“Report Back (R/B)”

by | Jun 12, 2022

If You Were Assigned via Donedesk

Automatic Follow-Up

The assignor can ask Donedesk to follow up automatically if they have not heard back from you. They also see when the task/report is overdue. Mark it as Completed or send a timely Report to prevent these inquiries.

Donedesk automatically reports back when you mark the task as completed (if it was assigned via Donedesk), but it doesn’t interrupt your boss unless they want that. Instead, it groups your reports into My Work: New, where they can see them all at once. This prevents needless interruptions.

If It Was Assigned Outside Donedesk

Report Back Automatically

In the full task view, you can add a “supervisor” who will be notified when the task is complete.

Immediately track the assignment in Donedesk. Open the full task view by clicking the task’s title. Click the down arrow next to Assign Task and select Add Supervisor from the menu. Donedesk will now track it fully and automatically report back when you complete the task, even if the assigner does not use Donedesk.

If you don’t know their email address, then immediately add a Report Back (“R/B”) step as the last step of the project when you first get the assignment. Put this R/B step in the Notes or project steps, depending on your task manager. “R/B” counts as the verb when naming tasks or next actions.

“R/B” = Report Back Manually

R/B means: “Tell them it is done, and give them the deliverables or details.” It counts as the verb when naming tasks or next actions.

For example:

Production Plan – Create corporate report

has a last step of:

R/B to Julie, give her report

When to Report Back?

If the task wasn’t assigned via Donedesk (you recorded it without a “From” name) DON’T report back the instant it is done unless it is urgent. Report in a regular meeting by using a meeting context or 1-1 context. This demonstrates a higher level of initiative and prevents needless interruptions. (See Management Time: Who’s Got the Monkey? mid-article.)

It’s best to report back By reporting back automatically (or regularly), you’ll lift huge weight from your bosses’ shoulders and be seen as highly reliable.