What Does Your Business Report Style Say About You?

In the world of business, clear and efficient communication is key. How you convey information to your clients and stakeholders can speak volumes about your professionalism, attention to detail and overall commitment to excellence.

One often overlooked aspect of communication is your report style. Whether it's a verbal recap, a handwritten note, a typed document or an automatic report generated from inspections, each method carries its own unique message. Adding to that, the more manual the process, the less opportunity there is for retrospective reporting and evaluation of your data.

Let's delve into what your chosen report style says about your business.

1. The Verbal Summary with a Handshake

Step into the prehistoric era of business communication, where your reports are as primitive as your stone-age tools. Picture yourself in a cave-like office, clad in a loincloth and sporting a club instead of a briefcase or lunchbox. As you approach clients with a hearty handshake and an offer of a brontosaurus steak, you launch into your verbal summary. Who needs fancy reports when you can use hieroglyphics and hand gestures to get your point across? You dive into your improv best and figure that the lack of written detail may end up being just as beneficial to you as for them.

You are Fred Flintstone

2. The Handwritten Report Sent as Snail Mail

Slow and steady wins the race... or so they say. In a world where email reigns supreme, you prefer to take the scenic route with your handwritten reports. Armed with a quill pen and parchment, you painstakingly transcribe your findings with the patience of a tortoise trudging through molasses. By the time your reports reach your clients via snail mail, they've become relics of a bygone era, one that people will come to see (just like that famous 191-year-old tortoise).

But hey, who needs speed when you've got the timeless charm of ink-stained fingers and smudged parchment? Hard copies litter your office like Christmas decorations in June; you know they’ll probably be useful down the track but don’t know which ones to keep at this stage, so they all get to see the light of another day. Doing things the old-fashioned way gives you a sense of comfort and nostalgia, reminding you of your youth back in the 1830s.

You are Jonathan the Giant Tortoise

3. The Typed Report Using a Letterhead Word Template, Sent via Email

Ah, the modern-day scribe, master of the tried-and-tested realm and connoisseur of lukewarm coffee. Armed with your trusty Word template and a keyboard that screams louder than your neverending to-do list, you churn out reports with the athleticism and finesse of a circus juggler.

Sure, your emails lack the flair of a Shakespearean sonnet, but who needs poetry when you've got pages of compressed bullet points in tiny typeface? Just don't forget to erase the summary from the previous report before sending this one.

The photos you diligently snapped with your point and shoot camera would be a bonus, but could you really be bothered uploading and formatting them from your camera? On second thought, maybe it’s worthwhile cutting through the slabs of information by inserting some images (just don’t make the file unworkably large); life is already chaotic enough without the visual respite.

You are Hal Wilkerson from Malcolm in the Middle

4. Automatic Reports Generated using Smart Forms

We all know that a backlog of reports is The Devil in Disguise. So automatic reports generated from inspections are the epitome of efficiency and technological advancement. They streamline the reporting process, saving time and resources while ensuring consistency and accuracy. The professional format, cover and images add a touch of Style and sophistication, signaling to clients that your business embraces innovation and cutting-edge solutions (while also keeping you out of T-R-O-U-B-L-E). You care about your image and consider yourself a bit of a pop star of the people.

There's no room for Blank Space, since everything you recorded during the inspection will be there in black and white in your report. You Can’t Help Falling In Love with the simplicity and speed of it and the knowledge that you can run reports based on any data within your Formitize platform. It’s your very own Love Story, but the one where you choose the ending every time.

You are Taylor Swift (or Elvis, depending on which side of 1989 you were born)

Your chosen reporting style speaks volumes about your business values, priorities and approach to communication. In a world that values information, you’re setting yourself up for success by communicating with accuracy, visual beauty and automation.

The client is happier, you’re less stressed and the planet benefits from your paperless prowess. Bet you never thought that was possible in your Wildest Dreams.

More information on Formitize reports is available here.