The Basics how
to write a simple business report is have four sections:
1.
Introduction
2.
Findings
3.
Conclusions
4.
Recommendations
These below are the explanation about the four sections:
1.
Introduction
The introduction answers the following:
·
Who ordered the report?
·
What is the purpose of the report?
·
Where does the information come from?
·
Are recommendations given?
This style of introduction is sometimes called the Terms of
Reference and is also sometimes under the heading of Terms of Reference. The
terms of reference may also mention who wrote the report and what date it was
submitted.
The background section could be included in the
introduction, but it seems neater here to give it its own heading.
Some reports begin with a summary, known as the Executive
Summary. This is generally used for much longer reports and is included so that
top executives can get an overview without reading the entire report. By
convention, the executive summary comes before the introduction. Our example report
does not have an executive summary because it is already relatively short.
2.
Findings
The Findings or Body section is generally the longest
section of a report. It is called the findings because it is generally written
after a period of some sort of investigation or research.
The findings section should simply present information
without drawing conclusions (which go in the conclusions section) or giving
recommendations (which go in the recommendations section). However, it should
be written in a way that conclusions and recommendations naturally follow.
3.
Conclusions
Note that, unlike an academic essay, the conclusions section
is not the last section of the report – it is the second last.
In this case, the conclusions have been numbered to make it
easy to see that there are four main conclusions. Look back at the findings;
for each body paragraph, there is one conclusion, and they are written in the
same order. Each conclusion is basically a summary of a problem written about
in the Findings section.
4.
Recommendations
The last section of a report is the recommendations section.
For each concluding point, a recommendation is given. The recommendations are
given in the same order as the conclusions and are numbered here for easy
reference.
Notice the language which is used. The most common modal
verb used in the recommendations section is ‘should’. Remember that the person
writing the report is not the person who makes the decisions – the writer’s job
is simply to give recommendations. Hence, we do not use the word ‘will’ and we
prefer ‘should’.
After we have known about the
four sections of business report. We also should know about the language that
used in this report. Generally, the language used in a report is formal. We
tend not to use the words ‘I’ or ‘We’. So instead of writing:
·
When we carried out the staff survey, we found
that the most common complaint was about the working environment.
·
…we use the passive voice:
·
When the staff survey was carried out, it was
found that the most common complaint was about the working environment.
·
However, this is a rule that is often broken.
Modern writers do sometimes use ‘I’ or ‘We’ in a report. The language in a
report should be logical and factual.
Example of simple business report :
Introduction
This report is written at the request of the Chief Financial
Officer in order to investigate the high turnover rate amongst employees in the
Kingsley Helpdesk Operation. The information in the report is based on a
week-long investigation into the matter by three members of the Human Resource
Department. The three-member team interviewed staff, checked administration
records and observed working conditions. Recommendations are made in this
report on how to decrease the high rate of staff turnover at the centre.
Background
The Kingsley Helpdesk Centre has been in operation for four
years. It employs 100 personnel whose work comprises mainly of handling
telephone enquiries from the general public regarding our range of
telecommunication services. Although situated in an area with high
unemployment, the annual turnover has been between 50 and 55% every year since
it opened. The average annual turnover for the helpdesk/call centre industry is
33%, already considered high compared to other industries
Findings
One of the first things that the team noticed was the lack
of training of the personnel in handling a call. Each employee had their own
system of dealing with an issue. Where a process needed to be explained,
different employees would provide different steps. In many instances, the
employees felt frustrated because they had not been trained how to handle an
issue and were merely guessing at the solution.
When the staff survey was carried out, it was found that the
most common complaint was about the working environment. Although a fifteen
minute break every three hours was promised, in reality the long queue of
callers on hold meant that a break was impossible, especially during peak
hours. The lunch break was usually shortened for the same reason.
The employees work in teams of eight, supervised by a team
leader. The team leaders were observed to criticise and correct the employees
when they made mistakes, but never to praise the employees when they did well.
Interviews with the team members confirmed this.
Finally, many employees complained that there was no chance
of decent career progression. Team leaders are paid only very slightly more
than the team members and have to work slightly longer hours. The centre is run
by three managers, who were sent there from headquarters rather than being
promoted from amongst the ranks.
Conclusions
The main issues that we found were as follows:
·
A lack of training leads to employee
frustrations and disillusionment.
·
The hectic working environment, due to
understaffing, means employees cannot socialise and do not enjoy their work.
·
Employees are reprimanded but never praised,
leading to employee disillusionment.
·
Employees do not perceive that they are able to
better themselves by remaining in this organisation.
Recommendations
To address these four main issues, we recommend the
following steps be taken:
·
A team of three full time training officers
should be hired by the centre. These officers should be tasked with organising
a proper training session for all incoming staff. The staff must be trained on
company procedures as well as basic and advanced customer service skills.
·
The number of helpdesk operators should be
increased by 10% during peak hours. Centre managers must ensure that break and
lunch hours are not shortened or skipped.
·
A workshop should be held for team leaders and
they should be trained on how to give appropriate feedback – constructive
criticism and praise.
·
Team leaders should receive either a pay
increase or an improved annual bonus in order to reward their greater
contribution. At least one manager should be promoted from within.
