Writing Reports and Proposals at Work

Reports vs. Proposals

Both are structured documents with headings, but their purpose is different:

In practice, many workplace documents combine both: a short report on a problem followed by a proposal to fix it.

The Report Structure

1. Title — specific: Customer Complaints Q2: Analysis and Recommendations, not Report.
2. Executive summary / Introduction — purpose of the report + main conclusion in 2–4 sentences. Many readers stop here.
3. Background / Method — how the information was collected.
4. Findings — the facts, grouped under clear subheadings, often with numbers.
5. Conclusions — what the findings mean.
6. Recommendations — specific actions, ideally numbered.

The Proposal Structure

1. Title
2. Summary — the problem, the solution and the main benefit in three sentences.
3. The problem / current situation — with evidence.
4. Proposed solution — what exactly you propose.
5. Benefits — for the organization, customers, staff; with numbers where possible.
6. Costs and timeline — honest and specific.
7. Risks — and how you'll manage them. (Addressing risks makes you more persuasive, not less.)
8. Next steps — what you need from the reader: approval, budget, a meeting.

Useful Language

Stating the purpose

• The purpose of this report is to...
• This report examines / evaluates / summarizes...
• This proposal outlines a plan to...
• As requested by..., this report...

Describing method

• Data was collected from... / Information was gathered through...
• A survey of 120 employees was conducted in May.
• Interviews were held with...

Presenting findings objectively

Use impersonal structures and hedging:

• It was found that... / The survey revealed that...
• The majority of respondents (64%) reported...
• It appears that / There is some evidence that...
• A significant proportion of complaints related to...
• Only a small minority expressed dissatisfaction with...

Drawing conclusions

• It can be concluded that...
• The findings suggest / indicate that...
• Overall, it is clear that...

Making recommendations

Note the base verb in It is recommended that the company introduce. This is the subjunctive, standard in formal recommendations (introduces is also accepted in British English).

Persuading in a proposal

• This would enable us to...
• The main advantage of this approach is that...
• We estimate that this would reduce costs by approximately 15%.
• In the long term, this would...
• Although the initial investment is significant, it would pay for itself within 18 months.

Model: A Short Proposal

Proposal: Introducing a Four-Day Onboarding Program for New Customer Service Staff

Summary New customer service agents currently receive one day of training before taking calls. This proposal recommends a four-day onboarding program, which we estimate would reduce early staff turnover by a third and improve first-call resolution rates.

Current situation Over the past year, 38% of new agents left within three months — well above the industry average of approximately 20%. Exit interviews indicate that the main reason was feeling unprepared. In addition, first-call resolution among agents in their first month stands at 51%, compared with 78% for experienced staff.

Proposed solution We propose replacing the current one-day training with a four-day program: two days of product and systems training, one day of call simulations, and one day shadowing an experienced agent.

Benefits

• Lower turnover: based on results at our Halifax centre, which piloted a similar program, early turnover could fall to around 25%.
• Lower hiring costs: each replacement hire costs approximately $4,500.
• Better customer experience from the first week.

Costs and timeline The main cost is three additional paid training days per new hire (approximately $600 per person) and 40 hours of trainer time to develop materials. The program could launch on September 1.

Risks Longer training delays new agents' first calls. To manage this, we recommend scheduling intakes two weeks earlier during peak season.

Next steps We would welcome the opportunity to present this proposal at the next management meeting and request approval for a three-month pilot.

Style Checklist

• Headings that tell the reader what's in the section (Why new agents leave is better than Section 2).
• Short paragraphs — three or four sentences.
• Bullet points for lists of benefits, findings or steps — but not for arguments that need explanation.
• Numbers over adjectives: 38% of new agents is better than many new agents.
• Consistent tense: past for method and findings (The survey showed...), present for conclusions (This suggests...).
• No emotional language: disastrous, amazing, terrible → serious, highly effective, significant.

Common Mistakes

• Burying the main point on page three — put it in the summary.
• Recommendations that are too vague: Improve communication → Hold a 15-minute team briefing every Monday.
• "I think" everywhere: reports should sound objective; use The findings suggest...
• Mixing findings and opinions in the same section.
• Ignoring costs and risks in a proposal — readers will think of them anyway.

Practice Tips

1. Write a one-page report on something you know well: your team's tools, your building's recycling, your language school.
2. Turn a complaint into a proposal: take something that frustrates you at work and write a 300-word proposal to fix it.
3. Read your summary alone. If a busy manager read only that, would they know the problem, your solution and what you need?