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How Do I Do It?
Steps
(Page
2 of 3)
| 1. Educate Yourselves | Ensure that your core team has a thorough understanding of what is required and why, including knowledge of regulatory bodies and audience groups |
| 2. Feasibility Study | Carry out a preliminary study to determine the value of this exercise and the amount of effort required. Understand the time periods, the impact on the organization to produce the report and most importantly anticipate the impact on your organization when the report is published. |
| 3. Executive Sponsorship | Create a compelling argument for producing a report, back it up with a realistic ROI and anticipate where push-back will occur. Gain the support of multiple executives and time commitment from their staff in departments whose help you will be seeking. |
| 4. Establish Objectives | Determine the precise set of reasons why you are producing the report and set a number of objectives that will satisfy those reasons. Additionally produce an ongoing communications strategy (preferably two-way) to allow you to manage how you deliver the report content to your audience groups. |
| 5. Needs Assessment | Determine the needs of your reporting project in terms of resources, budgets, timeframes and external factors. Examine gaps in what you have and what is required and ensure that these gaps can be plugged. In this phase you should also provide a detailed analysis of potential objections and risks and for each a mitigation plan. Overall provide a contingency plan. |
| 6. Project Planning | Detailed task allocation, establish milestones, plan resource utilization, build in appropriate contingency. This activity will be an ongoing one throughout the duration of the project. |
| 7. Data Capture | Determine metrics you will be reporting on and levels of detail, locate sources of data and triangulate to ensure accuracy when dealing with multiple sources, work out how to normalize the data across your organization, provide mechanisms for capturing data from remote locations, provide storage facilities for holding and organization data and finally tools to access the data and to format it into reports. |
| 8. Report Creation | The process of creating the report, writing the executive’s statement, ensuring appropriate narrative and accurate data. If following a standardized set of guidelines, such as GRI, or adhering to a set of guidelines, ensure that these are well defined at the start of the process. Ensure that the formats being produced are done with prior knowledge of the dissemination strategy. |
| 9. Report Dissemination | Execute your communication strategy, probably best done in phases for maximum impact. Ensure that mechanisms for two-way communication (e.g. 1-800 numbers, email addresses) are active and work effectively. |
| 10. Capture Feedback | Capture feedback from all audience groups and all participants in the reporting process. Ensure that these are well documented and used to improve the next reporting cycle. |