The 75 KPIs Every Manager Should Know About
2 July 2021
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) should be the vital navigation instruments used by managers and leaders to understand whether they are on course to success or not. In order to identify the right KPIs for any organisation it is important to be clear about the objectives and strategic directions. Remember, navigation instruments are only useful if we know where we want to go. Therefore, first define the strategy and then closely link our KPIs to the objectives.
I believe KPIs have to be developed uniquely to fit the information needs of a company. However, what I have leant over many years of helping companies and government organisations with their performance management and business intelligence is that there are some important (and innovative) KPIs everyone should know about.
They will give you a solid base of knowledge. However, there will be other more specialised measures designed for your specific strategy or industry context. Take for example the network performance KPIs for a telecom operator or the quality indicators for healthcare providers. These will have to be included in your list of KPIs but will not be found in the list below, at least not in their industry-specific format.
The list of 75 KPIs includes the metrics I consider the most important and informative and they make a good starting point for the development of a performance management system. Before we look at the list I would like to express an important warning: Don’t just pick all 75 – You don’t need or indeed should have all 75 KPIs. Instead, by understanding these 75 KPIs you will be able to pick the vital few meaningful indicators that are relevant for your business.
Finally, try to avoid the key mistakes and ensure the KPIs are used (and owned) by everyone in the business to inform decision-making (and not as mindless reporting references or as ‘carrot & stick tools’).
To measure financial performance:
1. Net Profit
2. Net Profit Margin
3. Gross Profit Margin
4. Operating Profit Margin
5. EBITDA
6. Revenue Growth Rate
7. Total Shareholder Return (TSR)
8. Economic Value Added (EVA)
9. Return on Investment (ROI)
10. Return on Capital Employed (ROCE)
11. Return on Assets (ROA)
12. Return on Equity (ROE)
13. Debt-to-Equity (D/E) Ratio
14. Cash Conversion Cycle (CCC)
15. Working Capital Ratio
16. Operating Expense Ratio (OER)
17. CAPEX to Sales Ratio
18. Price Earnings Ratio (P/E Ratio)
To understand your customers:
19. Net Promoter Score (NPS)
20. Customer Retention Rate
21. Customer Satisfaction Index
22. Customer Profitability Score
23. Customer Lifetime Value
24. Customer Turnover Rate
25. Customer Engagement
26. Customer Complaints
To gauge your market and marketing efforts:
27. Market Growth Rate
28. Market Share
29. Brand Equity
30. Cost per Lead
31. Conversion Rate
32. Search Engine Rankings (by keyword) and click-through rate
33. Page Views and Bounce Rate
34. Customer Online Engagement Level
35. Online Share of Voice (OSOV)
36. Social Networking Footprint
37. Klout Score
To measure your operational performance:
38. Six Sigma Level
39. Capacity Utilisation Rate (CUR)
40. Process Waste Level
41. Order Fulfilment Cycle Time
42. Delivery In Full, On Time (DIFOT) Rate
43. Inventory Shrinkage Rate (ISR)
44. Project Schedule Variance (PSV)
45. Project Cost Variance (PCV)
46. Earned Value (EV) Metric
47. Innovation Pipeline Strength (IPS)
48. Return on Innovation Investment (ROI2)
49. Time to Market
50. First Pass Yield (FPY)
51. Rework Level
52. Quality Index
53. Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE)
54. Process or Machine Downtime Level
55. First Contact Resolution (FCR)
To understand your employees and their performance:
56. Human Capital Value Added (HCVA)
57. Revenue Per Employee
58. Employee Satisfaction Index
59. Employee Engagement Level
60. Staff Advocacy Score
61. Employee Churn Rate
62. Average Employee Tenure
63. Absenteeism Bradford Factor
64. 360-Degree Feedback Score
65. Salary Competitiveness Ratio (SCR)
66. Time to Hire
67. Training Return on Investment
To measure your environmental and social sustainability performance:
68. Carbon Footprint
69. Water Footprint
70. Energy Consumption
71. Saving Levels Due to Conservation and Improvement Efforts
72. Supply Chain Miles
73. Waste Reduction Rate
74. Waste Recycling Rate
75. Product Recycling Rate
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Bernard Marr is a world-renowned futurist, influencer and thought leader in the fields of business and technology, with a passion for using technology for the good of humanity.
He is a best-selling author of over 20 books, writes a regular column for Forbes and advises and coaches many of the world’s best-known organisations.
He has a combined following of 4 million people across his social media channels and newsletters and was ranked by LinkedIn as one of the top 5 business influencers in the world.
Bernard’s latest book is ‘Generative AI in Practice’.
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