Knowledge management and writing business reports

With the use of social networks, Wikis, Lotus Notes and other tools for cooperation, there is a great risk that the basic skills of how to write a business report is being lost.

Photo by Peter Denton Flickr CC

Reports build knowledge

In a well working company or society, each generation stands on the shoulders of their forefathers. What this means is that knowledge is not lost, that it is documented and retrievable. Sounds easy but it's not. The art of building a collective memory is a huge challenge, at the same time it is crucial for creating value and "invisible".

The "invisible" part is risky. If you don't do the work, very few will notice at first and thus it is not rewarding. There is no individual and immediate Return on Investment, but failure to build knowledge transforms the company into a stumbling beginner in all areas and all the time.

Expected sections

To make a report efficient, the readers expect a certain structure leading up to clear and brash recommendations at the end. These are the most common sections:

1. Title Section. Could be just the front cover or include Terms of Reference, Table of Contents and so on.

2. Summary. Give a clear and very concise account of the main points, main conclusions and main recommendations. Keep it very short, a few percent of the total length. Some people, especially senior managers, may not read anything else so write as if it were a stand-alone document. Write it last, but do not copy and paste from the report itself.

3. Introduction. Use one sentence for each idea, maximum four sentences to build a paragraph and a thought. The first few words has to make your readers interested, you have to earn your right to their attention. Explain why the report is important and how it is structured.

4. Main Body. Here you state the facts of what you have found about "the problem". It might well be structured in sections and sub-sections with subtitles. Write things in order of priority and you could include a "Discussion" section where you present different points of view and interpretations of the data.

5. Conclusions. Present the logical conclusions. Offer options for the way forward. Many people will read this section. If you have included a discussion then this section may be quite short.

6. Recommendations. What do you suggest should be done? State your recommendations in order of priority.

7. Appendices. Heavy details go here, information for the specialists. Tony Atherton suggests that "As a guide, if some detail is essential to your argument then include it in the main body, if it merely supports the argument then it could go in an appendix".

Over to you, is there a section you think is missing?