Writing at Workplace

Writing a report

Section A: Definition

A report in the workplace is a document which gives important information about a business such as facts, analyses and research findings to help executives make decisions for the optimal operating conditions of the company or for the future development of the business. The essential information may also be written for the reference of the people within the same company.

Section B: Purpose

The purpose(s) of writing a report can be one or more of the following:

finding out problems and solving them
seeking opportunities for the company to develop further
keeping the stakeholders of the company informed in an updated manner
analyzing issues which are important to the business of a company
making relevant recommendations

Section C: Content

1. Title

The title should be a noun phrase stating the main concern of the report. It should be clear and concise.

It should not be too broad such as “Report on Forward Company in Zhaoqing”, or too narrow such as “Report on the Transport to Forward Company in Zhaoqing”.

A suitable title may be “Report on the Partnership with Forward Company in Zhaoqing”.

2. Introduction

In the introduction, you need to state why you write the report. You should mention the background of the report with a clear thesis statement for the readers to know what the rest of the report is about.

e.g. “This report aimed to investigate into the course of our partnership with Forward Company in Zhaoqing in China. Statistics were found with analyses on the results of the partnership. Recommendations were given at the end of the report.”

3. Methodology

In this section, you should mention the research methods of your report. Have you used a qualitative method with open-ended questions, a quantitative one with numerical information, or a combination of these two?

e.g. “A quantitative research method was used by investigating into the sales statistics after our partnership with Forward Company.”

4. Findings

This section is the main body of your report, mentioning the results of your research. You can use illustrations such as graphs and tables to support your findings if you find these suitable. Remember to present the information as facts and not opinions.

e.g. “The value of total retail sales in December 2022, at $15 billion, increased by 10% compared with the same month in 2021, while the value of total retail sales in November 2022 increased by 9% compared with those a year earlier.”

5. Recommendation

Your recommendation should be concrete and specific, supported with clear justifications which are directly related to your research.

e.g. “It is recommended that we continue our partnership with Forward Company since, according to the statistics shown in the Findings section, our sales increased owing to the partnership.”

6. References (if any)

If you have used any references in your research for doing the report, you need to state all the sources in this section at the end. Please use a proper citation format such as APA.

For the APA citation format, you can refer to the EdUHK Student Handbook Chapter 14 Citation System.

Section D: Points to consider when writing a report

Write a draft for your report first so that you can plan what suitable information to be included before you actually start writing your report. You can also check if everything necessary is mentioned.
Clarity is very important since there should not be any misunderstanding in the information you present in your report.
Define your goal and scope first in order to let you consider what type of data you need to research for to address the issue.
Use headings and sub-headings for sections and sub-sections for the readers to get a clear overview of the whole report.
Proofread your report for grammar, spelling, headings, sub-headings and the information written including statistics and numbers so that there will not be any mistakes.

Exercise

Read the example of a business report below and answer the questions which follow.

Report on Staff Turnover in Bright Future Company Ltd.

1. Introduction
This report was requested by the Human Resources Manager, Mr David Smith, to analyse the high staff turnover of employees in Bright Future Company Ltd. The company currently employs 500 members of staff. The annual turnover rate has been between 30 and 40% within the last three years.

2. Methodology
The research and data in this report were collected over a period of three months. The team of five members analysed working conditions and administration records and also interviewed staff. In this report, the researchers make recommendations to reduce the high turnover of staff working in Bright Future Company Ltd.

3. Findings
3.1 Lack of support to new mothers
The first issue mentioned by employees was a lack of support to new mothers who require child care services so that they will be able to come to work. The staff mentioned their frustration at not having an in-house child care system that could help them continue working.

3.2 Lack of communication between staff and management
The employees also expressed that there was a lack of communication between employees and upper management. They did not know the main business objectives which led them to lose interest in the company and their jobs.

3.3 Lack of facilities in the pantry
The staff mentioned that there was a lack of facilities such as drinkable water, coffee, tea, snacks and cutlery in the pantry for them.

4. Recommendations
To address these three issues, the following solutions are recommended:
i. An in-house childcare centre should be set up to encourage mothers to stay working at Bright Future Company Ltd.
ii. A representative should be elected in each department for the interests of staff in management meetings. This representative can express concerns and relay outcomes to his/her department to increase engagement.
iii. Drinkable water, coffee, tea, snacks and cutlery should be bought and put in the pantry for the employees to enjoy and use.

(adapted from https://uk.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/how-to-write-a-business-report by Indeed Career Guide)