaComplex, people are full of enthusiasm, confidence and most importantly motivated to face all the odds. Moreover, accomplishing these odds has always been a challenging situation for these women.

Raj Sekhar Kommu – Co-founder and CEO of ApnaComplex says “We are pleased to celebrate International Women’s Day with all the amazing superwomen at ApnaComplex. International Women’s Day is celebrated globally to highlight and honor the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women, and to call for gender equality. At ApnaComplex, we firmly believe in gender equality and are forever grateful to every female employee who is an integral part of ApnaComplex.”


Complaint Box 3.0 with Upgraded features

In our continuous endeavor to make management of your Society efficient and effective, we have released a few major enhancements to the most widely used capability in ApnaComplex  – the humble, yet world-class Complaint Box. These changes incorporate the latest best practices in managing a Society Helpdesk by Facility Management teams – with two key goals, reducing the efforts of Facility Management Staff and Improving Resident Satisfaction. As always, ApnaComplex continues to innovate and raise the bar.

Here is a gist of the key changes we have implemented:

  1. Take your Society’s Issue Resolution to next level. When a complaint is closed, the facility management team now has an option to update “Root Cause” of the complaint. This helps the FM team to tag the core reason why an issue happened. The report for all complaints shall help the Facility Management team understand the areas to focus on for improving resident satisfaction.
  2. Despite best intentions, some complaints cannot be solved. Committee now has the ability to tag a complaint as “non-solvable” after member re-opens a complaint X number of times. Once a complaint is tagged as non-solvable member will not be able to re-open the same. X can be configured in the settings panel.
  3. ApnaComplex complaint box now has the ability to configure if the resident can see the actual staff name who is working on the complaint (by default it is shown). If enabled, the resident would not see the details of the staff who exactly is working on a complaint. It helps in avoiding the residents to call up the staffs directly and encourages process compliance.
  4. We have 50% of our customer demanding that when a resident logs a complaint, it must default to a ‘Personal’ Complaint and the rest saying exactly opposite that it must be ‘Community’ complaint. To keep everyone happy, admins can now set default complaint type for their society.
  5. The new Complaint Box supports the ability to optionally select a Unit for ‘Community’ type of complaints (which was restricted to ‘Personal’ complaints in the past). This helps when Helpdesk staff has to log a community complaint on behalf of a Resident.
  6. Admins and Staff can now change the complaint type (from ‘Personal’ to ‘Community’ or vice-versa). As a bonus, Complaint Box now allows the nature of the complaint (from complaint to suggestion etc.), update the urgency status and even change the unit # if needed.
  7. Complaint Box now supports the ability to add ‘Private Notes’ against complaints which are only visible to the administrators. Staff can keep adding internal updates on a complaint as private notes, which are only visible to admins and not to the resident. This helps the staff in maintaining updates at one place for a given complaint.
  8. The most coolest feature of the new Complaint Box – Ability to create “templates” which can be used by Staff when adding notes against a complaint. Templates will help staff to respond to complaints professionally and in a consistent way. We are sure residents of your society will feel the difference in the quality of responses. In addition, this saves significant time for staff as the efforts of typing reduce significantly.

 


7 Powerful Guidelines for Cash Locker and Almirah placement that you should apply Now!

Have you ever thought about how you should place different objects at home as per Vastu?  Do you know the direction, colour, and material of the cash locker and almirah for wealth and prosperity? Yes, it is very important to know the placement, colour, and material before placing any object or item. Here are some Guidelines for placing an Almirah (wardrobe) or Cash Locker that you must apply now:

  1. Do not use almirah made of stones or marbles. Always prefer wood or iron almirah in the bedroom.
  2. Almirah should be placed in Southwest direction so that it opens in North or East.
  3. Almirah should be in some subtle colours like cream or light colour shades.
  4. Make sure not to have any mirror on the Southwest almirah.
  5. Placement of Almirah has different impacts for different rooms and should be placed as per Vastu guidelines.
  6. For Bedroom Almirah-
  • Place bedroom cabinet or almirah in Northeast or Southwest corner.
  • Mirrors on almirah must be avoided especially if this almirah is placed in your bedroom.
  • If there is a mirror on the bedroom almirah, make sure it is not facing the bed.
  • Avoid dark coloured wardrobe or almirah in the bedroom. Use light-coloured almirah.
  • For the bedroom, the almirah or wardrobe should open in east or south direction.
  1. For Cash Almirah-
  • Make sure the cash almirah or locker is comprised of a single door.
  • The placement of the cash almirah or locker should be such that it is facing the North. Since North is the direction of Kuber, so it is believed that Lord Kuber refills the cash.
  • Do not place the cash almirah in Northeast, more expenses will be there and ultimately loss of cash.

Conclusion- There is no substitute for hard work, but if you follow these guidelines it helps to balance the energies in the surroundings and attract more positivity to your home.


Smart Vastu tips to retain money

We are at a fast pace for growth. Growth for a better future and for a better world. But have you ever imagined what if there is no money or financial dearth in your life?  Nobody has seen the future, it’s essential to save than regret later. There are different types of solutions available in the market on money management. Retaining money is not that easy. It needs lots of planning.

Let’s talk on some easy and effective vastu changes to ensure a positive outcome and more money inflow.

Cash Almirah or Locker It is very important to understand where to keep your cash, almirah or Locker. Place the cash almirah or locker in the Southwest or South wall so that it opens in the North. This is the direction of Lord Kuber. It is believed that Lord Kuber refills the cash almirah so this is how you attract money.

Main door instructions Never place big or high trees in the Northeast direction outside your home as this creates an obstacle for the cash inflow. Also, keep the main entrance clutter free and if there is any shoe rack, replace it away from the main door or entrance.

Place a fish aquarium An aquarium is used especially to enhance money, career and luck. If used properly in the right direction, it brings wealth and abundance in the home. To know the best direction, you can read http://community.vastudekho.com/3785/attract-wealth-and-luck-placing-aquarium-vastu-tips-aquarium

Check these other important Vastu Dekho measures to ensure no blockades for the cash inflow-

  • Never place big or high trees in the Northeast direction outside your home as this creates an obstacle for the cash inflow.
  • Lord Kuber and Goddess Lakshmi like cleanliness so ensure that all the windows and doors of the house are properly cleaned. If not, they will obstruct the flow of money and wealth inside your house.
  • Leaking Taps in the house is a BIG NO. Since water is symbolic of money so it is believed that if water is getting waste then money is also getting wasted.

15 Unlucky things you should never keep at home

The way you decorate your home says a lot about you. But unknowingly, many times we bring such images, idols or showpieces that disturb our happiness and positivity and ultimately we ruin our lives by ourselves.

I was wondering why there is an increased negativity in my home until I recognize these very important facts.

Let’s talk about these 15 things that affect our lives. You may not be knowing the negative effects of these things:

  1. Broken or unused clocks- as we all know time is symbolic of Growth. It is highly recommended to avoid keeping a wall clock that is not in use or broken.
  2. Old Calendars- similar to Clock a calendar also signifies growth, so avoid keeping an old calendar on the walls of the house. Also please make sure if you are hanging current year calendar then you must keep the current month and date open.
  3. Cactus, Bonsai or thorny plants- Except Rose and medicinal plants, avoid keeping cactus and thorny plants at your home as these are inauspicious. Do not place any bonsai plant as they represent short/ little growth.
  4. Negative Images- Never keep images that depicts negativity like- sadness, loneliness, war scene, trees without fruits or flowers, nude, hunting scenes, fight scenes using swords, captured elephant, weeping or crying image. If you have such images remove immediately.
  5. Taj Mahal Picture or idol- Taj Mahal is considered as an epitome of love but it is actually a grave that symbolizes death and inactiveness. So avoid keeping Taj Mahal picture or idol at home.
  6. Broken furniture- If you have broken furniture, pots or vessels that are not in use and unrepairable. Throw them off to remove negative energy.
  7. Mirrors- Mirrors should be kept wisely. Make sure not to place any mirror in front of your bed. Your image should never be reflected when you are sleeping. Put a curtain or cloth if you have a mirror in front of your bedroom. Legends say if you have broken mirrors at home, it brings bad luck for seven years and a broken marriage too.
  8. Avoid things under your bed- Never keep anything under your bed as it causes disruptions and disturbed sleep. Also, make sure you don’t keep any footwear under your bed before sleeping.
  9. Statue or Paintings of Animals- Don’t put any image or showpiece of any wild animals and birds like snakes, owl, vulture, bat, pigs, pigeons, crows, tiger, etc. Vastu recommends not to keep any picture or statue of a single bird or animal in a couple’s room. Keeping wild animals and bird’s image or showpiece brings Violent Attitude in your life.
  10. Pictures of Ramayana and Mahabharata War scenes- Never place such pictures that depicts fight story or scenes from Ramayana or Mahabharata as it strongly brings rivalry among family members.
  11. Black Door- Avoid black door as your Main entrance door. According to Chinese Feng Shui tradition, a black door invites bad luck to your house EXCEPT if the door faces the North.
  12. Avoid placing Empty Rocking Chairs- Avoid placing empty rocking chairs at home as it invites dark forces to come and sit in it.
  13. Brocken Crockery- if you have broken plates, cups or any crockery, remove immediately. Crockery symbolizes wealth and family so when you eat on broken or chipped plates, you are subconsciously inviting failures and troubles in your life.
  14. Sinking Boat or sinking Titanic Image- I also kept Titanic image at home, until I knew its bad effects. A sinking boat depicts a failing or deteriorating relationship so if you have one in your home, throw it immediately.
  15. Nataraja- This is an image of cosmic dancer Shiva and it is found mostly in every dancer’s house. As we see it has two different meaning. One that symbolizes tremendous art form and other symbolizes destruction.

Conclusion- It is good to décor home as you love, but at the same time it is very important to know the adverse or bad effects of these decorative before it’s too late!


Responsibilities of the Resident: A Proactive Approach

Managing the affairs of an apartment complex is not just the responsibility of the Managing Committee. Surprised? Don’t be. Just as the quality of your family life depends on the behaviour of all members of the family, in the same way managing a society depends on the behaviour of all the residents living in that apartment complex. How you interact with the committee and the rest of the residents has an effect on the management of the society. We have listed below a few such interactions which can decide how well your society functions.

 

Breach of bye-laws

In an apartment complex, it is quite common for a resident to lock horns with a member of the managing committee. Most often, resolutions arrive amicably. But when they aren’t, the residents often retaliate by ceasing to pay maintenance dues. Residents should remember that this is a breach of the bye-law and hence, illegal.

 

If, as a resident, you are unsatisfied with the resolution, escalate this issue with the appropriate authority. Alternately, if it is an issue that affects all the other residents then take their opinions into account and put it to vote. Withholding dues you owe the society affects the smooth functioning of the society. You may end up with a shortage of funds. Further, the committee is legally authorised to issue notices against defaulters and to penalise you for the same.

 

Unauthorized constructions

The action of every resident has an effect on all the residing neighbours. This becomes especially evident during renovations and constructions. Whether you change the interior or the exterior of your flat, make sure that your plans don’t break any rules of the society. Get the consent of the Secretary of the Managing Committee before you begin and make sure you don’t become a nuisance by exceeding the noise to respectable hours.

 

Certain changes like altering the fundamental structure of the building and construction in common areas require special legal permission. If you fail to obtain the same, the committee (and even the municipal council) is entitled to take action against the same. Lastly, remember that if not conveyed, other residents are well within their rights to complain against the construction to seek redressal.

 

Favours from the Managing Committee

As longtime neighbours, you might be close friends with certain members of the committee. So sometimes, you may find yourself asking for favours like waiving off the penalty charge for late payment or reducing the rent charged for the clubhouse. Not only is this unfair to rest of the complex, but it also puts your friend in a dilemma. It puts them to choose between friendship and their duty.

 

Participation in society meetings and elections

As a resident, it is both your right and duty to contribute to the functioning of the society. Despite personal commitments, it is important that residents attend society meetings and elections. The decisions and opinions expressed here will have a direct effect on your life in the complex. It is also important that you express your opinions about an idea that is being discussed. There is no point in complaining about a decision taken during the meeting you missed. It is important to work with both the committee members and other residents to make sure that the complex runs efficiently.

 

The role of a resident extends beyond the payment of maintenance dues. These are just a few areas in which the behaviour of the members can decide how efficiently an apartment complex gets managed. We hope you are playing a proactive role in the affairs of your apartment complex – whether you are a part of the Managing Committee or not!


4 Guidelines For Choosing An Interior Designer

An interior designer works closely with you on the project and sees to it that your vision is given shape in the most effective way. Choosing an interior designer is highly subjective as the project involves personal taste and preferences. Here are a few things to consider before you select the right candidate for the job.

 

  1. Verify Their Credentials

Before you hire an interior designer, verify his or her credentials. Check if they the prerequisite license to work as an interior designer. Ask about the designer’s education, training, work experience and other credentials. A good interior designer will have had comprehensive training that includes flame-spread ratings, space planning, AutoCAD, 3-D modelling, and lighting.

 

  1. Be Clear About What You Want

You need to be sure about what you want before you can start calling prospects. Assess the level of your involvement in the creative process and the amount of guidance you need. Know whether you are open to suggestions from the designer, or if you are firm about what you have come up with. Having a clear picture of your needs will ensure that you hire the right person.

 

  1. Scrutinize Their Portfolio

Studying a designer’s portfolio will give you an idea about his or her style and working methods in similar projects.  If you can arrange for a visit to one of the designer’s completed works, you can get an up-close and personal taste of their finished project.

 

  1. Choose A Designer With Transparent Billing Methods

Understand the fee structure of your prospects in order to know if their billing methods are transparent. Find out if the designer is going to charge you a flat fee or by the hour.  Make sure you let your prospective designer know about your predetermined budget. Having a clear understanding of what you are paying for will ensure that the work is not compromised by any financial disagreement that may come up later.

Interviewing and choosing an interior designer for your project can take anywhere from a couple of weeks to months. Do not hurry, as picking the right designer is critical to the long-term success of your project. Try using the ApnaComplex database to find a verified designer to suit your needs. Selecting the wrong designer, no matter how experienced or qualified he or she may be, can lead to a décor disaster.


Complete Help desk Management on Mobile Phone in your Apartment Association now!

Inline with the ApnaComplex.com vision to reduce efforts for committee members and costs for the society, we now have enhanced our Complaint Box offering on the android mobile app.

Any Apartment can now setup their help desk management processes easily. ApnaComplex on Android gives your members, residents, committee members, staff to log, track, cancel, close complaints directly from mobile.

Societies now do not need to have extensive setup like help desk with phone, PC with broadband connection to manage the grievances from members. All your would need is a decent android phone or tablet with data connection to get your help desk going.

Owners/Members can login using the app, record their complaints (or SMS the complaints to the help desk number ApnaComplex offers), check status, provide updates, cancel/close complaints. Residents can even provide feedback on the service levels immediately from the mobile itself.
Manage Complaints on the move with ApnaComplex App
All these coupled with the powerful back end capabilities of auto-escalation of unattended complaints – the committee members can provide follow up with staff for action (just in case you did not realize – all staff contacts are available on the app – so that can directly call or SMS any staff as needed).

Imagine your facility supervisor going on the rounds with an andriod tab, updating the complaint a resident have logged in real time and resident providing feedback instantly. Isn’t this what professional society management all about? 🙂

With ApnaComplex Android App, now all the staff can login (they will automatically see the modules that they are given access to) and manage the complaints.


Get your Society on ApnaComplex.com – Today!

ApnaComplex is India’s most mature and comprehensive apartment management software platform. The platform also includes Facility Management Software for Housing Societies to automate various aspects of society office – including Help desk Management, Asset Management, Inventory Tracking, Staff Attendance Tracking etc. ApnaComplex is designed to make the life of secretary and estate managers lot better by reducing efforts put in towards administration of a housing society. Check out the features of ApnaComplex and sign up your society today to get the benefits! We offer a free 15-day trial as well so that you can try before you buy!


Apartment Management Software Update: Enhanced Action Item Tracker

We just released a significant enhancement to the Action Item tracking module – part of ApnaComplex’s Apartment Management Software.

The action item tracker in ApnaComplex is a central place where things to be done get tracked – be it the Preventive Maintenance Schedules of the Assets or AMC Contract Renewal Reminders or a tracking an actionable out of a Committee Meeting – the tracker offers a simple yet powerful tool to the managing committee.

The tracker was originally conceived as a tool for committee members only to track their activities. Thus it is available to only those who have been assigned ‘Action Item Admin’ role in the portal. Any one who needs to be assigned an Action Item (AI) must be given the role of Action Item Admin.

Enhanced Action Item Tracker - Apartment Management Software

With the new enhancement, we are removing the restriction of assigning AIs only to Action Item Admins. An action item now can be assigned to any one with in the community – including Staff.

You can easily assign an action item to member/staff – just by typing few letters of their names or flat number or staff roles. This auto-suggest feature for member/staff names helps in cases of large complexes where the members run into thousands. The assignee can see AIs that are assigned only to her/him – update them or reassign them. A member/staff will not have access to even view Action items that are not assigned to her/him.

With this enhancement, it is now easy to assign action items to any one with out giving them the access to entire action item list.


Get your Society on ApnaComplex.com – Today!

ApnaComplex is India’s most mature and comprehensive apartment management software platform. The platform also includes Facility Management Software for Housing Societies to automate various aspects of society office – including Asset Management, Inventory Tracking, Staff Attendance Tracking etc. ApnaComplex is designed to make the life of secretary and estate managers lot better by reducing efforts put in towards administration of a housing society. Check out the features of ApnaComplex and sign up your society today to get the benefits! We offer a free 15-day trial as well so that you can try before you buy!


Reduce pilferage of spares in your Apartment Maintenance – upgrades to Inventory Tracking in ApnaComplex

The ApnaComplex inventory tracking module has some new capabilities.

When issuing inventory, you can now have the estate manager record the Asset against which the inventory was issued against. Things like bulb was issued against street light #10, or valves were used for STP #4 are easy to record.

Inventory module also now supports the ability to tag complaints with inventory issuance. Along with assets you can now say bulb was issued against street light #10 and complaint #350. This gives end to end traceability of an spare part and reduces the pilferage.

Money saved is money earned – and less maintenance costs for residents!