The 6 mistakes to avoid when creating a report
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In previous articles, we have seen that reporting can be an essential tool for analyzing the KPIs of your company. However, this tool must be used correctly to be truly effective, and for that, there are certain steps not to neglect.
Content, choice of KPIs, complexity of the dashboard… Here are the 6 mistakes not to repeat in the design of a reporting !
Error No. 1 : Creating a reporting that is too complex
Be careful not to create a reporting that is too complex. Indeed, it is unnecessary to add too many metrics, too much data. You must target the data that you will really need ; adding too many data points or KPIs will make your reporting unreadable and much less relevant. An effective reporting is a well-constructed, simple, coherent, and relevant reporting.
Error No. 2 : Choosing the wrong performance indicators
One of the first things to do when creating your reporting is to choose your performance indicators correctly. You must ask yourself the following questions :
What indicators do I need to manage the performance of my company ?
What are the most relevant data to analyze ?
What is the real objective of my reporting ?
A reporting with incorrect performance indicators will put obstacles in your way instead of helping you manage your company correctly. Be careful not to fall into the trap of having too much data. Many companies believe that to improve performance, they always need more data, more KPIs, and more reporting. But in the end, this makes reports too heavy, too detailed, hard to understand, and without added value. You understood it: focus on the really important data, the ones that will allow you to move forward, to take your company further.
Error No. 3 : Choosing the wrong visualization for your data
We cannot say it enough, but the purpose of a reporting is to present a company's data in a simple, clear, and optimized way. Some charts are better suited than others to your figures. This is specific to each company. Whether it be pie charts, curves, histograms, bar charts… you will choose the ones that are most appropriate. Each chart has its objective:
Column charts: they are very effective for showing and analyzing a set of data
Bar charts: they are useful for comparing concepts and percentages between factors or sets of data.
Pie charts: they are useful for illustrating and showing the distribution of samples in an individual dimension.
Line charts: very useful for showing trends over a given period
Error No. 4 : Not categorizing the data
Each collaborator has their need for data. Indeed, your collaborators are not necessarily interested in the same data contained in your reporting. To facilitate personalized reading, we recommend that you integrate a filter bar or tabs to allow them to display only the information/data that interests them.
Error No. 5 : Only tracking indicators that are easy to measure
Some performance indicators are easy to retrieve, others are a little less. That is not a reason to settle for simplicity. Indeed, the most relevant key performance indicators are generally those that require (a little) more effort to retrieve, to measure, and to analyze. If you look closely, you will see that there are solutions to access all the data you need. You will surely invest more time, but it is to save you time later.
Error No. 6 : Not questioning your key performance indicators
You took the time to define key performance indicators and establish your reporting each month ? Good! But keep in mind that if your indicators are relevant at one point in time, they may not be at another point in time. Indeed, you need to regularly review your performance indicators, regularly get rid of those that you never look at because they do not provide the expected data, and add those that seem more appropriate. The perfect reporting does not exist ! It is a constantly evolving tool !
Key points to remember:
Dos:
Select relevant indicators for your objectives and your audience
Find the right illustration for the right data and test your graphs
Contextualize with captions, comments, sources
Don'ts:
Choose indicators that you will not be able to update with each report
Overload your reporting with too much data
Bore your audience with a static presentation
