Are You Producing Reports That Nobody Reads? A Radical Approach to Streamlining Reporting

Companies generate countless internal reports, often adding new teams to meet growing management demands for information. This leads to substantial costs with limited value. Regularly reviewing your reporting inventory is essential—but traditional methods like surveys and interviews often fall short. Here’s a bold alternative to rethinking your reporting process.

The Traditional Approach: Inventory and Interviews

Many companies lack a clear overview of their reports—summarizing their content, frequency, and audience. While creating such an inventory is a good starting point, it doesn’t address the fundamental question: Who really needs this information, and why?

The typical next step involves surveys or interviews to assess the relevance of reports. However, these rarely yield actionable insights. Why? Because few managers will admit they don’t need a report—or suggest reducing its frequency or scope. The result: no change in effort, process, or audience. If this is your plan, don’t waste your time.

The Alternative: A Radical Experiment

Instead of surveys, we propose a bold, results-driven approach:

1. Continue Producing Reports, But Don’t Send Them

   
   

   • Record the time and effort involved in producing each report, including preparation, layout, validation, and quality assurance.

   • Then, stop sending the report overnight. Hold it back and wait.

     
     

2. Wait for Feedback

   
   

   • Observe whether anyone notices the missing report. Does anyone request it? Or do they complain?

   • Be ready to respond either way:

     • No one notices? Congratulations—you just saved your company time and resources.

     • Complaints arise? Use this as an opportunity to engage.

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3. Have the Conversation

   
   

   • Explain the purpose of the experiment: streamlining reporting to focus on what truly matters for management.

   • Highlight the effort required to produce the report, emphasizing that reporting isn’t free and resources could be better used on analysis or other priorities.

   • Collaborate with the audience to identify what information is genuinely essential and explore ways to optimize the format.

     
     

The Reality: It’s Tough, But Worth It

Expect resistance, especially when the phone starts ringing with complaints about missing reports. Prepare by aligning with your line manager or leadership team beforehand. This approach requires repetition, but it’s a vital step toward prioritizing relevant, impactful reporting.

The potential benefits are substantial:

• Effort Savings: Expect to reduce reporting workloads by 10–25% on a net basis.

• Actionable Feedback: Gain valuable insights from stakeholders on what content truly matters, allowing for further optimization.

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Want to Learn More?Ready to take the leap? Reach out at info@lumova.ch or give us a call. Let’s make your reporting process more efficient and impactful.