In several of my previous episodes, I've mentioned that one way to stand out is to produce status reports that are value focused instead of task focused. This week, I go into more detail about what that type of status report would look like.
Purpose and Audience
The first thing to understand about a status report is its purpose. By knowing who the audience is you can properly tailor the report to meet the purpose that they care about and summarized appropriately. For your clients and stakeholders, it's a means to communicate project progress. For your manager, a status report ensures that they are able to track your performance against your annual goals. For executives, it's an opportunity to update them on company initiatives.
Did you notice something? The purpose of a status report differs based on the audience and they aren't one-size fits-all. This implies that you would be creating different status reports for each audience.
The other thing to be aware is that each different audience will likely need a different cadence for reporting status. Clients and stakeholders are more engaged in your day to day activities and would require more frequent updates. Executives have a higher level focus and may only need updates a couple of times per quarter.
Content
Status reports that just list the things you've done are very forgettable. Regardless of who your status is for, the key is to transform your status updates from task-focused to value-focused. If you want to make an impression and stand out, focus less on the tasks and more on the outcomes. Activities that do not provide value likely aren't worthy of being included in a status report.
Instead of saying: "Automated reporting of our KPIs"
Say this: "Increased the productivity of my business partners leading to a $50k annualized savings by automating the reporting of our KPIs"
Instead of saying: "Delivered the Artemis project on-time and on-budget"
Say this: "Delivered the Artemis project within the planned 5 months and $1M budget which is projected to save the company $15M over the next three years"
These types of statements still reveal the work that you've completed but highlight the value that those activities provide.
Be sure to align the status with the purpose of your audience. When updating your clients and stakeholders, the focus will be on project deliverables. But if you are sending a status report to your manager, try to align the value with progress against your goals.
