PRESENTER: Informal reports, staples of the workplace. There are two categories of reports, informational and analytical. Informational reports provide data to answer basic questions, and there are also activity reports, trip reports, and meeting minutes. Analytical reports offer both information and conclusions. They're feasibility reports, recommendation reports, and peer review reports. So you might think of as the first is, the informational reports, are to keep people apprised of what's going on with something. And analytical reports are to suggest a strategy. 

There are also progress reports. These are also known as status reports they are very much like informational reports but probably a little bit less formal. They monitor progress and problems on various projects. Some organizations require monthly, weekly, or daily progress reports depending on the scope and expense of the project. 

So there's a project report right there. As you can see, there's the work completed, the types of training that are anticipated, the training room assignment and equipment, and the work remaining. So here's what we've done, here's what we need, here's what we need to go, and here's what we have to do. There's another one on a term project. This one has work completion. This is date oriented. And you can see the work that's been done and the work that's been completed. And there's the date for completion. 

Some strategies for progress reports. You want to choose an appropriate delivery format. Provide a clear subject line, present information efficiently, and make sure your report answers the anticipated questions. What I will say is that a lot of times organizations will have a standardized delivery format. So that'll solve that problem. The other thing I would say that when it says make sure your report answers the anticipated questions, you want to make sure that the information in there is sufficient to answer anticipated questions but does not bring up further questions that maybe you are not qualified to answer or don't know the answers to. 

There are periodic activity reports. They summarize general activities during a particular period and they help managers monitor the workload. Here's an example of a periodic activity report. There's the, as you can see, subject line indicates the purpose of the report. The progress on the most important ongoing projects is presented first. Then we're talking about things like preparing for testing, training education, less vital information presented at the end, other. Periodic activity reports. Once again, appropriate delivery format, clear subject line, present the information efficiently, and make sure your report answers the expected questions. 

Trip reports focus on business related travel. They help managers know whether or not business trips are worth the money. Here's an example of a trip report. Purpose, schedule, and interviews. So here's what the purpose is, here's how I spent my time, and here's what I learned. And then the conclusion provides an offer to follow up. 

Trip reports, once again, you want to take good notes and make accurate transcriptions of interviews. You want to write down the names of people and places, account for times and locations. You should provide a clear title and purpose. And the format should be easy to navigate and you should describe findings completely and objectively. A very important thing to understand is that people will want specific information so they know what you are doing specifically. 

Another type of information report is a meeting minutes or the meeting minutes. They record business meetings. Copies are given to all members to remind them of their responsibilities. This is very common in any business. Here at school when we have meetings, we always have meeting minutes taken. Here is an example of that. Title, to summarize the discussion of every item on the agenda, tells who said what, and explains decisions made or conclusions reached. So it's basically overall a summary. 

Once again, you want to take good notes during the meeting. The minutes should be completed as close to the end of the meeting as possible. You want to list who was there, describe all agenda items, record all decisions or conclusions, and once again, make sure the minutes are easy to navigate, they're precise, and they are factual. 

Feasibility reports are used to assess whether an idea, plan, or course of action is realistic and practical. The typical audience for feasibility reports is managers and people who are other decision makers. Typical questions about feasibility is what is the problem? What's the best approach to solving or dealing with it? Is this course of action likely to succeed? What are the pros and cons? What are the alternatives? Should anything be done? Should it wait? Is the timing right? 

Here is an example of that. There's a brief background introduction, if you will. There's a direct recommendation. Here's the criteria that supports the recommendation. In other words, here are the facts that went into making our decision. And that encourages reader action. 

Feasibility reports. Again, appropriate delivery format. Provide the background information. Details, data, and criteria for the recommendation. And explain why your recommendation is the most feasible of all the possible choices. And of course, in the end, you want to end with a call to action. 

Recommendation reports skip the feasibility analysis and get to the recommendation. They take an authoritative stance, emphasize expecting rather than possible benefits. Here's a recommendation report. Subject line. There it provides immediate orientation, giving brief background in the main point. It states the problem or the situation and precedes to recommendations. There are the general recommendations and an expansion on each recommendation. 

Once again, here's another one. These are recommended changes and agents' work routines and habits and why we would do that. So for the recommendation reports, things to remember. Discuss the problem or situation prior to making recommendation. Use an authoritative tone. Use headings and make them as informative as possible. And end with a list of benefits for taking action. 

Peer review reports are written between employees to give constructive criticism. You do see this fairly often in business. They must be written with tact to preserve workplace relations. Obviously if you write something that puts someone in too bad of a light, they are not going to take it in the right way, and it can have repercussions in the workplace. 

Here's a peer review report. Starts with a friendly tone. You should always say something positive. Suggested changes are clear and organized by area. You provide the rationale. You provide the specific audience to help the writer improve the review document in this case and use a polite closing. In other words, you want to be as polite as possible but yet still get your point across. 

Start with the positives, as I say. Organize by topic area. Always provide constructive criticism. Your criticism, and this is a very important thing, should have examples and advice, and you should close positively.