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SPELLING
ANNUAL REPORT RELIEF PART ONE: CREATING A SCHEDULE
Is
your annual report an annual headache?
A written aspirin is on the way -- and it's promised not
to upset your stomach! This is the first in a series of Corporate
Communicator articles to help you produce a stellar
annual report on time and on message.
Not involved in annual report production? Read on --
you'll glean insight into large project coordination,
planning techniques and CEO-speak.
If you're playing a role in creating an annual report, I
commend you. The annual report is the most strategic
document your company produces. Done properly, it
signals a clear objective, explains how the objective
can be achieved and makes a good case for investment. To
be a part of this process is a golden opportunity.
Priority One: Creating a Schedule
Annual reports don't just happen; they are planned. And
September is none too early to begin the scheduling
process in earnest.
If you are the person overseeing the annual report,
you'll need an action plan of what has to be done and
when. When I was a corporate communications specialist,
I was responsible for three annual reports a year. My
first step was to take an early-fall afternoon to look
at my notes from the previous year and analyze what went
well and what didn't.
First I considered all the steps that took each annual
report from concept to mailbox. Was everything included?
Was anything unnecessary? Were there any changes in
personnel or the company itself that would make the
annual report process different?
Then I looked at last year's timeline and compared
deadlines with "actual completion" dates.
(Even during the stressful hours, I took the time to jot
down a few notes.) What part of the schedule worked? Did
we try to fit in too much with too few people? Where
were we crunched for time?
Next, trusty calendar at my side, I hammered out a plan
for the next eight months -- or until the end of April
when our companies' annual meetings took place. First I
considered concept and copy deadlines for the corporate
design department and myself. This was followed by
deadlines for theme approval, Management Discussion
& Analysis (MD&A) drafts and the all-important
final review meeting.
Once the schedule was created, the entire annual report
team signed off on it -- and we had the
"go-to" piece for all involved.
Consider your schedule absolutely, positively set in
stone. When it comes to annual report production,
deadlines are deadlines -- not targets.
© 2004 Donna Kozik. For information about Donna’s writing services,
visit
http://www.DonnaKozik.com.
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