Who are the residents we don’t realise we’re losing?
Every organisation exists to serve people.
Yet every organisation has people who gradually stop engaging with its services.
They don’t respond to letters. They miss appointments. They complete forms incorrectly. They fail to provide information that’s been requested. They don’t access support they may be entitled to receive.
Traditionally, these individuals are often described as “hard to reach” or “hard to engage.”
But what if, in many cases, they aren’t difficult to reach at all? What if somewhere along the way, our communication simply stopped working for them?
That question has led us to explore a concept we’ve started calling “Hidden Residents”.
Not because they are invisible to the organisation, but because the barriers preventing them from engaging are often invisible to us.
Communication isn’t complete when information is sent.
Most organisations measure communication by what they produce.
- Letters sent.
- Emails delivered.
- Forms issued.
- SMS reminders sent.
These are all important operational measures.
Residents, however, measure communication very differently. For them, communication is only successful if they understand what they have received and know what they need to do next.
Communication isn’t complete when information is sent. It’s complete when it is understood.
That distinction may seem subtle, but its impact can be significant.
The hidden cost of misunderstanding
When communication isn’t fully understood, organisations often experience the consequences elsewhere.
- A resident telephones because they don’t understand the letter.
- A form is returned with missing information.
- An appointment is missed because the instructions weren’t clear.
- An application is delayed because supporting evidence wasn’t provided.
- A complaint is raised because expectations were misunderstood.
These issues are often treated as separate operational problems. In reality, many may share the same root cause:
A gap between what the organisation communicated and what the resident understood.
Hidden Residents are rarely created deliberately.
Public sector organisations care deeply about the people they serve.
Teams invest considerable time and effort producing communications that are accurate, compliant and informative.
The challenge isn’t a lack of commitment. The challenge is that communication designed for the majority won’t necessarily work for everyone.
Residents may experience barriers for many different reasons.
They may have lower literacy levels. English may not be their first language. They may have an intellectual disability (previously known as a learning disability), be autistic, ADHD or dyslexic, have dementia or another cognitive difference such as an acquired brain injury.
They may simply be overwhelmed by illness, financial pressure, caring responsibilities or the stress of navigating an unfamiliar process.
In each case, the service exists.
The support exists.
But the communication has unintentionally become the barrier.
A different way of thinking
As we’ve explored this idea, we’ve become increasingly interested in what we describe as communication capability.
Rather than asking:
“How do we produce more communications?”
we’ve started asking:
“How do we ensure more people understand them?”
It’s a small change in language. It’s a significant change in mindset.
Communication capability is about creating information that enables more people to understand, engage with and benefit from the services already available to them.
It recognises that effective communication isn’t simply an operational task.
It’s an organisational capability.
Where Vera fits
When we first developed Ask Vera, we described it as an AI-powered Easy Read & Plain English platform.
That description is still true.
But as we’ve worked with organisations and explored challenges like Hidden Residents, we’ve come to realise that Vera is helping solve something much bigger.
It’s helping organisations strengthen their communication capability. Easy Read and Plain English are important capabilities within the platform, but they are only the beginning.
Our longer-term vision is to help organisations communicate in ways that enable more people to understand, access and benefit from the services that already exist for them.
Because communication should never become the barrier between people and the support they need.
A question worth asking
How many of the challenges your organisation experiences today;
- repeat contact,
- missed appointments,
- incorrectly completed forms,
- avoidable complaints,
- disengagement from services
might actually begin with a communication that wasn’t fully understood?
If even a small proportion do, then improving communication isn’t simply about accessibility.
It’s about improving outcomes for residents and enabling organisations to fulfil their purpose more effectively.
Thought to leave you with…
Hidden residents rarely become hidden overnight. More often, they disappear one misunderstanding at a time.
About the Communication Insights series
This briefing is the first in a series exploring The Communication Gap—how organisations can strengthen their communication capability to ensure more people understand, access and benefit from the services available to them.
The insights are based on our work with public sector organisations and the thinking that has shaped the evolution of Ask Vera from an AI-powered Easy Read & Plain English platform towards a broader communication platform designed to help organisations close the Communication Gap.
