Control Process

The control process of management ensures that every activity of a business is

furthering its goals. This process basically helps managers in evaluating their
organization’s performance. By using it effectively, they can decide whether to
change their plans or continue with them as they are.

The control process consists of the following basic elements and steps:

1. Establishing goals and standards

The task of fixing goals and standards takes place while planning but it plays a big
role in controlling also. This is because the main aim of controlling is to direct a
business’s actions towards its goals. If the members of an organization know their
goals clearly, they will invest their entire focus in achieving them.

It is very important for managers to communicate their organization’s goals,

standards and objectives as clearly as possible. There must never be ambiguities
amongst employees in this regard. If everybody works towards common goals, it
becomes easier for an organization to flourish.

The goals that managers have to set and work towards may be either
tangible/specific or intangible/abstract. Tangible goals are those which are easy to
quantify in numerical terms. For example, achievement of sales worth Rs. 100
crores within one year is a tangible goal.

On the other hand, intangible goals are those which are not quantifiable
numerically. For example, a company may aim to win some prestigious award for
its corporate social responsibility activities.

2. Measuring actual performance against goals and standards

Once managers know what their goals are, they should next measure their actual
performance and compare. This step basically helps them in knowing whether
their plans are working as intended.

After implementing a plan, managers have to constantly monitor and evaluate

them. They must always be ready to take corrective measures if things are not
working properly. In order to do this, they should keep comparing their actual
performance with their ultimate goals.
Apart from taking corrective action, this step of process control also helps
managers in predicting future problems. This way they can take measures
immediately and save their business from losses.

In order to compare their actual performance, managers first have to measure it.
They can do so by measuring results in monetary terms, seeking customer
feedback, appointing financial experts, etc. This can often become difficult if
managers want to measure intangible standards like industrial
relations, market reputation, etc.

(source – utah ATV trails)

3. Taking corrective action

In case there are discrepancies between actual performances and goals, managers
need to take corrective actions immediately. Timely corrective actions can reduce
losses as well as prevent them from arising in the future again.

Sometimes, business organizations formulate default corrective actions in the

form of policies. This, however, can be difficult to do when it comes to
complicated problems.

In such cases, managers need to first quantify the defect and prepare a course of
action to remedy it. Sometimes, they may have to take extraordinary measures for
unpredictable problems.

4. Following up on corrective action

Just taking corrective measures is not enough; managers must also take them to
their logical conclusion. Even this step requires thorough evaluations and
comparisons.

Managers should stick to the problem until they solve it. If they refer it to a
subordinate, they must stay around and see to it that he completes the task. They
may even mentor him personally so that he may be able to solve such problems by
himself later.

Budgetary Control: Meaning, Objectives, Advantages and Limitations

What is Budgetary Control?

Budgetary control refers to the process of planning, controlling, and monitoring
the organization’s revenue and expenses to ensure that they align with the
budget. It involves creating budgets for various business activities, monitoring
actual performance against the budget, identifying variations, and taking
corrective actions to bring the budget back on track.
According to Brown and Howard, “Budgetary control is a system of
controlling costs which includes the preparation of budgets, coordinating the
departments and establishing responsibilities, comparing actual performance
with the budgeted and acting upon results to achieve maximum profitability.”
 Table of Content
 Objectives of Budgetary Control
 Advantages of Budgetary Control
 Limitations of Budgetary Control
 How to make Budgetary Control Effective
The main aim of budgetary control is to ensure the efficient use of resources and
achieve the organization’s objectives. It is the setting and adjusting of the
financial plans for a business, organization, or individual to check whether they
are utilizing their resources productively and systematically. Budgetary control
aims to help organizations achieve their financial goals and objectives by
ensuring that they are not overspending or underutilizing their resources. It is an
essential tool for planning and managing financial resources and can help
organizations to make informed financial decisions. It is important for
the financial management of the company.
Objectives of Budgetary Control
The main objectives of budgetary control are as follows:
1. Planning: Planning is an initial and basic step of any organization. It
involves creating a financial plan for a specific time on which the
future actions and decisions of the organization depend. Budgetary
 control lays out a plan for income and money to be spent, providing a
direction for the company’s financial activities over a predetermined
period. This ensures that the company’s financial resources are
carefully allocated and productively employed.
2. Coordination: The next objective is to coordinate or align the
business or financial operations with the organization’s overall goals
and objectives, ensuring that all departments and activities work
towards a common goal. Since the departments discuss and
coordinate with each other, it also helps to ensure that financial
information is accurate, consistent, and transparent throughout the
organization, which is essential for effective budgetary control.
3. Decision Making: It is one of the primary steps of budgetary control
which provides a solid foundation on which to make crucial decisions
that affect the future and working of the organization. With the help of
budgetary control, management has access to precise and timely
information on the organization’s financial performance. Making wise
decisions about the allocation of resources, capital expenditures, and
other important business decisions can be accomplished with the use
of this information.
4. Cost Control: Cost control is a way in which the organization can
keep a check on the budget and expenses and ensure that they do not
exceed revenue goals. It is also important to identify the areas where
the costs can be reduced. It prevents wastage or misuse of resources
and increases efficiency. A budgetary control technique for
comparing actual spending to the budgeted amount. A company can
then take the necessary corrective action after identifying any potential
expenditures or inefficiencies.
5. Resource Allocation: It is necessary to ensure the optimum
utilization of resources by allocating them to the most significant areas
according to the priority and requirements that promote the
organization’s objectives. A budget allows a company to prioritize its
expenditures and direct resources to where they are most required or
will yield the highest returns.
6. Performance Measurement: Performance measurement is a tool or
a way to evaluate the actual performance of the organization
concerning the budget, analyze and understand the problems in
different areas and take appropriate actions where needed. This
improves the overall efficiency of the organization. Business owners
and staff are held responsible for their financial performance by
creating and monitoring budgets. This may promote an environment
of understanding and answerability within the company.
7. Communication: It is one of the main advantages of budgetary
control along with motivation. It is essential to communicate the
 financial goals and objectives to all levels or departments of the
organization so that every employee in the organization recognizes the
importance of their role and gets motivated to work accordingly to
accomplish the set target and take accountability for their actions.
8. Achievement of financial targets: The most important benefit of
budgetary control is to make sure that the organization achieves its set
goal or target while keeping a check on its expenses and waste of
resources. By identifying places where expenditures can be decreased
or eliminated, budgetary control can help in enhancing the
effectiveness of the organization. This ensures that the organization
saves costs and increases profitability.
Advantages of Budgetary Control
The advantages of budgetary control are:
1. Participation: Budgetary control allows the employees of the
organization to participate in the process and contribute their
maximum effort towards achieving the goal.
2. Top management support: Budgetary control is a process that works
mainly with the assistance of the top management like the directors,
managers, etc. Therefore, if the management is supportive and
cooperative, this system of budget control becomes easier and more
efficient.
3. Reduce cost: It manages the cost of production of the company by
effective planning of financial activities and ensures that the resources
are being utilized properly so that there is minimum wastage. This
brings down the cost of operation to the organization.
4. Maximization of profit: Through planned goals and proper
coordination, the organization functions efficiently as all the activities
are adequately performed and the expenditures and capital are put to
use correctly with the help of the process of budgetary control.
5. Specific aims: The process of budgetary control makes the goal of the
organization clearer and easier to accomplish. The expenses and
resources are well allocated into areas required and help avoid
unnecessary wastage in terms of time and money. Therefore, the
improved control over activities and finance makes the goal more
definite for the organization.
6. Tool for measuring performance: The budgetary control acts as a
tool for measuring performance. It helps compare the result achieved
by the organization and the objectives that were set earlier while
planning. It detects the areas that need attention and provides
assistance or solutions.
Limitations of Budgetary Control
While budgetary control is important in achieving the goal set by the
organization but there are also a number of limitations to it. Some of them are as
follows:
1. Limited to the financial aspect: The concept or process of budgetary
control solely focuses on only the financial outlook of the
organization. The other issues like customer satisfaction, employee
benefit, safety issues, etc. are disregarded.
2. No stability: It is almost impossible to have a stable business
environment. Considering that the business condition remains
constant, the process of budgetary control may not be accurate for a
lot of the financial decisions. The organization can find it difficult to
work or adjust according to the changes it faces.
3. Inflexibility: Budgetary control depends on specific capital and
limited time. However, this can create inflexibility in the organization
as the employees might not be ready for a change and keep new ideas
and projects to themselves, which would have benefited the
organization.
4. Dependent on assumptions: Budgets are often dependent on
financial aspects like expenses, revenue, and future profits. Since
these data are mostly based on previous years’ performances, they
might not be helpful or accurate for future reference. If any of those
assumptions turn out to be wrong, the organization can suffer some
kind of loss or damage.
5. Time-consuming: Making a detailed budget report can take up a lot
of time and effort that otherwise would have been used for other
important activities such as strategic planning, customer service, and
product development. Though budgeting helps reduce the wastage of
resources, a long process of monitoring, planning, and adjusting can
exhaust a lot of resources too.
How to make Budgetary Control Effective
Not all budgetary control processes prove to be effective for the company. Due
to its drawbacks, it may face hardships. But there are several ways through
which an organization can improve its process of budgetary control. Here are a
few steps that can be followed-
1. Establish clear financial goals: The organization should set goals or
objectives that are practical, doable, and in line with the organization’s
overall plan. This is the first step in the budgetary control process.
This can work only when the organization is working according to the
strategy planned and making a budget.
2. Include relevant stakeholders: The stakeholders have an important
role in the organization. Therefore, the stakeholders, managers,
executives, and department heads should all be included in the
budgetary control process. This makes sure that everyone has a stake
 in meeting the budgeted goals and helps to focus everyone’s efforts on
the organization’s objectives. They understand the importance of their
roles and work diligently towards the goal.
3. Regular monitoring: Monitoring of the actual performance should
be done regularly. As part of the budgetary control process, actual
performance should be regularly compared to predetermined
budgetary goals. This enables managers to spot any deviations in the
early stages of the process of budgeting and take steps to fix them.
4. Effective communication: The budgetary control information should
be effectively communicated to all important stakeholders. This
ensures that the information is delivered frequently, and the directors
and stakeholders are updated on the performance of the organization,
identifying any areas that need attention, and involving stakeholders in
decision-making.
5. Use performance indicators: Performance indicators and
benchmarks can assist firms in comparing their performance to
industry norms and determining where there is a need for
improvement, and actions can be taken accordingly.
6. Constant review and adjustment: The budgetary control process
should be regularly examined, and changes should be made by the
business environment, performance statistics, and stakeholder
feedback.
Following such steps can ensure that the process of budgetary control becomes
more effective and makes it easier for the organization to fulfil its objectives.
Overall, budgetary control is a crucial tool for organizations to create goals,
effectively manage resources, limit expenses, assess performance, and inspire
staff to meet company objectives.
on-Budgetary Control Techniques
There are, of course, many traditional control devices not connected with
budgets, although some may be related to, and used with, budgetary
controls. Among the most important of these are statistical data, special
reports and analysis, analysis of break- even points, the operational audit,
and the personal observation.

1 Statistical data:

Statistical analyses of innumerable aspects of a business operation

and the clear presentation of statistical data, whether of a historical or
forecast nature are, of course, important to control. Some managers can
readily interpret tabular statistical data, but most managers prefer
presentation of the data on charts.
2 Break- even point analysis:
An interesting control device is the break even chart. This chart
depicts the relationship of sales and expenses in such a way as to show at
what volume revenues exactly cover expenses.

3 Operational audit:

Another effective tool of managerial control is the internal audit

or, as it is now coming to be called, the operational audit. Operational
auditing, in its broadest sense, is the regular and independent appraisal,
by a staff of internal auditors, of the accounting, financial, and other
operations of a business.

4 Personal observation:
In any preoccupation with the devices of managerial control, one
should never overlook the importance of control through personal
observation.
As the world adapts to the new normal in living and working,
improving productivity is the biggest challenge organizations are facing
worldwide. The hybrid work model and an ever-evolving company tech stack
have made it hard for employers to manage employee productivity during the
pandemic. Productivity Management can help individuals and teams improve
productivity. This article will discuss Productivity Management, why it is
important, and effective tips to help you create a successful productivity
management system.

Your journey to becoming PMP certified is easy with Simplilearn's PMP

Certification. Get started by enrolling now.

As the world adapts to the new normal in living and working, improving
productivity is the biggest challenge organizations face worldwide. The hybrid
work model and an ever-evolving company tech stack are making it harder for
employers to maintain employee productivity. This is where productivity
management comes in.

In this blog, we will talk about the basics of productivity management, why it is
important, and practical tips to help you create a successful productivity
management system.

What Is Productivity Management?

Productivity management is an organizational setup or framework that helps

individuals and teams improve productivity. Productivity measures how
efficiently an organization or its employees convert inputs, like labor and
capital, into outputs, like goods or services. Managers use goals, incentives,
development, and communication strategies to enhance employee performance
and help them increase their productivity.

This productivity maximizes the business’ gains either directly – through

improved productivity and quality – or indirectly – by retaining the best talents,
upskilling them, and providing additional responsibilities.

Well-managed teams come out with increased productivity. On the other hand,
poor productivity management can be one of the biggest reasons for
lackluster employee performance and engagement.

How Does Management Affect Productivity?

Studies show that good management can significantly boost productivity, and
increase market value and growth, and withstand adverse situations like a
recession. The actions of managers and the enterprise can decisively influence
the realization of productivity of the business.
Managers play a vital role in improving and maintaining productivity levels in
their teams. A Gallup study points out that as much as 70% of the variance in
employee engagement can be attributed to management. A good manager will
have a clear understanding of the skill levels of each team member, their
strengths and weaknesses, and work with them to ensure the best output from
each of them. Managers also consider teams. Stress levels and mental well-
being and extends support when needed.

Importance of Productivity in the Workplace

Highly productive employees help a company achieve its goals. Productivity

boosts morale and creates a company culture of excellence, resulting in an
improved workplace environment.

When a company is highly productive and successful, incentives like pay hikes,
bonuses, medical insurance, etc., are made available to the employees. It
motivates employees and advances their careers as the company flourishes.

For every company, productivity in the workplace is an essential aspect that the
top management must understand in order to enjoy success.

Productivity Working From Home (WFH)

Studies by Upwork show that productivity in WFH is higher than in working

from an office. On average, employees who work from home save 10 minutes
less on non-productive tasks and are nearly 47% more productive than those
working in the office. Plus, they are more consistent, work for more hours, and
manage to get more done. With the world discovering alternate ways of remote
working, productivity can actually be better working from home.
Benefits of Increased Productivity

Following are the benefits that can be derived from increased productivity:

1. Effective utilization of resources results in increased production

volume and lesser cost of production.

2. Reduced time-to-market, better quality assured

3. Less overhead costs

4. More profits to stakeholders

5. Higher per capita income generated

6. Helps achieve overall growth and prosperity of the business

How Can You Manage Your Team’s Productivity in the Workplace?

It’s never easy leading a team in the workplace. However, if handled tactfully,
you can make your team accomplish significant goals and take their
productivity to a whole new level.

As a leader, you need to give your teammates enough opportunity to grow,

make mistakes and learn. Encourage them to work in unison towards a common
goal.

Practical Tips for Improving Team Productivity

Let’s discuss how to empower your teams to be more productive:

Give Ownership to Team Members

Let your team members make their own decisions and make them accountable
for their work. This instills a sense of responsibility in employees regarding
work, making them aware that their decisions can affect the performance of the
entire team. Your trust can help build your team members’ self-esteem.

Make Proper Communication

One of the key factors that improve team productivity is effective

communication must prevail in a team. Communication helps team members
understand their responsibilities and reduces the chances of confusion within the
team, which can affect overall productivity.

Identify the Strengths and Weaknesses of Your Team

As a manager, you have to know the knowledge, skillsets, and talents of

teammates to allocate tasks accordingly. Making each member use their
strengths will improve workplace productivity significantly.

Use Project Management Tools

Numerous project management software are available that play an essential role
in boosting teamwork and productivity. Selecting the right project management
tool can help effective work management and increase collaboration between
teammates.

Reward Your Employees

Employees work best when their efforts are appreciated and they are given
incentives. Implement incentive programs in the form of cash, free vouchers,
lunch-outs, paid holidays, etc., to keep your employees motivated.

Give Constructive Feedback

Introduce performance review and constructive feedback process in the team.

There’s no way employee efficiency will improve if the employees do not know
they are being inefficient in the first place. Hence, constructive feedback is
essential to improve team productivity.

How to Create a Successful Productivity Management System

Many managers find difficulty defining job responsibilities, leaving employees

with vague ideas about what’s expected of them and how to be most productive.
To get an accurate measure of your team’s efforts, you need to look at various
factors in addition to time and effort.

Consider focusing on the following:

Quality

Whether your employees produce tangible or intangible assets, align their work
with performance metrics so that there’s a distinct way to assess their work
quality.

Impact on the Organization

Some projects might not have any particular metrics; however, they produce
intangible results that positively impact your company. These impacts can be an
improvement in employee engagement, helping other employees work better,
and improving public awareness of your company.

Insights Gained

Often, the failure of a project can yield unexpected insights that your team can
utilize to make rectifications in their approach as they move ahead. These kinds
of failures should be considered productive in helping your team reach its goal
of producing innovative work.
Principles of Control in Management

Principle of Reflection of Plans

Planning and control are two sides of the same coin, they go hand in hand. So if
the firm has a clear and complete plan then it is much easier to make a control
system for the firm. So a well-integrated plan means that the more effective the
controls are.

Principle of Prevention

The concept of ‘prevention is better than cure’ will apply to the control function as
well. So the system of control must not only focus on improving deficiencies and
solving the deviations from standards.

Instead, the focus should first be on preventing mistakes and deviations from the
plan. If there are very few shortfalls in the first place, then the remedial action
necessary is limited and manageable.

Principle of Future-Directed Control

The function of control is not simply a feedback system. Actually, control is a

feedforward operation.

Further, the managers here will be able to perceive any deviations from standards
and shortfalls from the goals of the company. And then they can take action to
prevent such an event from occurring.

Just like planning, control is a forward-looking function. With the help of relevant
information, early signs, forecasting, and rapid response systems control should be
directed towards the future.

Principle of Efficiency of Control

If the company goes overboard with setting up a control system, then, in the long
run, it could be harmful to them.
A very extensive control system can be expensive and the cost benefits can
disappear. So it is important that there is efficiency in the approach and techniques
of the control system.

Deviations from plans, shortfalls, their causes, etc must be detected at minimum
costs and without any unforeseen consequences.

So the control system must be cost-beneficial to the company. Not only in

monetary terms, but adverse human consequences must also be avoided at all
costs.

Principle of Organizational Suitability

To have an efficient and effective control system, the organizational structure of

the business must be clear and well integrated. This allows us to see where the
responsibilities will lie for which actions.

The responsibilities of the plans must be pinpointed for better control by the
managers. It will also help greatly with taking corrective actions when there are
deviations from the plan.

Principle of Action

The function of control is justified only if positive remedial action is taken. Only
pointing out deviations or shortfalls from standards is not enough.

There has to be action to correct these deviations from standards through

planning, organizing, leading, staffing and other such functions of management.

Principles of Standard

For effective control in the organisation, the company sets a common standard
that needs to be achieved by the workers. If deviations noted, they will work on
the drawbacks. This leads to the smooth functioning of the organisation

Principles of Assurance of objective

Direct Control Versus Preventive Control
Controls are necessary to check whether the performance conforms to the plans
prepared by the organization. This chapter examined the necessity of overall
control. In this context, two types of controls were discussed: direct control and
preventive control. Direct control is carried out once the deviations from the
plans are observed and then steps are taken to rectify them. The causes of
negative deviation and direct control were discussed.

The principle of preventive control is based on the idea that most of the
negative deviations from standards can be overcome by applying the
fundamentals of management. The assumptions and advantages of preventive
control were discussed in the chapter.

Two types of organization audits, the management audit and the enterprise self-
audit, were discussed. The certified management audit, its benefits and
problems regarding its application were also discussed. Finally, we examined
the enterprise self-audit, its procedure, and its contribution to management.

Managerial Reporting: Definition, Purpose and Best Practices

Managerial reporting is a key factor in growing a successful business, as it

informs the goals, decisions and strategies managers implement. Therefore, it's
important to understand the purpose of these reports and the context they
provide. Managerial reports should take a wide variety of data and come in an
easily understandable format. In this article, we define managerial reporting, its
purpose and the best practices for creating a report.

What is managerial reporting?

Managerial reporting is the collection of data that informs managers on how to

efficiently run their department. A successful business implements managerial
reports not only to track a department's key performance indicators (KPIs) but
also to help guide its managers toward making accurate, data-driven decisions.
These decisions can range from cutting costs to determining how many
employees should be on staff.Managerial reports can include a wide variety of
data and should be tailored to the recipient. For example, while there may be
some crossover information, a floor manager at a clothing store should receive
different data than the marketing manager. A floor manager needs figures such
as employee hours and sales numbers, while a marketing manager needs
information regarding sign-ups through email and social media engagement.
Managerial reports reflect the status and health of a business and remove the
guesswork from implementing strategies. With hard data compiled specifically
for certain departments, department managers can evaluate what strategies have
worked and which need improvement. Managerial reporting is important in:

 Monitoring and tracking KPIs and other performance metrics

 Setting goals and milestones
 Determining the profitability of a product, service or client
 Deciding where money is best spent
 Pricing products or services accurately
 Hiring the correct type and amount of employees
 Creating cohesive communication regarding the data collected
Having access to this type of data allows managers to be able to shape the future
of a business. They can confidently make decisions that affect the growth of
their company.

What to include in a managerial report

What goes into a managerial report depends on the manager it's being sent to.
Each department requires KPIs that directly affect its department. These are a
few standards that should be included in a managerial report:

 Cover page: Professionalism is important, so be sure to brand your cover

page with your company's logo or seal.
 Values, vision and mission: This is not only a friendly reminder of the
company's identity, but it also reminds the team of the company's strategy
that can inspire decisions for the next month or quarter.
 Table of contents: Everything in the report is important, but being able
to quickly locate information for reference is highly beneficial.
 Organizational scorecard view: The scorecard provides a brief
overview of the department and should be organized by the order in
which the report will be read.
 Detailed page: An effective management report should include at least
one page with an extensive breakdown of the department's strategic goals
and objectives that should include recommendations and information on
the supporting data.
 Charts: Charts provide a simple way to show the data surrounding KPIs,
should present clear targets and are uniform throughout the report.
  Project overviews: The department needs a review of the projects that
benefit their strategy, including budgets and information regarding a
project's completion.
 Online version: It's important to have a digital copy of the management
report so the team can access it from anywhere, using a cloud-based
software service is recommended.
 Time-stamped footer: This is beneficial in keeping everyone up to date
in case a change needs to be made.
 Action items: A major purpose of managerial reports is to present data to
inform strategy and the decisions that need to be made, providing the
action items discussed in meetings can help keep the entire team

Best practices for writing a managerial report

A thoughtful, organized and methodical approach will be the best way to handle
writing a management report, using best practices as follows:

Set goals

Thinking of the results you want a specific department to achieve can give you
a better idea of what needs to be included in the report. For example, if you
want the floor manager to reduce theft of time, include a breakdown of
employee time cards. Before you start constructing the managerial report, ask
yourself some questions like the following:

 What is the main purpose of the report?

 Who is receiving the report?
 What is my definition of success?
 What KPIs can illustrate my goals?
 Where will I get the data?
 How do I interpret the data?
Asking yourself these questions can help you decide what information goes to
which departments and give you a clear and communicable understanding of
what you expect to achieve.

Choose the right KPIs

KPIs are important in showing managers how their department is performing.

Each department may require different sets of KPIs, and the data included can
provide them with insights into how former decisions and strategies have
actualized. A floor manager should know how their sales team is performing to
provide effective coaching. Therefore, time card data and commission totals are
important for their report. Keep in mind the recipient of the report and ask
yourself what data-driven questions they would want to be answered.

Incorporate customer feedback

Your clients are among the most important parts of your business. Data from
online surveys can prove useful in highlighting both failures and successes in
certain departments. Feedback could suggest that data indicates would be
successful. For instance, consider a website that doesn't get a lot of traffic.
Checking feedback and survey results might reveal that it isn't very mobile-
friendly. Showing this report to your marketing manager could tell them where
improvements are needed.

Use data to tell a story

Many people rely on context, content and meaning to understand information—

especially hard data. Having a beginning, middle and end regarding your data
can help your goals become clear and questions to be answered. This can be as
simple as comparing a target revenue estimation and an actual revenue number
to narrate the impact of a certain sale. Using historical data, such as the actual
revenue number from last year, can provide context for the estimated target
revenue. The more you can use data narratively, the better you can
communicate your message in your managerial report.

Create focus through visuals

Try to stay within using three to six KPIs in a report and make the most
important information the most present visual. Place contextual and additional
information close to the main data in a way that doesn't overwhelm the reader.
For example, using online dashboard software can help you easily organize
your data into a report. Prioritizing certain visual data can aid in your
storytelling, so be sure to keep that in mind as well.

Be very clear

To ensure everyone understands your report, make sure to present your data in
the clearest way possible. This can help facilitate any inter-departmental
discussions and make sure that no data is overlooked. Here are some tips to
keep your report clear:

 Leave white space between segments of information.

 Select colors carefully and purposefully.
 Include date ranges.
  Note whether a KPI is not up to standards, acceptable or above and
beyond.
 Use common metrics.

Keep the report scannable

While the intent is for managers to read reports thoroughly, once they've
digested the information, they may need to refer to the report for reminders or
specific figures. Using visuals and keeping the report clear can assist in this. To
further enhance readability, consider the placement of headings, totals and
summaries.

Continue improving

You may find that you need to remove or add information to revitalize your
report over time. As your workforce changes and your technological methods
improve, be open to their ideas and suggestions, as it can help both you and
your team improve their performance as they create managerial reports in the
future.