However, it is a challenging task for larger organizations and corporations to monitor all of their employee’s productivity, with a single supervisor watching over a hundred employees at a time. In such situations, supervisors and the human resources team devise a way to know employee’s outputs and activities throughout the day. A daily activity report helps in updating employers of employee status daily. Find out more about daily activity reports from the article below, including the definition, content, and creation. The inclusion of other additional information about these reports is also available in the article.

32+ Sample Daily Activity Reports

What Is a Daily Activity Report?

An employee’s daily activity report is a form of documentation of the performance, activities, and achievements on a given day. More often than not, it a standardized report based on the quality assurances a supervisor presents. The organization, team leader, or coordinator designs a template that employees fill out indicating information related to their daily responsibilities. An employee’s activity report can be in different forms, depending on the standard set by the company. It can be in the form of a simple logbook or log sheet the team manager checks from time to time. It can also be a single document per day, either manually filled up by the employee or sent through an email. The compilation of these documents forms a detailed report about employee performance. Aside from tasks and activities, the daily activity report may also contain sections that ask about the difficulties an employee faces in a workday. This information is relevant to the team manager for the evaluation period.

According to an article published by Forbes in October 2019 based on a study joined by Lumina Foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Omidyar Group, and Gallup, findings show that out of 6,600 workers, less than 50% feel they are good in their jobs. Considering that plenty of work opportunities are present in the country, it is surprising that most workers feel unhappy about their current job situations.

Main Components of a Daily Activity Report

Different companies have different formats based on their organizational charts. Also, within the company, various teams perform other functions, meaning their activities and responsibilities change. Details in the daily activity report depend on the employees covered by it. However, some elements are similar and are always present in the record. Here are the main components of a daily activity report.

Task details: In this section, the employee indicates all the tasks and activities assigned by the employer for that day. The employee writes concisely and comprehensively, detailing the activities for the day. The duties identified by the individual must reflect the assigned work they made during the day.Resources used: The employee also indicates the used resources to accomplish the list of tasks given. Include if the resources are readily available or if the employee bought or borrowed items to complete the tasks. It helps the employer or manager identify if the employee has the necessary resources to accomplish daily activities.Time spent doing the tasks: It is also necessary for the employee to include the amount of time spent to complete assigned tasks. It is essential to indicate the time lapsed in accomplishing the tasks. It assesses if the worker is having a challenging time finishing the required outputs and the possibility of implementing necessary adjustments.Date of the report: As it is a daily report, the employee includes the completion date of the assigned tasks. It helps monitor the daily planner outputs of the employee and the number of jobs done within the day.Achievements and accomplishments: The report must highlight tasks and relevant activities that provide positive milestones the employee achieves within the day. Including the information in the document helps uplift an employee and see the progress made on the job.Plans for the following day: Aside from the performed tasks, the employee also indicates the activities they intend to achieve in the coming day. In this sense, the employee prepares themselves to be in their best disposition with the vital resources needed to perform the tasks. Issues or challenges faced: It is normal to encounter unpleasant circumstances during a workday. Challenges come in many forms and situations, and it is necessary to inform the manager or administrator about them. Identifying these issues help the managerial team to analyze work situations and make necessary adjustments. The employee includes all challenges faced, no matter how small they are.

How to Create a Daily Activity Report

Upon knowing the components of a daily report, an individual must know the steps to create one to report tasks to the immediate supervisors. The purpose of the daily activity report is to inform superiors of accomplishments, achievements, plans, and issues encountered by the employee. Here are the steps in creating a daily activity report submitted by the end of the day.

Step 1: Include the Header or Title of the Report

The title or header of a document helps indicate the purpose and the type of document it is. It must be at the top of the paper. If it is an email letter, include it in the title section. It is also necessary to include the date of the report. If it is an individual written description, do not forget to include the employee’s name, department, and role. Otherwise, if the statement is for a group, indicate the group name, the members, and the status of each. The set of information is necessary, especially if the individual belongs in a large organization that conducts manual daily activity reports.

Step 2: Begin With Focusing on Daily Accomplishments and Achievements

Identify the essential information and the current status of the employee’s task for the day. Indicate if the job is beginning, in progress, or accomplished. Aside from identifying the details, it is necessary to expound on completed tasks, in progress, and those needing immediate attention and completion. It is critical to communicate the progress of these activities to the immediate supervisor to make adjustments and find solutions to address the shortcomings. The description of completed, ongoing, and occurring responsibilities must inform the supervisor of a proper timeline. It is significant to indicate an estimated time of completion to assure management an employee is performing the task to the best of their ability.

Step 3: Detail the Plan for the Coming Days

Aside from an estimation, it is also necessary to indicate a detailed action plan to ensure that the deadline made by the employee is attainable. An organization requires progress, and the employee must include an update of the steps taken by the employee to meet deadlines. Identify all potential difficulties that may hinder the progress or completion of a task or project. The employee must write the details comprehensively and concisely for the supervisor to understand the situation when possible delays arise. Keeping the managers and fellow employees up to date provides the opportunity for supplementary resources, time, or help to move forward.

Step 4: Run Down the Report for Inconsistencies and Errors

A daily activity report, despite its appearance and form, is still a company document. It must follow a particular format, tone, style, and length. It is still necessary to write the content of the daily activity summary in a suitable and professional quality even though the documents sent by individuals are through informal channels. Management is responsible for reading and compiling these reports to make adjustments and evaluations, and the quality of professionalism still applies. It is advisable to use clear, concise, and concrete language to discuss the progress of tasks to avoid being ambiguous and causing confusion regarding the current situation. Note that the design of activity reports is to be brief. As they are casual updates requiring little to no immediate action, the supervisor can skim through the content efficiently and swiftly. Use a priority list and avoid excessive details to ensure that the activity report effectively communicates the employee’s task status.

FAQs

What is the importance of daily activity reports?

A daily activity report gives a direct and efficient overview of each employee’s daily outputs and ensures that each able body in the organization recognizes a single goal. Through using daily activity reports, consistent information passes within teams, and members anticipate the report. Employees that submit these documents also normalize progress through constant submission of updates, similar to a progress report or progress tracker. Daily check-ins hold employees accountable for the work procured daily, either completed or delayed. Unnecessary and prolonged meetings lessen through coherent and consistent activity reports from employees, saving time and energy at the office.

How do teams benefit from consistent daily activity reports?

The value of having all team members document daily accomplishments enables them to track their progress toward their own and the team’s goals. Each of the members sees how the contributions help the overall success and development of a project. It also provides appreciation and feedback of others’ participation. It also promotes team members’ efficient communication to form ideas and enhance the team’s performance, leading to success. They share experiences, learnings, and suggestions through the use of daily reports. For a team leader, employee’s daily activity reporting ensures engagement in their duties to the company through the submission of briefs. It also presents an avenue for mentoring, coaching, and giving feedback to the employee. From the contents of the daily report of employees, the team leader has access to vital information and personal notes written on their respective statements. The career path envisioned by the organization for a particular employee is registered, together with their accomplishments and achievements, and all other concerns about the employee’s situation, all thanks to consistent daily reporting. It is also through these documents that performance is measured, helping with employee promotion and salary increases.

What advantages can consistent daily activity reports bring employees?

In keeping a daily report, individuals obtain a greater understanding of their employee schedules and performance, gaining insight into their productivity and time management. It helps monitor when employees feel most productive and create a reliable plan for the critical tasks first and the lesser responsibilities for the other parts of the workday. It is essential to know and understand when an employee’s productivity spikes to accomplish more assignments by the end of the day. It also helps them identify activities that need urgent attention and action to improve the team’s and company’s production. Through daily reporting, employees also learn to open up about difficulties and issues they experience during a workday. It helps to point out these problems for superiors to address these concerns immediately.

What is an effective way to introduce consistent daily reporting to employees?

If employees are not familiar with the setup, some will show reluctance, and others need convincing. Tracking an employee’s time proves to be uncomfortable and creates misunderstandings, tension, and even conflict. Some may feel the lack of work commitment influences the idea of the reporting, and some may feel an invasion of privacy. One of the ways to handle the situation is to have employees understand the benefits of performance reports. Emphasize that having consistent reporting helps them track their respective performances and helps their immediate supervisors and superiors an objective assessment of performance to identify the employees capable of a promotion. Insist that the idea is a means to improve and enhance how the team performs rather than to monitor individual actions. It also helps to issue a company notice of the official means of communication by implementing accomplishments of daily activity reports. It is necessary to include the rationale behind it and provide clear guidelines for it. It is also essential to thoroughly discuss the idea with all concerned employees to provide sufficient answers to queries, issues, and concerns. In doing so, employees are encouraged to continue updating progress reports to superiors knowing that team managers and leaders read the reports.

Organizations emphasize the importance of daily reporting as it helps the employees, managers, and everyone involved in a project to track progress and improvements. Encouraging employees to report daily activities, accomplishments, and challenges initially becomes repetitive and tiresome, and the management must expect the outcome. However, once employees grow accustomed to the idea and consistently submit reports, it becomes advantageous for the organization. Employees must learn the importance of maintaining and communicating their daily activity reports to their respective team leaders to improve performance and quality of work. In the words of Dwayne Johnson, “Success isn’t always about greatness. It’s about consistency. Consistent hard work leads to success. Greatness will come.” It is always relevant to provide consistent performances and hard work for individuals to reach their full potential. It is also critical that they receive feedback to improve their work ethics and performance. Start the habit of writing daily activity reports to help persons in the organization grow. Daily activity report samples are available for use and download, referring to the examples above.