Performance Measurement and KPIs

What happens when your KPIs are not dynamic or real-time?

2024-08-20 Business Transformation - LinkedIn Post

KPIs are NOT meant to be Set-and-Forget; especially operational KPIs. These days they are meant to be dynamic, real-time, actionable, and be fully aligned with Enterprise Strategy and Objectives.

We have seen critical corporate KPIs that

• were set way before a recent organisational restructure

• were established before the current staff worked at the location and relevant documentation was sub-optimal

• involved data glued together from numerous systems, locations, spreadsheets, and data swamps that had not been audited in years

• were inaccurate due to a key Business Unit being omitted from the calculations

• created huge wastage as they could only be compiled every month when hour-by-hour operational production reporting was required.

Maintaining Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) is crucial for tracking progress and ensuring that your organisation meets its strategic objectives. 

The top 5 things you should focus on are

• Data Governance and UNS (Unified NameSpace) - Establish regular Monitoring and Reporting to an established schedule. Include reporting tools, change management regimens (issue registers, etc), and standards-driven process mappings and salient documentation. If your Enterprise data is driven from a UNS, your data governance will provide less technical debt.

• Ensure Data Accuracy and Consistency - Verify that data sources are reliable and that data collection processes are accurate. Implement checks and balances to prevent errors in data entry and processing whilst maintaining consistency in reporting formats and metrics to ensure comparability over time.

• Align KPIs with Strategic Goals - Regularly review and update KPIs to ensure relevance and that they align with current strategic objectives and business goals.

• Document, Engage, and Train Users - Ensure your users are fully engaged with the KPI rationale so that they can act where / when required. Encourage User feedback so that salient processes and outcomes can be improved.

• Analyse and Act on Insights - Trend Analysis, Action Plans, and Continuous Improvement regimens are the chief criteria for KPIs; namely the KPIs need to be on a continuous Rinse-and-Repeat cycle that is driven by knowledge-based insights.

By focusing on these areas, you can effectively maintain and leverage KPIs to drive performance and achieve your organisational goals. 

Contact Us for more information and read this Insight.