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Introduction

Report writing is a time consuming business so it is a great shame if, having devoted all that time to writing your report, the quality is such that hardly anyone can be bothered to read it. Quite frankly, most report readers do not actually read all the report; they are too short of time. You might as well know it and accept it -- that is normal. They only read the parts that interest them. Frequently these are the summary, the conclusions and recommendations.

Of course, some readers do need all the details you so carefully included, they are specialists, but most do not. Most readers just need two things: that the information they want is where they expect it to be so they can find it, and that it is written clearly so that they can understand it.

It is similar to reading a newspaper. You expect the news headlines to be on the front page; the sports coverage to be at the back; the TV listings on page whatever and the editorial comment in the middle. If what you want is not in its usual place then you have to hunt for it and you may get irritated. So it is with a report.

There is a convention as to what goes where. Stick with the convention and please your readers. Break the convention and people may get slightly irritated - and bin your report.

So what is that convention, the standard format?

Standard Sections

Title Section. In a short report this may simply be the front cover. In a long one it could also include Terms of Reference, Table of Contents and so on.

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. It isn't but for some people it might as well be. Keep it brief and free from jargon so that anyone can understand it and get the main points. Write it last, but do not copy and paste from the report itself; that rarely works well.

Introduction. This is the first part of the report proper. Use it to paint the background to 'the problem' and to show the reader why the report is important to them. Give your terms of reference (if not in the Title Section) and explain how the details that follow are arranged. Write it in plain English.

Main Body. This is the heart of your report, the facts. It will probably have several sections or sub-sections each with its own subtitle. It is unique to your report and will describe what you discovered about 'the problem'.

These sections are most likely to be read by experts so you can use some appropriate jargon but explain it as you introduce it. Arrange the information logically, normally putting things in order of priority -- most important first. In fact, follow that advice in every section of your report.

You may choose to include a Discussion in which you explain the significance of your findings.

Conclusions. Present the logical conclusions of your investigation of 'the problem'. Bring it all together and maybe offer options for the way forward. Many people will read this section. Write it in plain English. If you have included a discussion then this section may be quite short.

Recommendations. What do you suggest should be done? Don't be shy; you did the work so state your recommendations in order of priority, and in plain English.

Appendices. Put the heavy details here, the information that only specialists are likely to want to see. 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.

Conclusions and Recommendations

In conclusion, remember that readers expect certain information to be in certain places. They do not expect to hunt for what they want and the harder you make it for them the more likely they are to toss you report to one side and ignore it. So what should you do?

1. Follow the generally accepted format for a report: Summary, Introduction, Main Body, Conclusions, Recommendations and Appendices.
2. Organise your information in each section in a logical fashion with the reader in mind, usually putting things in order of priority - most important first.

Good luck with your report writing!

Author: Tony Atherton
© Tony Atherton 2005)

About the author: Tony Atherton is a freelance trainer and writer based in England. He has had four books published and about 90 of his articles have appeared in various magazines and journals. After an earlier career in industry he now runs in-company training courses in business writing, report writing (including technical reports) and taking minutes, as well as negotiation skills and time management. Over 6000 delegates have attended his courses. See http://www.tony-atherton.co.uk/reportwriting.htm for details of report writing courses, or see http://www.tony-atherton.co.uk for general information.

Job

Increasingly employers admit to using social networking sites and search engines as tools to carry out the checks referenced in the work process. Social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn and search engines like Yahoo and Google have become very popular with employers and candidates seeking the screen.

Business Justification.

Why should an employer issue with Google and Facebook to research potential candidates? E 'simple curiosity, or is there real business justification? Many studies confirm the costs associated with poor hiring decision online. The cost of goods sold is estimated to be twice the annual salary for a particular position. The cost of a bad hire, which remains with a company, is even greater.

Companies have an interest that will be a "contingent liability" with a box of evil. For example, someone who runs a website for rental partisanship racist or illegal activities are another importantpotential liability for any business. There are many reasons why a company would choose this option to check a possible candidate to conduct research or a reference.

Candidate

With the growing popularity of social networking sites and powerful search engines such as Google, personal data has never been easier to obtain. Recently, Facebook opened its site to search engines like Google and Yahoo. Despite the legal or moralCandidates can remember the controls are employers on Google or Facebook on their personal data and the implementation of employment, it might be wise to Web for job seekers to be careful what you post on.

Employers

Regardless of the established labor law still applies. In many countries there are specific laws against discriminatory hiring practices. In Canada, the Human Rights Act on Protection of Individualsof discriminatory hiring practices on the basis of religion, race, sex, marital status, disability, and so on. And 'advisable for applicants and employers to be familiar with the concepts of law as bfor etc. For example, a company should not manage, because the results of the search engine shows that the applicant has a religious site. If employers are considering the inclusion of the use of search engines and social networking sites in their screening and selectionProcess, so be consistent in its application at the same time respecting all norms of current job. Consistency means that all candidates go through a recruitment procedure that your policy should be applied consistently. For example, if your company runs criminal background checks as a condition of employment, so it should not take this step for all applicants fully choose the ones that look like a criminal. If the employer does not have concerns for their recruitment policy, it would be prudentHuman Resources to contact their lawyer or professional work.

Finally, as mentioned above to avoid the business decision to use search engines and networking sites to research potential staff costs driven by all before. This is the employer are motivated to avoid the costs and liabilities of a low rent. The same logic would then also important that employers consider the impact on public perception and involvement of employees in the exercise of thatPolicies. As if the employees and job seekers view of search engines and networking sites for candidates to research as in bad taste to help with the exercise of the employer would defeat the purpose.

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