Annual Reports - Business as usual

posted on 27th May 2011 under Annual Reports

Hands up if, just over 12 months ago, the mere mention of ‘Annual Reports’ was enough to make the hairs on your neck stand on end.

Well, you weren’t alone. The absence of guidance from the Tenant Services Authority (TSA) on the integration of its six standards and its expectations for size, structure or format for the Annual Report created widespread panic, confusion, eyebrow raising and tongue wagging across the sector.

So why was there such a furore? In reality, the ‘TSA Six’ themselves, upon close inspection, asked no more of Providers than to formalise the information that should be reported to tenants on an annual basis anyway. But, undoubtedly, amid the confusion, many expended much more time, energy and money producing it than in previous years, against a backdrop of a very challenging economic climate.

The October 1st deadline came and went, everyone breathed a huge sigh of relief and set about anxiously comparing their approaches and Reports…and then it all went very quiet.

So 12 months on… what have we learned?

This year the atmosphere is much, much calmer – everyone is more confident, plans are in place and most Annual Reports will be published well in advance of October 1st.

Last year’s Reports will, and should, have been critically evaluated by tenants, landlords and other stakeholders; evidence of involvement collected throughout the year and; heightened inclusion of local offers, value for money and equality & diversity.

The National Tenant Organisation’s (NTO) own evaluation report offers some interesting views and commentary based on its review of 257 Annual Reports – Reports from 8 to 72 pages in length and with significant variations in style, content and presentation.

It’s most definitely worth a read (www.tpas.org.uk). However anyone reading the NTO report and looking for ‘the solution’ for writing this year’s Annual Report won’t find it, and nor should you expect to. What is abundantly clear is that there is no ‘right’ or no ‘wrong’ way to write, publish and deliver your Annual Report.

The NTO highlighted some Annual Reports they felt worthy of praise – yet even these, as we’ve seen recently with lots of tenants we’re working with on the 2010/11 Annual Reports, aren’t to everyone’s liking.

What is also fascinating is the reluctance of the NTO to provide feedback to each of the organisations whose reports they reviewed. Why? Well their conclusions were largely subjective and based on their own views not your tenants’ views.

What matters most, beyond a shadow of a doubt, is that your process heavily involves and is driven by your tenants – information they both need and want; the PIs, whether good, bad or downright ugly; the structure, the design and its procurement (down as far as the weight and type of paper).

We’ve always been strong advocates of tenant consultation and involvement in everything we do – logo development, customer newsletters, information leaflets – and the Annual Report is no different. ‘Best practice’ is now becoming standard practice and so it should be.

Our advice to you? The Annual Report is primarily for your tenants. Meet their expectations, be honest, humble and transparent, involve them throughout, make sure the balance between text and pictures is good, make sure it’s accessible, meets RNIB clear print guidelines and worry a little less about what other Providers are doing.

Andy Davis is a Director at Nonconform Design, a supplier to the PfH Creative Design Framework Agreement, and is speaking at HouseMark’s ‘Annual Report Workshops – How to do it better!’ on 7th and 9th June 2011.

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