Accessibility isn’t a finishing touch. It’s part of the plan.
Not-for-profit and social enterprise teams understand and value access and inclusion. Yet these important communications considerations are often left out of the annual report planning stage. Instead, the accessibility question (if it’s remembered at all) surfaces later. That’s when costly fixes, rework and more approval rounds can blow out the budget and the timeline.
Accessible annual reports are easiest to achieve when considered during planning, not after the report has been written. This article will show you why, what’s at stake and how to do things differently so you can bring your team on board to make annual report accessibility part of the plan.
What makes an annual report accessible?
The difference between a standard annual report and an accessible one is simple: more people can access and read it. And isn’t reaching more of our audience what we all strive for in our communications?
When an annual report is accessible and inclusive it means people who use screen reader technology can navigate the document and find what they need. People who process colour differently can see content more clearly. And people with lower literacy or a language other than English don’t have to struggle with difficult vocabulary, complex sentences and jargon.
Accessibility factors include:
- colour contrast: how easily text can be read against its background
- font and size: how legible and consistent it is
- readability level: the reading grade level it adheres to
- heading hierarchy: structured heading styles that use clear size and weight differences to organise information logically
- chart and table structure: how clearly the information is arranged
- image alt text: concise descriptions of what the image contributes to its context
- hyperlink labels: meaningful text describing where a link leads the reader
- infographic and diagram labels: if a reader can’t see them, is important information still available to them.
These are all things that can be established well before the design stage.
Does your audience need an accessible annual report?
You know your audience best, but chances are the answer is yes.
When I raise accessibility with with new clients it’s interesting how often they assume their audience is more homogenous than it actually is. That’s why the conversation about who actually reads the annual report is a useful one to have early.
One in 5 Australians identify as having a disability. Whether someone has a physical, intellectual or hidden disability makes a difference to how they can access and gain value from your annual report.
There are also those who mightn’t consider themselves disabled but who experience temporary or situational disability. An arm in a sling, a bright or a dark environment all affects how someone interacts with your annual report content. If colour contrast, font size, busy layout or a lack of scannable headings makes your report difficult to read, chances are it won’t be.
And, like most things built around accessibility, what benefits disabled people benefits everyone.
Making the business case for annual report accessibility
Given 20% of Australians identify as having disability and many more experience disability through ageing, temporary injury or situational contexts, it’s a large proportion of your potential audience. As one of my accessibility advocate clients likes to say, if you were selling chocolate, would you ignore 20% of the market?
No! You’d find a way to reach them.
Beyond the moral imperative, the business case is clear. Investing in annual report accessibility means the information within the report will reach more of your audience.
Building accessibility in from the start also keeps costs lower. It’s always more expensive to retrofit accessibility during the layout and design stage.
Australian organisations also have obligations under disability discrimination law, and the Australian Human Rights Commission points to WCAG 2.2 Level AA as the standard to aim for when publishing digital content and documents.
Who are you really writing for?
One of the most common areas of pushback or confusion I encounter with clients is around readability levels. They tell me that an academic style of writing ‘sounds better’ or is what ‘stakeholders’ expect. They say longer, complex sentences make the reports sound more professional and authoritative.
So, I ask them what they mean by stakeholders.
While it’s often used to mean funders, philanthropists, board members and government decision-makers, stakeholders are also the people closest to your work. They are the clients, participants, community members, staff and volunteers.
Some of these groups read your annual report for evidence of accountability and impact. Some want to understand the organisation’s direction. Others want to see themselves and their contribution reflected.
If your annual report is only written for the most professionally literate readers it risks leaving important others behind.
Again, while you are best to judge your true audience, accessibility guidelines recommend aiming for a Year 8 reading level.
The risk of making accessibility a design issue
Graphic designer and Accessible Document Specialist Kathryn Collins says some new clients assume accessibility is something tacked on to the end of an annual report project.
‘For those new to accessibility, it can be a sobering moment when they realise the amount of changes needed for a document that’s already gained internal approval, impacting time and budget,’ Kat says.
‘If their colour contrast is inaccessible there can be quite different visual changes needed. Plus, there’s the issue of then getting it all through approvals again.’
Some of the common issues Kat sees are:
- existing brand palettes that create colour contrast issues
- incomplete or poorly structured source documents
- complex tables which can be challenging for most screen reader users
- images without alt text.
Kat says that when clients understand why these elements are important and know how to prepare source material with accessibility front-of-mind, it makes the project quicker and smoother.
‘When they are open-minded and open to suggestions on how to make things more accessible, it’s game-changing,’ she says.
The value of a well-structured source document
One of the best ways to save time and money when producing an accessible annual report is to lay solid groundwork within the source document.
Using correct heading hierarchy to organise the content, using the inbuilt styles and spacing features and creating tables with properly labelled header rows goes a long way to reducing the number of fixes needed later. The inbuilt styles also make formatting quicker and easier.
Adding alt text to approved images is also best done in the source document by someone who understands their context. This reduces the risk of incorrect or inaccurate messaging.
Having all the content ready and approved before it moves into the design stage is also essential. Few things add time, cost and stress as much as largescale changes to content once the report is laid out.
Kat says that when content comes to her from various sources, is incomplete or not approved, it creates a lot of rework.
‘A lot of the cost with these reports comes from clients needing numerous rounds of text changes if unfinalised text has been supplied,’ she says.
More accessible doesn’t mean less visually appealing
An aspect that surprises clients is that having an accessible annual report doesn’t mean compromising on design and production values. In fact, Kat says that the earlier accessibility is brought into the project, the better the result will be. This way, potential problems are picked up and addressed before they affect the whole publication.
Another benefit of creating accessible PDF documents is that there is no longer a need for a Word document as a backup.
‘Some clients will ask for a Word document version of the report, but that comes from the assumption that PDFs can’t be accessible, which is not the case if you know how,’ Kat says.
Planning an accessible annual report makes next year’s project easier
While building accessibility into the planning stages of your annual report will benefit this year’s report, Kat says it also reduces costs for future reports.
‘When a template is created with all the styles and colours set up, then it is so much quicker and easier moving forward,’ she says.
‘Much less time is needed on fixes, because most of the hard work has been done already.’
Could different report formats better suit your audience?
PDFs are widely used for annual reports because of their portability and flexibility across different operating systems. But they still might not suit everyone in your audience.
Consider if other, or additional formats, could help support your core report.
A postcard version might be a good way to share a snapshot of your highlights at expos or through a letterbox drop.
A version prepared in Easy Read or Easy English might be ideal for people with lower literacy.
QR codes with links to multimedia, such a video report or client story, could enhance the impact and shareability of your content.
Think about who needs this information, where they might look for it and how they likely want to consume it. Can you meet them where they are?
Inaccessible annual reports are not created by lack of care
Your organisation’s mission and values most likely talk about access and inclusion. So when an annual report is inaccessible it’s not because your team doesn’t care.
Not-for-profit and social enterprise communication teams carry the annual report project alongside many other business-as-usual commitments. That means accessibility can be overlooked because:
- deadlines are tight
- teams are busy with program work
- budget is a factor.
Unfortunately, it becomes a false economy. When accessibility is left until the final stages, or left out altogether, the results are either higher production costs or large segments of your audience missing out on what you have to share.
I’ve yet to work with a team that didn’t want to get this right. What they needed was a clearer path to doing it earlier.
Luckily, you have another choice.
Take early steps towards an accessible annual report
Well before drafting begins, ask who may struggle with this report? Think beyond disability and include first-time readers and people unfamiliar with sector language.
When planning the content, think about which information is essential, what can be simplified and what needs explaining.
Plan the structure so that the report has a logical flow and readers can find what they need quickly.
Other steps you can take early include:
- familiarising yourself with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines and plain English principles
- using the inbuilt accessibility checkers in Word or Google Docs
- checking your organisation’s brand palette for the most accessible colour combinations
- using inbuilt styles, spacing and heading hierarchy to organise source content
- drafting alt text for images and complex diagrams
- having content approved and set up in a single source document
- getting early guidance from a graphic designer with accessible document knowledge.
A little planning now saves a lot of fixing later
Accessible content decisions around structure, readability, language and images are far easier to manage before design begins. A little time spent early can prevent a lot of rework, cost and stress later.
It also results in an annual report that aligns with your values, not just your governance requirements. A report that is easier to navigate, easier to understand and more inclusive for the people it’s intended to reach.
Tanya Hollis provides senior judgement, strong writing and calm support for small not-for-profit and social enterprise comms teams with big workloads and important stories to tell.
Get help planning your accessible annual report.
