How to drastically reduce the time spent on exec reporting

Wasting valuable time and resources on inefficient reporting processes is a common issue that blights companies of all shape and size in all industries all over the world.

The contributing factors are many and varied. From not having the appropriate reporting tools in place and not having one standardised format of reporting across the business, through to project and non-project trained employees struggling to empathise with exec level requirements. All too often these individuals don’t have the  necessary training or education to use tools that are fundamentally too complicated.

But the key outstanding issue is the financial and operational cost that ineffective reporting solutions are having on businesses. Recent research by Narrative Science found that two-thirds of respondents spend more than half of their weekly working lives on manual reporting tasks, while one third (32.5%) spent three-quarters of their working day simply compiling reports.

Portfolio and project management success is reliant on executive level access to credible data and providing meaningful insights that drive good decision making and engagement with key projects. Only then are portfolio managers able to deliver the clear, concise and compelling information that executives demand to quickly identify, explore and respond to escalated risks and issues that they need to worry about and help resolve.

Rather than spending time wrestling with ineffective tools that aren’t fit for requirement and don’t present the clear and concise information that execs require, portfolio managers need a tool that brings reporting into the modern day and makes their lives easier. By using smarter reporting processes, delivery teams will be able to halve the time spent on reporting and double their focus on delivery and driving value to their business.

This more efficient approach to reporting can bring the time required to complete weekly reports down to just 10 minutes, while a monthly report can be done and dusted in just 20 minutes. The data entered in these reports can then automatically populate concise, consistent and visual views of the portfolio and governance meetings can be delivered straight from the tool –  putting an end to the use of endless PowerPoint slides and high maintenance Excel spreadsheets for portfolio review meetings.

Portfolio managers can now provide their executives with insights on their iPad or smartphone or other appropriate device, enabling them to drill down into that information anytime and anywhere via their browser.