Truth 25. Writing good progress reports is worth your time

Let’s look at something that most people hate doing but can really make you look good if done well: regular reports to your boss on your work progress or what you’ve been doing all week.

Goal—Think past the idea that your goal is simply to get an onerous task out of the way. You want to demonstrate that you’ve used your time well, made progress on your current project, and get the support you need (supplies, equipment, resources, discussion).

Audience—The “what’s in it for me?” idea is always important. So why does the boss impose this task on you and your colleagues? Distrust? No…he or she hopes to hear you are performing well. In a department with more than a handful of staff members, a supervisor simply can’t observe what everyone is doing and track the big picture. And he or she can’t hold enough meetings to interact one on one and drag any problems or questions to the surface.

Ultimately, too, your boss needs to report on collective progress to someone higher up the ladder. Your reports may also be essential for billing clients.

Tone—One more thing that just about everyone you write to has in common—feeling strapped for time. Almost every e-mail you write will be read by an impatient and distracted person. This affects your presentation approach: You’ll want to be businesslike, efficient, and tight.

Content—What does your goal and audience analysis already tell you to cover in your progress report, regardless of the specifics of your job?

• A rundown of how you used your time (a proportional approach is probably fine)

• If your work is project-oriented, what progress you’ve made, and whether you’re on schedule

• Any problems you’re encountering

• Any help you need to do your project, or job, well

Organize—The content map is logical; try using that order.

Begin with a strong lead—In an e-mail, that’s the subject line, plus the first sentence or so of the message. Some subjects call for a catchy subject line. That’s when you’re competing for attention. This is not one of those occasions. Your boss will not respond favorably to “What Willie Did the Week of March 14th.” You’re better off with “Progress Report: Week of March 14.”

The middle and end will flow naturally because you’ve got your message planned, so let’s start with the message lead and see where it takes us.

Dear Sam:

Here’s my progress report for the week of March 14.

General Allocation of Time:

50% on the Wise-Allen project.

25% closing out the details on the Fineman project.

10% participating in meetings and industry networking.

10% training and supervising the interns.

5% working on the database reorganization.

Personal-Time Activities:

After-hours social meeting with Rod Blaine of SatSun, a good prospect for our services.

Spoke on international commerce careers at the high school Tuesday night.

Major Project Progress:

Wise-Allen is on target in most respects: The supplies have been ordered, the staff is briefed, and the working plan is three-quarters developed. Obtaining additional staff support is running late, however.

Fineman should be wrapped up within the 10-day framework.

New Contacts:

Met and talked at some length with Brad Savitch, VP of Manson Inc., at the JVNC meeting on Wednesday, and plan a follow-up call to request a meeting. His firm may be interested in our international support service.

Intern Program:

The interns are doing productive work and having a good experience helping with the database work. I met with each of them for 15 minutes to check things out.

Problems: As noted above, there have been delays in getting the help we need from HR. We need time from specialists for the technical aspects of Wise-Allen—I’ll attach a list—which could cause serious delays in completing this stage of the project. Would you consider placing a call to HR to let them know this is important, or drop them a note? Thanks.—Bill

Now we have a draft of the e-mail. Next…

Evaluate—What comes across overall—what would be your impression of the writer? If the message doesn’t meet the stated goals, or doesn’t seem right for the audience, you’d adapt or change it at this point. Notice we added in a “Personal Activities” section because in the course of drafting the memo, it seemed like a good opportunity to remind Sam that this employee goes above and beyond the standard work-hour framework and expectations. But whether you should do this depends on the personality of your recipient.

Of course, you may work in an office that demands far more detail or provides a form to fill out, especially if billable hours must be documented. Adapt the ideas to your own environment and the people you work with and for. Even company guidelines can be applied with imagination. Take your activity reports seriously, and you’ll see opportunities to give a strong impression of your capabilities and advance your long-range goals.