Trend Reports

KEY TOPICS:

  • Determine Settings for Trend Reports
    • Select Plans to include in Trend Analysis
      • Selecting Sub plans and Plan Groups for the Plan to Plan Tab (Master Plan only)
    • Include or Exclude Graphs/Charts
  • View Overall Trends
  • Compare Plan to Plan Results (Master plan only)
  • Understanding Trend Indicators on Charts

For those who have prepared at least two concurrent AAPs in balanceAAP, Reports > Trend Reports can be developed, identifying positive and negative movement in key AAP metrics over time. These graphs, showing trend lines, and charts, comprised of statistical tables, can display trends for up to four years (or, if interim Update plans are included, four AAPs), helping your organization hone in on successes and problem areas for a longer term, from historical results to the current plan.

Two types of Trend results are reported, on corresponding tabs:

  • Overall

    • AND

  • Plan to Plan (Master Plan only)

On both tabs, the color-coded Graphs (in percent) and Charts (in numbers and percent) depict performance Trends for employment composition, Job Groups with Goals, and workforce composition by personnel action.

Determine Settings for Trend Reports

By default, metrics are displayed for the current plan (either Annual or Update) in comparison with the prior plan (i.e., History Source, or "History plan").

In addition, default settings will initially control what Graphs and Charts display, and within those objects, which race/ethnicity/gender categories and Job Groups are included.

Select Plans

To change the History plan or add additional plans to the Trend analysis, click the Settings icon in the header. The Overall (or Plan to Plan) Settings menu will pop up, based on which tab you are currently visiting.

Begin with Settings / Select Plan, where saved selections will apply to both tabs:

  1. In the left column, retain or deselect Plan Types: Master, Sub, Regular Annual, Update AND/OR Audit. (This setting controls what plans are shown in the adjacent menu.)
  2. In the middle column, expand the drop-down, and make selections for additional plans to include, along with the Current Plan. (Click the Delete icon adjacent to an entry, if necessary.)
  3. At the right, a year for each included plan will display to serve as an object label. Keep the label shown in the text field, or edit it.

The bottom-to-top order of the plans selected will be reflected in Overall Graphs and Charts, from left to right. (The Current Plan will always display last, to the right.)

Scroll down to expand additional menus and determine the settings for:

  • Graph and Chart Categories (i.e., races/ethnicities and gender)
  • Graph and Chart Job Groups (All Job Groups are included by default.)

When the selections are complete, click the Save button, located at the bottom of the menu.


Selecting Sub plans and Plan Groups for the Plan to Plan Tab (Master Plan only)

Because this second tab supports the display of Trend Reports for a Master plan, the analysis may include individual sub plans AND Plan Groups (i.e., groups of sub plans). Therefore, when working in the Plan to Plan Settings menu, make sure to include the appropriate analysis units.

Include or Exclude Graphs/Charts

In the display window, drop-downs for Charts and Graphs can be found at the top of both tabs. Expand each drop-down to include or exclude objects. By default, the following Graphs are included:

  • Employment Percentage
  • Percentage of Job Groups with Goals
  • Percentage of Hires

The following Charts are displayed by default:

  • Employment
  • Goals
  • Hires
  • Promotions

However, you may deselect one of the above and/or check off any additional objects, via the drop-downs.

View Overall Trends

The Overall Trend Graphs depict workforce composition (or Job Groups with goals) in percent. Based on the Percentage scale (from 0 to 100) as shown on the y-axis, a horizontal trend line will extend from left to right, color-coded to distinguish the race/gender Category. This trend line will represent the overall and incremental change in performance for the plan years that are indicated on the x-axis.

Below the Graph(s), tables will show the underlying statistical breakdowns for each year.

Reminder: The Graphs and Charts can be customized to include up to four AAPs and show (or hide) race/gender Categories and Job Groups. To update these attributes, return to Settings, as outlined above.

Compare Plan to Plan Results (Master Plan only)

For a Master plan, the Plan to Plan tab separates out the Employment, Goals, and personnel action objects by race and gender Category (e.g., Female Employment Percentage, Hispanic Hires). This format allows both year-to-year and plan (group)-to-plan (group) comparisons to be made.

Within each Graph, the included sub plans are represented on the y-axis in bar chart format. Within the sub plan result, color-coded bars will correspond to the included years for comparison across plans. The percentage values will be indicated on the x-axis.

Within each Chart, sub plans (or Plan Groups) will be organized by row, while years will be represented by columns.

Understanding Trend Indicators on Charts

In the Charts, an up arrow will indicate an increase between two years (or plans), while a down arrow shows a descrease. When a statistic is maintained without change (or the plan is the starting point for the analysis), a — dash will appear.

Keep in mind that an upward trend may not be positive, such as with respect to Goals. Therefore, the red arrow denotes a negative movement, while a green arrow will represent a positive one.