Employee Productivity Jul 19, 2022 What Is an Employee Weekly Activity Report? (+Free Template) Dave Nevogt — 4 min read Influential leaders look to their team’s strengths to improve performance. An employee weekly activity report is a great way for leaders and employees to communicate. These reports also help you stay in the loop without interrupting production or micromanaging your employees. This guide will help you understand: What an employee weekly activity report is Why it’s important What to include in your employee weekly status report We’ve even included a free report template below. Subscribe to the Hubstaff blog What is an employee weekly activity report? A weekly activity report is a progress report of an employee’s workweek. Most include a summary of their completed, current, and future work. As a leader, you need to stay informed without micromanaging. A weekly activity report can help employees: Manage time effectively Improve employee performance Promote effortless communication with company leaders Employees can also use a weekly activity report template to summarize daily activities. Weekly status reports provide real-time information about the status of a project. They also track employee accomplishments and areas where team members are struggling. Managers can also share these reports with stakeholders. This also clears the path toward project completion. Importance of an employee weekly activity report Weekly activity reports have several benefits. These reports free up time for employees and managers to complete work more efficiently. Here’s a quick breakdown of the ways weekly status reports can improve team workflows. Improved communication Weekly status reports use a specific format to keep leadership updated on individual accomplishments and project progress. These reports can even limit meetings. Reduced stress Some managers turn to micromanagement to stay in the loop. This behavior only adds stress for each employee. A weekly status report provides concise updates. Users can easily integrate them into day-to-day activities. Enriched decision capabilities Weekly reporting gives managers a real-time overview of their team. Teams can then identify roadblocks and pivot if needed. Collaborative planning Start by identifying each employee’s accomplishments in the previous week. Then, create an actionable plan for the coming week. Teams can work together to balance workloads. When you work together, you’re less likely to miss deadlines. Streamlined reporting Employee performance records are helpful for feedback opportunities, pay increases, interactions with human resources, and systematic reviews. Managers can compile weekly activity into monthly reports. This frequent feedback becomes a helpful gauge of individual and team performance. What to include in an employee weekly activity report Effective weekly activity reports should be brief overviews. All reports will have some common features, but a customizable weekly status report template ensures you only include the important details of your team’s success. Maybe you want to report progress as total deliverables, units sold, or another metric. We’ll leave the customization to you. That said, every activity report should cover these primary fields: Employee information: Name, department, and relevant dates. Project information: Name of the project, completed tasks, tasks in progress, and team members involved in the project. Outline of accomplished tasks: A list of assignments completed during the week. It should also include information like key dates and any necessary follow-ups. Challenges: Note any obstacles that prevented jobs from completing or might delay future tasks. Report summary: A summary of the information included in the report and how completed tasks meet project or monthly goals. Future planning: A list of activities planned for the following week. Employee weekly activity template Our downloadable weekly activity template is designed for all industries. It’s an efficient way for employees to report weekly progress to team leads. You can customize weekly reports with different fonts, branding, and color schemes. This will help you differentiate between various teams, clients, or projects. Name Enter the employee’s name here. Or create a title that includes the project name. Date List the start and completion dates that the report covers. Project team List the names of all employees participating in the project. Overview Provide a summary of the tasks completed and how they contribute to the project. Completed tasks Task 1: Create a brief title to describe the completed task. List team members who helped with completion. Add relevant details like date of completion or complexity. Task 2: [repeat] Task 3: [repeat] In-progress tasks This section could be optional based on whether employees have ongoing tasks that will carry into the following week. Task 1: Provide information about what a user has completed, any roadblocks stalling completion, and goals for completing the task. Include the due date of the task if applicable. Task 2: [repeat] Task 3: [repeat] Challenges Provide a brief description of any challenges faced during the week. This section can include difficulty completing tasks or potential roadblocks to continuing the project. Activities for next week Note whether the following week will include the start of a new project or a continuation of the listed project. Task: Provide a brief title to describe the task. Note whether the task is an ongoing task or a new task. Include deadline dates and unique requirements. Task: [repeat] Task: [repeat] Download the free employee weekly activity report for Google Sheets and Excel. Automate employee weekly activity reports Weekly activity reports can boost productivity, but they require manual work. You can take activity reports a step further with our automated Stand-up tool in Hubstaff Tasks. For example, employees using the personal to-do feature in Hubstaff Tasks can use it to autofill tasks in the weekly report. As items are crossed off the list, they automatically appear in the completed tasks section. With this autofill feature, virtual teams can simulate an in-person stand-up with one click. Then, collect these Stand-ups from your team. You’ll have an activity report that practically completes itself. When you’re ready to start improving efficiency with Hubstaff Tasks, start a free trial. 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