Plain English award for Ryman Healthcare

November 19, 2018

Ryman Healthcare has won a plain English award for its 2018 annual report.

The awards are a public pat on the back for organisations who champion the art of communicating in plain English.

Ryman Healthcare Chief Executive Gordon MacLeod said the aim was to create an annual report that set out Ryman’s story clearly and concisely for long-term investors, as well as anyone new to Ryman Healthcare.

The judges for the WriteMark Plain English Awards praised Ryman for its approach.

“We have a strong example of how a company can take complex information and share the details both with clarity and with compelling storytelling. Kudos!

“The report tells an extremely engaging story that would undoubtedly appeal to a general reader.

“The report is very accessible to all audiences. And it is a good example of plain writing and information design.’’

Ryman Healthcare worked with Christine Smith at Clearspace and the team at Ocean Design to produce the report.

Mr MacLeod said Ryman has a focus on communicating clearly throughout its business and had been training people to use plain language for many years.

Ryman had also introduced plain language agreements for its residents and had earned praise from the legal community for the reader-friendly approach.

“Writing in plain English is part of being open and transparent and it sometimes takes a lot more effort to write something simply and clearly than you’d think,’’ Mr MacLeod said.

“The annual report is the latest part of what has been a big team effort for a long time.

“I’m proud of everyone who helped. The challenge is to make next year’s even better.’’

About Ryman: Ryman Healthcare was founded in Christchurch in 1984 and owns and operates 33 retirement villages in New Zealand and Australia. Ryman villages are home to 11,000 residents, and the company employs over 5,000 staff.

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