Ready for your Autumn suppression report?

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There’s an air of post election melancholy about the place which, considering the severity of the recession we’ve just emerged from, is probably no bad thing. This slightly sombre and restrained mood gives us the opportunity to reflect upon issues closer to home that will undoubtedly have taken a back seat in our psyche while we were busy operating in survival mode.

SPA members will be pleased to hear that our next meeting has been scheduled for the end of September and it is a great opportunity for us to get our house in order and resolve some of the niggling issues facing suppression providers. Top of the agenda will be tackling the prevailing problems with royalty reporting. 

Research undertaken by SPA last year showed that royalty reporting was rife with instances of under-reporting and human error. It also showed that this important role has been left to mainly low-level staff members – could there be a correlation between the two? 

We also need to devise a clear process whereby suppression providers can track and monetise the use of their files. SPA continues to receive calls to level the playing field as those who play with a straight bat are being disadvantaged. It’s also high time that we commissioned a definitive glossary of suppression terms that will help us to deal with these problems in a way that cannot be misunderstood or manipulated. 

Last – but by no means least – we need to continue our discussion about life after the removal of the Edited Electoral Roll and promote the importance of suppression in managing databases, customer files and maintaining a high standard of data quality across the board. Many of us have already started the process of creating a replacement product. At the centre of this will be the ability to maintain the integrity of the database without an annual refresh from EER.  

By Mark Roy, co-founder of the Suppression Providers Alliance