Best annual report – unlisted organisation

Swiss-based Octapharma is the world’s largest privately owned manufacturer of human proteins developed from human blood plasma and human cell lines. But Octapharma is far from a household name, and so it is now spending time and resources in helping internal and external stakeholders understand what it does and why it does it.

Among its other priorities for the year was to make sure that its creative assets endured by using them across multiple channels, including online, video and internal communications, and to create a micro-site that educated viewers on the donor to patient process, while also providing a base for employee videos and stories to be shared.

This was especially important for its annual report, which is its main communications channel, and is distributed to employees and healthcare professionals, as well as investors.

Octapharma’s 2016 annual report focused on its patients and purpose, but a subsequent internal review revealed that its employees were keen to feature in the 2017 report. Over three years, Octapharma’s report has told the story of strategy, purpose and now people.

The front cover of the report carries an image of Zoran, who lives in Berlin Spandau, with the words From donor…, while the back cover carries an image of his 11-year-old son Simon, who has a rare immune disease, with the words …to patient.

While the story of Zoran and Simon is explained in detail in the report, it also breaks down the process of donor to patient into eight clear stages, from the moment a potential donor walks into one of Octapharma’s donation centres through quality control through fractionation – which separates the plasma proteins – to purification, filing and donation. Each step is brought to life by telling the story of an employee involved with the process, with an explanation of the procedure and graphics to simplify complex routines.

There are also five special reports, such as one on the vital refrigeration process, again led by employee stories, which highlight the spectrum of expertise required. An infographic also explains the donor to patient process, which is used throughout the report as a navigational tool.

Following publication, Octapharma surveyed its 8,000 employees, which revealed 60 per cent believe the report reflected the company’s vision while making the connection between their work and their patients. Four in five – 79 per cent – showed it to their families, indicating both their pride in their work and their desire to help them understand the work that they do.