Table of Contents 6 2012 OVATION Awards Winning Entries

OVATION Awards Winning Entry
Communication Skills
Publications
AWARD OF MERIT
Organization’s Name: Real Estate Council of Ontario
Entrant’s Name: Sherri Haigh
Division/Category: Division 1: Category 15 – Publications
Title of Entry: For the RECOrd
Time Period of Project: 2011
Brief Description: The Real Estate Council of Ontario (RECO) targeted its quarterly industry newsletter – For the
RECOrd – for a significant redesign. Distributed to approximately 60,000 real estate registrants in Ontario, it is now
a timely and relevant publication that offers a combination of regulatory and industry news in plain language. The
new For the RECOrd is more reader‐friendly and features a sophisticated magazine‐style layout. And for the first
time, it is available electronically in Uniflip format.
Business Need/Opportunity:
RECO is a self‐managed, not‐for‐profit corporation, responsible for administering the Real Estate and
Business Brokers Act, 2002 (REBBA 2002) and associated regulations on behalf of the provincial
government. RECO protects the public interest through a fair, safe and informed marketplace.
RECO’s core purpose is to foster confidence and uphold integrity in real estate transactions. However,
one of the organization’s core communications goals is to increase the profile of RECO and its value to
registrants. One of the tactics used for communicating with registrants is a quarterly newsletter, For the
RECOrd.
RECO determined that the existing newsletter did not meet the needs of registrants. The existing
publication was printed and mailed to real estate professionals across Ontario, however with real estate
professionals often being away from the office, the newsletters often did not reach them in a timely
manner. Additionally, with the time delays involved in creating and distributing a printed publication, the
content did not always reflect emerging industry trends and issues.
Research: RECO conducted research to gain an understanding of how registrants perceived RECO’s
communications materials:
• Biennial member satisfaction survey – RECO used a nationally recognized polling firm to conduct a
registrant survey, which found that registrants prefer receiving information online;
• Communications audit – RECO worked with a third‐party agency to identify areas for improving
existing communications with registrants; and
• Environmental scan – RECO reviewed industry newsletters of other regulatory real estate
organizations and delegated administrative authorities to gain insight into how to deliver timely
and relevant information to registrants.
Analysis: RECO analyzed the insights gained from the registrant survey, communications audit and
environmental scan and identified the following recommendations for enhancing the registrant newsletter:
• Electronic communications – Real estate professionals are often on‐the‐go and prefer to receive
information electronically. Using technology to enhance the mobile readability would have to be
an important factor in adding value to For the RECOrd.