The 5-15 report is so named because it requires no more than 15 minutes to write and five minutes to read. Handwritten or typed, it is submitted every Friday by most employees.
The first part of the report is a simple description of what a person did during the week. Employees find that when they have to describe their work week after week, their ability to describe what’s going on becomes refined and more detailed. And if they do not become more adept at defining their work, if their reports become boring and repetitive, that comes through as a danger signal. The employee requires a transfusion, the job needs to be more challenging, or both.
The second part of the 5-15 report is a blunt description of the employees’ morale, and the morale they see in their department.
The third part requires that everyone present one idea that will improve their job, department, or the company—one idea a week, 52 ideas a year. An unspoken rule is that all ideas, suggestions, and problems presented in the reports are responded to or acted upon within one week. A longer delay would be ineffective and demoralizing.