Understanding stakeholders and presentation formats

Aimed at students working through AC 2.2 of 5CO02 Evidence-based Practice, this video addresses how people professionals select and tailor presentation formats when communicating findings from HR, L&D and OD activities to different audiences. It covers four distinct stakeholder groups — senior leaders, line managers, HR and L&D colleagues, and employee representatives or trade unions — examining what each group requires from a presentation in terms of depth, tone, operational relevance and transparency. The discussion anchors these distinctions in recognisable workplace scenarios involving datasets such as reward data, recruitment pipeline figures, absence rates, turnover metrics, compliance data and engagement survey results.

The video then moves through four presentation formats: formal written reports, briefing papers, verbal presentations, and digital dashboards. For each format, the video addresses structural considerations — including the role of executive summaries, methodology sections, recommendations and appendices in reports, and the condensed two-to-four-page scope typical of briefing papers — alongside judgements about when a given format is most appropriate. Verbal presentations are treated as interactive communication tools, with the video noting specific guidance on slide design and audience engagement, while dashboards are discussed in relation to regularly updated people metrics and the interpretive responsibilities that accompany them.

Throughout, the video draws a consistent line between audience identification and format selection, treating these as interdependent rather than sequential decisions. Diagrammatical and visual approaches to data — graphs, charts and dashboard displays — are discussed alongside more text-based formats in the context of how stakeholders consume information differently depending on their proximity to strategic, operational or representational concerns. The AC 2.2 focus on presenting key findings from people practice activities runs through every section, making the video directly relevant to students preparing assignment work that involves communicating analysis to varied organisational audiences.