Preparing an annual report can feel daunting, but it’s also one of the most valuable tools for anyone leading a customer, partner, or employee education program.
Annual reports don’t just provide a record of your past year—they tell a story of impact, growth, and areas of opportunity. They offer a clear, data-driven view of how your programs support business goals, improve engagement, and deliver value.
So let’s take a look at the essentials of an impactful annual report: what to include, how to gather data, who sees your report, and the best ways to share it.
What is an Annual Report?
An annual report is a structured summary of the past year’s performance. Done right, it’s a story told about key metrics, real outcomes, and meaningful insights that provides stakeholders a transparent look at your program’s contributions and effectiveness.
Think of it as your program’s highlight reel. Not only does it give visibility into the successes of the past year, but it also helps align future goals, pinpoint areas for improvement, and showcase the value of education as a strategic asset to your organization.
What Data Should Be Included?
Remember you’re telling a story, so it’s important for your report to be focused, factual, and reflective of your strategic goals. Here are five key data points to consider including:
1. Impact on Business Goals:
How does your program align with and support overall business goals? This might include metrics like customer retention, employee retention, customer satisfaction, or productivity improvements—do some comparative analysis: is there a correlation between trained users and retention?
2. Engagement Metrics:
Look at enrollment rates, course completions, and active users over time. Engagement data shows how learners are interacting with your program and can indicate interest, and whether or not the content is resonating with or relevant to your learners.
3. Performance Outcomes:
Are learners truly gaining the skills you intended? Highlight assessment scores, knowledge retention, or skills proficiency gains. This data shows the impact your content has on learner growth.
4. Revenue Contribution:
If applicable, showcase how education directly or indirectly contributes to revenue, such as through upsells tied to training or onboarding. This metric is often impactful for executive audiences.
5. Feedback and Satisfaction:
Don’t overlook the qualitative side—highlight learner satisfaction through post-course surveys, Net Promoter Score (NPS), and direct feedback as a way to elevate the voice of your customers. This invaluable input gives color to your quantitative metrics and often provides insight into ways to improve.
Pro Tip: Make a checklist, dashboard, or keep a spreadsheet of these metrics to be sure you’re gathering them throughout the year. Consistency will make future reports easier to compile and enable year-over-year comparisons.
How Do You Collect the Data?
You want to make sure you’re measuring what matters to the business when you're collecting your data points—these are metrics that can be mapped back to specific business outcomes.
Here are some sources to tap into:
- Learning Management System (LMS): Most LMS platforms will provide basic metrics on engagement metrics, completion rates, and scores. A tool like Intellum provides powerful, data-rich reporting that translates into actionable insights and enables you to make informed decisions that optimize your learning strategies.
- Customer Success and CRM Platforms: These tools can link education participation with customer success metrics, including customer health scores, retention, and satisfaction.
- Surveys and Feedback Forms: Tools like post-course surveys, NPS, and user feedback forms are invaluable for capturing qualitative data.
To streamline data collection, collaborate with business intelligence and revenue operations teams. They can help you access data you may not normally see and provide context that adds depth to your report.
Pro Tip: Create a “data sources map” to outline where each metric is pulled from. This will help you maintain consistency in your reporting process year after year, and can serve as an effective tool when collaborating with internal stakeholders to find or extract the data points that you need.
Who Reads Your Annual Report?
Understanding your audience is key for delivering an impactful report. Each group has distinct priorities and insights they’re looking for, so considering starting with a comprehensive base report, then create specific versions, or “cuts,” that highlight the most relevant details for each audience:
Executive Teams: They want to know how the program contributes to high-level goals, like customer retention, employee satisfaction, and revenue growth. For them, focus on big-picture metrics and business impact—consider tips shared in this blog.
Department Heads and Managers: This group is interested in the impact of education on specific teams. You may tailor the report to emphasize how the program addresses the unique needs of each team within the department.
Learners and Participants: Don’t overlook the learners themselves. Summarizing the year’s accomplishments can build trust and engagement with those who participate in the program, while also generating interest and excitement for those who’ve yet to jump in.
How to Present & Deliver the Report
The “what” and the “who” are critical components of your report, and maybe even more importantly is the “how”—how do you effectively present the report to each audience.
Here are some effective delivery formats:
- Interactive PDFs or Digital Reports: These formats allow readers to explore data visually and at their own pace. You may include things like graphs, infographics, in and supporting narratives to help guide the reader through the content.
- Video Summaries or Recorded Presentations: Videos are a great way to bring data to life with visuals, charts, and quick summaries of key points. This format also gives individuals the opportunity to engage with the material on their own time.
- Live Presentation for Executives: Holding a live presentation allows for direct engagement—you can apply a mixed media approach by including a short video in your presentation in lieu of a static graph. This setting also allows your audience to ask questions in real time.
In any format, aim to include visuals, success stories, and learner testimonials to give the data a human touch.
Pro Tip: Make the report accessible by sharing it in multiple formats—digital, PDF, or even a recorded video presentation. It may also be helpful to include a summary page for folks who want a high-level look at what you’re presenting.
Make Your Annual Report Work for You
Rather than viewing the annual report as just another end-of-year task, think of it as a powerful storytelling tool. It’s a chance to reflect on the impact your education program has had and set the tone for the year ahead. When done well, an annual report can align your program with organizational goals, celebrate wins, and identify clear next steps for growth.
So, as you compile your data, keep your audience in mind, present your insights clearly, and remember: this report is more than numbers—it’s the story of your program’s success.
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