Why your reports are always running late
By Stephanie Oley

‘We need more time to finish that report.’ Heard that one before? Whether you’re on the receiving end (management) or the sending end (staff), the process of report-writing can cause considerable headaches for teams.

On the one hand, reports are supposed to capture essential business developments in a way that makes sense to everyone. The main points should be easy to find, supported by just the right amount of data, and no digressions into irrelevant topics.

On the other hand, the process of report-writing often involves shifting objectives and late additions of content that skews the entire argument. They can end up focused on the wrong point, growing too detailed and with irritating repetitions throughout.

The process then ends with a round-the-clock stint of the team working furiously on the report. It finally limps across the finish line at the eleventh hour, often full of errors and inconsistencies.

But why did it come together at the last minute, and how can you prevent that stress factor next time?

The answer, just like for any business project, boils down to this: reliable systems.

Start by agreeing on the report’s objectives

At its core, a business report is the high-level answer to a central high-level question. And on the surface, your team members can individually define this question. The problem is that when you group everyone together, each person will have a subtly different take on this.

Take a scenario where the team is exploring an internal issue, such as whether to switch productivity apps or reconfigure an office floorplan. Should the report scope the problem? Propose a solution? Suggest options? Demonstrate that there is no problem at all?

Each of these potential paths requires a different approach, team members and facts.

Importantly, the path can’t easily change later on. If the objective changes midway through, you will end up with two separate reports.

Same goes for starting with the correct set of facts. If these change during the writing process (‘the budget has halved!’ ‘the team size has doubled!’), you’ll also end up with two separate reports.

Make sure to start by agreeing as a team on the high-level issue (essentially a thesis statement) that your report seeks to answer.

Also, make sure to organise your notes and distil your arguments before even defining your thesis or starting to write. Don’t use the actual process of writing to do your thinking, or the whole process will take longer and the result will be less than ideal.

Allocate the right task at the right stage

The other area to get right is completing the right steps of the writing process in the right order. Long documents such as business reports, proposals and strategies involves four distinct phases:

1. Content – starting with correct facts, a clear thesis statement, and a just-right level of technicality to meet the reader’s needs
2. Structure – basing the report structure around your content pillars, not a pre-set handful of template headings
3. Expression – wordsmithing the report for clear, concise language that suits the reader’s level of expertise
4. Style – applying a final edit for grammar, punctuation, formatting and other style areas

Take care not to flip between phases. There’s no point worrying about punctuation and spelling when you’re in phase one. Equally, there’s nothing worse than having to shoehorn in an important new angle when you’re in phase four.

Put clear approval mechanisms in place to help the team know when to conclude one phase and move on to the next.

To an extent, artificial intelligence (AI) tools can help you plan the report by proposing a scaffold of key points. Equally, they can help at the end, when you need to edit for grammar or conciseness. Such editing tools are especially handy for overseas-born professionals or those seeking to improve their grammar skills.

But AI can’t do the heavy lifting of developing the actual argument and logic of a report. That’s your job as a professional, no matter your background, and it’s something worth learning if you’re going to progress as a leader.

With your next business report deadline looming, get these systems in place and the process will feel much more manageable.