Delivering high-impact KPIs is crucial to an organization’s performance and growth. Here are six characteristics of successful KPIs:
1 – Simple
KPIs should be both simple to understand and to measure. Employees must able to know what the KPI is measuring and how it is being calculated. KPIs are also made simple when they are sparse. Focusing on a small number of KPIs enables employees to understand at a deep level what behaviors the KPI is driving and modify the KPI to deliver better results.
2 – Cascading
Effective KPIs cascade from strategic dashboards to tactical and operational dashboards. This means that KPIs should trickle down from the overall strategic goals of the organization to the daily operations of the employees that are affecting the KPIs. When KPIs share a link from the C-level to the entry level, they support unified goals and actions.
3 – Measurable
KPIs must be measurable for employees to analyze their performance. A KPI doesn’t have to be quantitative to be measurable. For example a qualitative KPI such as “how satisfied are our customers with this product” can be measured through customer feedback surveys.
4 – Actionable
An effective KPI is one that “prompts decisions, not additional questions”. When employees clearly understand what they need to do to influence a KPI, they can manage to do it.
5 – Timely
The results of KPIs should be reported frequently enough so that employees can make timely decisions but not too frequently so that they are overwhelmed with data. Organizations should consider how urgent, sensitive, accurate, and costly measuring the KPI is before deciding how often to report on it.
6 – Visible
Making KPIs visible across an organization communicates to employees how their work is affecting the organization’s overall goals. It will incentivize them to work harder and be more productive.