Distributing Strategy Reports: Information-Sharing Done Right

Distribution is part of the final step in creating a strategy report. It’s where your leadership team gets the insights you’ve put together about performance.

Our earlier posts cover the previous stages of the strategy reporting process:

1. First you collect data from the variety of sources throughout your organization.
2. Then you synthesize the data. This means aggregating information, making appropriate charts, and presenting data in a helpful manner.
3. Next you put qualitative analysis around the data to glean insight into why measures are moving in different directions and how projects are impacting performance.

The last step in the process is to build reports for the right audiences (which we cover in this post) and distribute the information into the hands of decision makers, who will react to the data. Below is how to make sure everyone has the information they need when they need it, and how to simplify information sharing.

Why Distribution Matters

Most organizations have a constant flow of communication, whether it’s communication with external parties, internal corporate information sharing, or messages about strategy. Your strategy reports need to stand out from the noise because decisions depend on them.

One way to get them the attention they deserve, and set them apart from other communication, is to make them visually distinctive. Include a cover page, custom headers and footers, and organizational logos and colors. Attractive reports aren’t necessarily the norm, so the more appealing you can make them look, the better.

You may also choose, for instance, to design the Board report using a red theme, the Executive report a blue theme, and the Finance report a green theme. Then, at first glance on the report title page, the viewer knows what to look forward to and what “hat” to wear when reviewing the information.

Another way to encourage people to view your report is to send it in the right format for your audience. Reports come in many formats, and distribution may look different for each. Briefing Books are a common format; these are clickable PDF reports that can be viewed both on and offline. But some recipients may need an HTML version, which you can link to or embed on your site. Still others might simply want a printed copy. Find out what format (or formats) your audiences prefer and set up the process around them. Then let people know where to find the information.

A final tip to boost recognition: Send your reports to recipients on a consistent timetable. They should be distributed, along with recommended action plans, in advance of every strategy meeting. “Training” participants to be on the lookout for your communication each cycle will ensure your messages are well received.

Distribution Challenges To Overcome

The distribution stage closes each strategy reporting cycle. It should give decision-makers a consistent, simple, and timely way to access relevant performance data. This step can easily become an afterthought, and if it isn’t done right it can wreak havoc on your strategy meetings. It can also add significantly to your strategy team’s workload unless you take steps to automate the process.

Some of the issues organizations tend to run into when it comes to distributing their reports are:

• Creating and distributing many different types of reports is time consuming. Different audiences need to see different data, or need the same data positioned in different ways, so you may need to make several different reports.
• Version control threatens report accuracy. If one piece of data or information changes, it needs to be updated in all reports that contain that information. But figuring out which reports are up to date and where the right version of the file lives can be a nightmare. The result is wasted management time and incorrect or outdated reports.

The bottom line: Gain control over this stage, or management meetings turn into debates about the numbers instead of informing decisions. The last thing you want is for leadership meetings to feel like an expensive waste of time.

4 Ways To Improve Your Report Distribution Process

The practices below address these challenges. We also note how ClearPoint strategy reporting software can simplify distribution (and the other phases of reporting), reduce your workload, and make this data easier to share and read.

1. Keep all strategy-related data on one platform to simplify distribution.

We recommend that you choose a main data platform (like ClearPoint or a similar strategy reporting software) where all your strategic information “lives.” This makes it easier to create the different report formats you need. For example, when users update data in ClearPoint, it updates in every report where that data appears. ClearPoint also allows you to export reports in many formats including Excel, PDF, PPT, and HTML web pages.

2. Automate distribution as much as possible.

Automation has two benefits: It reduces the amount of time your strategy team spends on distribution. It also improves the accuracy of the information. The fewer people touching a report, the fewer chances for error.

If you’re using ClearPoint as your strategy reporting platform, the system can automatically generate reports each month (or each quarter) to be used in strategy meetings and even send them to meeting attendees on a specified schedule. That way, everyone always has the information they need, when they need it.

3. Make use of report templates.

Templates allow you to save the layout of a report and use it to create standardized reports. In ClearPoint you choose the measures and layout for report templates, and you can include your organization’s branding/colors, standard headers and footers, and cover pages. You don’t need to create new reports each cycle. Set up the reports you want for each audience once, and turn each into a template for future use.

4. Add a timestamp.

When you don’t have help from the software that you use, keeping your document versions in order can be difficult, especially if you’re using spreadsheets that are passed from person to person. To help with organization, put the date the document is created or revised on the first page of your reports.

ClearPoint automates the addition of timestamps. You can also establish view-only users to keep your reports password-protected, only granting access to certain sections of the account as needed. You can even track changes and undo them if necessary.

Master The Distribution Stage With ClearPoint

The management reporting cycle doesn’t end with report creation; if you don’t have an effective way to get those reports into the hands of decision-makers, your efforts are for nothing. The best-run organizations have systems and tools in place to handle information sharing well.

To see how you can produce and distribute more accurate reports with ClearPoint, and spend less time on the process, schedule a demo of our software. We’d love to show you around!

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