The KPI Mystery

KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) can be described as an umbrella of opportunities, they have hundreds of uses, needs and methods. It's not always easy to wrap your head around what a KPI should include and how you can make these useful for yourself and/or your team. There is a lot of information and varying opinions on how these should be used, and there is no right or wrong answer to this. 

To make it easier to understand, we have broken down the fundamentals of KPIs into 6 key points, therefore creating the acronym PAMELA to help you remember it. 

Implementing and Measuring KPIs:

P  -  Planning

A  -  Accountability

M  -  Measure

E  -  Examine

L  -  Layoff!

A  -  Ask

Phase One: Planning

This may seem like the most obvious thing to say, but if we don’t establish which area or areas of the business we wish to measure then there’s little point in continuing. This is an area where we can be specific as we need to understand more about each facet of the business we wish to assess. The best way to do this is to take specific goals and objectives from our business strategy, for example, sales performance, production, HR or waste management and align our KPIs to these areas. This creates an all-encompassing entity that is clear and easy to understand for everyone.

Phase Two: Accountability

By that, what we mean is to have a specific target for each element of the business identified rather than something vague or ambiguous. So, if you were looking at improving sales performance for example one of your KPIs might be to increase sales of the ‘Blue Product’ by a minimum of 6% before the half year is up. Rather than simply, ‘We need to sell more of the blue product’.

Phase Three: Measure

Find ways to measure each part of the KPIs you set into achievable parts. So, if we need to increase sales of the blue product by 6% by the half year, then in real terms, for example, that could equate to, ‘we need to sell 47 more of them each month before the half year is up’ and so on. We now have a specific (and achievable, with a little effort) monthly goal to aim for rather than an overarching 6% target over six months.

Phase Four: Examine

That is to say, examine each KPI based on current and previous performance. Ensure that they are entirely relevant and fit for purpose. It may seem obvious, but it wouldn’t be the first time I’ve asked a manager “Why are you measuring this?” and the answer was “I don’t know but we’ve always done that”. It could be that the individual concerned has a job and job description that are not properly aligned which can result in unrealistic goals or areas of the business being examined that are no longer relevant.

Phase Five: Lay-off!

This just reminds us not to ‘overcook’ checking and monitoring where it’s not necessary. Measure outputs at appropriate times. Each area of the business will require monitoring at different intervals so set a schedule to measure each area as appropriate and stick to it.

Phase Six: Ask

As in, ask yourself ‘Have we done everything we can do to ensure this plan will work?’ Have you planned accordingly so you know what you are measuring and why? Do you know what your expected outcomes are in terms of targets and have you got the right metrics in place to ensure we can assess ongoing performance and guarantee successful implementation? If you are happy with all of that, then implement and measure away…

How can we help?

At Maguire Training, not only do we offer classroom-based courses and programmes, but we are also proud to offer a versatile and intuitive suite of over 190 eLearning modules on our website, which covers a range of topics. Including our KPIs and Individual & Team Performance Assessment Online Training Course, where delegates experienced and new will learn how they can use KPIs in their business. 

Contact us

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to get in contact with us:

Phone:  0333 5777 144

Email:  info@maguiretraining.co.uk

Or, simply fill in the ‘Contact Us’ form on any page of our website.