Performance report definition
/What is a Performance Report?
A performance report addresses the outcome of an activity or the work of an individual. The report may compare actual outcomes to a budget or standard, as well as the variance between the two figures. The recipient of a performance report is expected to take action when there is an unfavorable variance. A key part of a performance report is the baseline from which variances are calculated. If the baseline is not reasonable, then any outcomes derived from it will be invalid.
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Advantages of a Performance Report
There are several reasons why most organizations issue performance reports. First, they focus attention on issues that are below expectations, bringing these items to the attention of both managers and employees. Second, they quantify issues, so that report recipients can tell if the spotlighted items represent significant concerns that warrant immediate attention. Third, they foster communication, since they are forcing the report recipient and responsible manager to discuss the highlighted issues. Finally, the preceding points make it much more likely that the items contained within performance reports will be dealt with - if not reported, they tend to persist for long periods of time.
Examples of Performance Reports
Examples of performance reports are as follows:
An employee receives an annual performance report, detailing her activities versus her original action plan.
A project manager receives a periodic performance report, noting cost and time overruns as of the latest project milestone.
A city government issues an annual performance report, showing the services provided by each of the various city departments.
A sample performance report that shows the profits generated by a group of retail stores appears in the following exhibit. This report is useful both for store managers and regional managers; they are both interested in enhancing store performance, and will probably use the results shown on this report to determine why the results of the Freeport store are so good (or, alternatively, why the results of the Muncie store are so bad).
