At almost every office job, it is required from us to write reports. The frequency of reporting depends on the type of job, but they are necessary because they help companies and their employees to gain information about the company’s situation and make appropriate decisions. But a good report is not easy to make. Just throwing out numbers is not enough. Time is money in the business world, and nobody has lots of time to read and analyze raw numbers. They have to be made in such a way to help their readers draw the right conclusions in the shortest time frame.
1) Use templates
Formality is necessary in the business world, and lots of things which are being done follow certain format procedures. That is why it can be useful to use previous reports or reports from our colleagues and create templates from them, which can be reused later. If the report format is new, then it can also be useful to research the Internet for existing templates from similar fields or business type.
2) What information is important?
In creating reports, the type of data presentation depends on the type of information that is needed. For example, if we are creating a sales report, sometimes it is important to focus not only on total income earned, but also on number of items sold in specific regions. The best scenario is to use different reports for different information, even though the set of data used can be the same in all cases.
3) Include graphs and charts
Human brain better understands data if it is presented visually. That is why it is always good to include a graph or chart next to the table, because it can help to notice and better understand trends or patterns.
4) Summarize main trends and changes
If the amount of data is huge, and time is scarce, report readers might fail to notice important trends. That is why it is always good to write a short summary with conclusions and questions. That can help readers to see what is going on and offer their own feedback.
5) Be short and precise
As we said, nobody has time to read and analyze long reports. That is why it is necessary to be short but say everything needed to be said. Avoid long and detailed analysis and discussion. If they are really necessary, attach them in a separate document, but keep the main report clean and concise.
6) Looks do matter
A good report has to be organized in sections depending on the data, and have a clean look, so that a person looking at it knows what is going on at first glance. You can test the new look with your colleagues if you are not sure that it is the best way to go.
7) Convert it to PDF format
We use different formats in office environment, but the best format for sending reports is PDF. PDF documents look the same on all platforms and devices, so you don’t have to worry about data distortion or loss. No matter whose hands the report ends up in, it will look the same the way we created it.
