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28 generic KPIs to help your organisation outperform expectations
By David Parmenter
To work out what your KPIs should be you need first to work out what your five to eight most important critical success factors are. Critical success factors (CSFs) are operational issues or aspects that need to be accomplished day-in/day-out by the staff in the organization.
Lets assume you want the right staff to stay, have their say (be listened to) and be given the opportunity to strive. Then you will need to measure:
| Common CSFs | KRI | RI | PI | 28 generic KPIs |
| Stay, say, strive engagement with staff | Staff satisfaction (if monitored at least 3 to 4 times a year) | Turnover of experienced staff (do not count staff who are moved on soon after joining) | 1. Number of staff innovations implemented (by team reported weekly) 2. Staff who have been ill for over two weeks that do not have a back to work programme (reported weekly to manager and GM) | 1. Key staff who have handed in their notice today. Staff in key positions would be notified directly to the CEO, other staff would be reported to the relevant GM or senior manager. ( The CEO has the opportunity to try an persuade the staff member to stay) 2. The number of initiatives implemented post the staff satisfaction survey (monitored weekly after survey for up to three months) 3. The teams not represented in the in-house courses to be held in the next two weeks. Report daily to the CEO4. Accidents and breaches of safety reported to the CEO immediately 5. New staff who have not attended an induction programme within two weeks of joining will be reported to the CEO on a weekly basis. 6. Number of CEO recognitions in last week / last fortnight7. Number of CEO recognitions planned for next week/fortnight |
| Recruiting the right people all the time | No. of staff who have left within 3,6,12 months of joining organisation by division (reported quarterly) | No. of managers trained in recruiting practices | 1. Recruitments in progress where last interview was over two weeks ago 2. Confirmed date of testing of candidate’s capabilities | 8. Key position job offers issued to candidates that are outstanding over 48 hours (report daily all key position offers to CEO / GM) 9. List of shortlisted candidates where next round of interviews has yet to be organized (report daily) |
| Grow leaders who | Number of key positions with at least two protégés by division (reported quarterly) | 1. Number of high performing staff by division (reported monthly) 2. Number of promotions for high performing staff planned in the next 3 months (reported monthly) | 1. List of high performing staff who have been in same position for over two years. (monthly list) 2. Date of next executive course to be attended by SMT member (monthly update) | 10. Number of CEO recognitions in last week / last two weeks 11. Number of CEO recognitions planned for next week/ two weeks |
| Number of managers who have attended leadership training (by manager level) | Number of managers who are scoring over ____ on their leadership from the 360 feedback surveys (by manager level) | Date of next leadership programme and the list of suggest attendees by division (report | 12. Number of vacant leaderships places on in-house course (reported daily to the CEO in last three weeks before the course) | |
| Level of staff satisfaction with empowerment and fulfilment (assumes a survey is done 3 to 4 times a year) | Staff retention by department looking at a 15-month rolling trend | Date of next survey (reported monthly) | 13. Number of initiatives implemented post the staff satisfaction survey (monitored weekly after survey for up to three months) | |
| Note: Unlikely to have a KRI on mentorship | Percentage of level 1 & 2 managers who have mentors (reported quarterly)Percentage of high performing staff who have a mentor (reported quarterly) | 1. Number of high performing staff who do not have a mentor (reported weekly to the GMs.) 2. List of level 3 managers who do not have mentors, (reported weekly to the GMs)Note: These measures would only need to be operational for a short time on a weekly basis. | 14. List of level 1 & 2 managers who do not have mentors, reported weekly to the CEO.Note: This measure would only need to be operational for a short time on a weekly basis. | |
| Innovation is a daily activity (finding better ways to do the things we do every day) | Innovations implemented over last 18 months by division | 1. Innovations that are running behind (weekly update) 2. Number of patents 3. Date of prototype completion 4. Date of next test | 1. Number of innovations implemented last month by team (Reported monthly to the CEO). 2. Date of next innovation training sessions (monthly) 3. Date of next innovation to our key services (monthly) | 15. Number of innovations planned for implementation in the next 30 days, 60 days and 90 days. (Reported weekly to the CEO) |
| Embracing abandonment: Willingness to abandon initiatives, opportunities that are not working or unlikely to succeed | Number of abandonments over last 18 months by division (reported monthly) | Time saved each month through abandonments by team (reported monthly featuring the top quartile performing teams in this area) | List of abandonments in last month by team (reported monthly) Number of committees / task forces disbanded this month Number of monthly reports terminated Date of planned replacement of service that has now become outdated | 16. Number of abandonments to be made in the next 30 days, 60 days and 90 days. (Reported weekly to the CEO) |
| Making the right decisions by consensus with ready contingency plans | Major implementations in last 18 months showing degree of success (exceeded expectations, met, less than, abandoned) | Major projects awaiting consensus (sign-off (report weekly to CEO) | Managers with the most success with implementations over last three years (report quarterly to CEO) | 17. Major projects awaiting decisions that are now running behind schedule (report weekly to CEO) 18. Major projects in progress without contingency plans (report weekly to CEO) |
| Delivery in full on time, all the time to our key customers | Percentage of on time in full delivery to key customers, other customers. (Show last 18 months) | Percentage of on time in full delivery to other customers. (report weekly to GMs) | Teams with the best on time delivery record (report weekly to GMs, all staff) Calls on hold longer than _____ seconds (reported immediately) | 19. Emergency response time when it is over a given duration. Reported immediately to the CEO 20. Late deliveries /incomplete deliveries to our key clients (report 24/7 to CEO, GM, all staff) 21. Complaints from our key customers that have not been resolved within 2 hours (report 24/7 to CEO and GMs)· |
| Getting closer to our customers | 18-month trend showing take-up of new services. | Date of next outside-in activity to enhance senior-management team understanding of customer needs (e.g., Date of next SMT interface frontline positions). | Number of initiatives implemented to improve key customer satisfaction (monthly) List of key customers were time since last order is >x weeks (report weekly sales team and to the GM) Date of next think tank with major customers Date of next initiative to attract targeted ‘non-customers’ | 22. Date of next visit to major customers by customer name (report weekly to CEO and General Managers) 23. Late deliveries /incomplete deliveries to our key clients (report 24/7 to CEO, GM, all staff) 24. Key customer complaints not resolved within two hours reported to the CEO immediately. |
| We finish what we start | Status of projects reported monthly | Number of projects finished in the month. | Number of overdue reports / documents by weekly to the senior management team. Number of projects that are manager / staffed by contractors or consultants | 25. List of late projects by manager reported weekly to the senior management team. 26. List of projects that are at risk of non-completion (unassigned / manager has left/ no progress made in last three months etc) |
| A bias for action | New initiatives completed. (show past 18 months) | New initiatives that will be fully operational in the next three months by department. | Number of recognised mistakes highlighted last month (if number too low you have an unhealthy environment) Number of bureaucratic processes abandoned in month | 27. Number of prototypes / pilots commenced in month by division 28. Date of next new service initiative |
- Key staff who have handed in their notice today
- The number of initiatives implemented post the staff satisfaction survey
- The teams not represented in the in-house courses to be held in the next two weeks.
- Number of CEO recognitions in last week / last fortnight
- Number of CEO recognitions planned for next week/fortnight
Lets assume you want to Recruiting the right people all the time. Then you will need to measure:
- Key position job offers issued to candidates that are over 48 hours and have not yet been accepted (report daily all key position offers to CEO / GM)
- List of shortlisted candidates where next round of interviews has yet to be organized (report daily)
To understand this table of common CSFs and associated measures ( 28 generic KPIs) and for more information access my latest work
How to implement winning KPIs (180 page Whitepaper + electronic templates)
Finding your Organization’s Critical Success Factors – implementation guide (Whitepaper 115 pages+ electronic templates)
and buy the Database of Measures and Associated Success Factors 4th Edition