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Kpi meaning + 27 examples of key performance indicators.

As your organization begins to sketch out what your strategic plan might look like, it’s likely to come to your attention that you’ll need to gain consensus around what your key performance indicators will be and how they will impact your organization. If you haven’t thought much about your KPIs yet, that’s okay. We can help!

We’ve compiled a complete guide that includes an overview of what makes a good KPI, the benefits of good key performance indicators, and a list of KPI examples [organized by department and industry] for your reference as you develop your organization’s strategic plan and goals.

Video Transcript – How to Write KPIs

Hi, my name is Erica Olsen. Today’s whiteboard video is on key performance indicators, or KPIs for short. These are those things that are associated with either goals or objectives, whatever you’re calling them, those elements of your plan that are the expressions of what you want to achieve by when those quantifiable outcome-based statements.

So KPI’s answer the quantifiable piece of your goals and objectives. They come in three different flavors. So we’ll talk about that in just a minute. But before we do, putting great measures together and making sure they work well for you, you need to have these four attributes. And before I talk about those four attributes, so I just want to say the reason they need to work well for you is because KPIs are the heartbeat of your performance management process. They tell you whether you’re making progress, and ultimately, we want to make progress against our strategy. So KPIs are the thing that do that for us. So you’re going to live with them a lot. So let’s make sure they’re really good.

Okay, so the four things you need to have in order to make sure your these measures work for you.

Our number one is your measure. So the measure is the verbal expression very simply, in words, what are we measuring, which is fairly straightforward. The tricky thing is, is we need to be as expressive as we possibly can with our measures. So number of new customers, that’s fine. There’s nothing wrong with that. But a little bit advanced or a little bit more expressive, would be number of new customers this year, or number of new customers for a certain product or a certain service. So what is it is it? Yeah, so it is, so be really clear. And when it comes to measuring it on a monthly basis, you’re gonna want to be as clear as possible. So number of new customers, let’s say this year,

Number two, is our target, or target is the numeric value that we want to achieve. So a couple of things that are important about this is, the target needs to be apples to apples with when the goal date is set, or the due date is set. So we want to achieve 1000 new customers by the end of the year. So the due date in the target works hand in hand. The other thing is the measure and the target need to work hand in hand. So it’s a number. So this is a number, this is a percentage, this is a percentage, you get the idea.

Third thing, we actually run a report on this data. So where is it coming from? Be clear about what the source is. Most organizations have all sorts of data sources, fragmented systems. So making sure you identify where this data is coming from will save you a lot of time.

And then frequency. So how often are you going to be reporting on this KPI, ideally, you’re running monthly strategy reviews to report on the progress of your plan, at least monthly, in which case we’d like to see monthly KPIs. So you got to be able to pull the data monthly in order to make that happen. That’s not always possible. But let’s try to get there. Certainly some organizations are weekly and others are daily, monthly is a good place to start. So frequency. Great.

So now we know the components that we need to have in place in order to have our KPIs. Here are some different types of KPIs that you might think about as you’re putting your plan together.

So there are just straight up raw numbers, I call these widget counting, there’s nothing wrong with widget counting, they don’t necessarily tell a story. And I’ll talk about how to make this tell a story in a minute. But this is just simply widget counting number of things.

The second thing is progress. So this is really often used, it’s great. We use this, which is expressed as percent complete percent complete of the goal, percent completed a project, whatever it might be, it’s a project type measure. It’s a good measure, if if you don’t have quantifiable measures, or you can’t get the data, and you just want to track the performance of the goal as it relates to action items being completed under it.

The third type of indicator is a Change Type Indicator, like percent increase in sales, making this better would be percent increase in sales compared to last year. And the idea is 22%. So you can see how that starts to be more expressive, and work with the target. So this serves to tell a little bit more of a story than this one does, right? And if you want to actually make your widget counting measures tell more of a story like this one does, you might change something like this to read percentage of new customers acquired compared to same time last year. So that’s an example.

Okay, so now we know what we have to have in place and kind of different types of measures to get our ideas flowing. Let’s talk about one thing that you might take your measure writing to the next level and that is think about the fact that there are leading and lagging measures so are leading and lagging indicators. So percent increase in sales or sales is a lagging indicator it occurred as an outcome. If you want to make sure that you’re on track ACC, you might have a KPI in place, which is telling us whether we’re going to hit that increase such as your pipeline, maybe number of leads, or the size of your pipeline. So we don’t want to over rotate on this necessarily, but we do want to make sure we have a combination of leading and lagging measures when we’re looking at our performance on a monthly basis.

So with that, that’s all we have for today. Hopefully you have what you need to write great KPIs for your organization. Happy strategizing. And don’t forget, subscribe to our channel.

What is a Key Performance Indicator KPI — KPI Definition

Key performance indicators, also called KPIs, are the elements of your organization’s plan that express the quantitative outcomes you seek and how you will measure success. In other words, they tell you what you want to achieve and by when, and are crucial for evaluating the success of an organization. They are the qualitative, quantifiable, outcome-based statements you’ll use to measure progress and determine if you’re on track to meet your goals or objectives. Good plans use 5-7 KPIs to manage and track their progress against goals.

DOWNLOAD THE FREE KPI GUIDE

KPI Meaning & Why do you need them?

Key performance indicators are intended to create a holistic picture of how your organization is performing against its intended targets, business goals, or objectives. A great key performance indicator should accomplish all the following:

• Outline and measure your organization’s most important set of outputs.
• Work as the heartbeat of your performance management process and confirm whether progress is being made against your strategy.
• Represent the key elements of your strategic plan that express what you want to achieve by when.
• Measure the quantifiable components of your goals and objectives.
• Measure the most important leading and lagging measures in your organization.

The Five Elements of a KPI

These are the heartbeat of your performance management process and must work well! They tell you whether you’re making progress or how far you are from reaching your goals. Ultimately, you want to make progress against your strategy. You’ll live with these KPIs for at least the quarter (preferably the year), so make sure they’re valuable!

Great strategies track the progress of core elements of the plan. Each key performance indicator needs to include the following elements:

• A Measure: Every KPI must have a measure. The best ones have more specific or expressive measures.
• A Target: Every KPI needs to have a target that matches your measure and the period of your goal. These are generally a numeric values you’re seeking to achieve.
• A Data Source: Each of these needs to have a clearly defined data source so there is no gray area in measuring and tracking each.
• Reporting Frequency: Different measures may have different reporting needs, but a good rule to follow is to report on them at least monthly.
• Owner: While this isn’t a mandatory aspect of your KPI statement, setting expectations of who will take care of tracking, reporting, and refining specific KPIs is helpful to your overall organizational plan.

Indicators vs. Key Performance Indicators

An indicator is a general term that describes a business’s performance metrics.

There can be several types of indicators a company may track, but not all indicators are KPIs, especially if they don’t tie into an organization’s overall strategic plan or objectives, which is a MUST!

Key Performance Indicators

On the other hand, a key performance indicator is a very specific indicator that measures an organization’s progress toward a specific company-wide goal or objective. We typically recommend you narrow down the KPIs your organization tracks to no more than 7. When you track too many goals, it can get daunting and confusing.

Pro Tip : You should only track the best and most valuable indicators that tie to your organization’s long-term strategic goals and direction.

Benefits of Good Key Performance Indicators

What benefits do key performance indicators have on your strategic plan, and on your organization as a whole? A lot of benefits, actually! They are extremely important to the success of your strategic plan as they help you track progress of your goals. Implementing them correctly is critical to success.

• Benefit #1: They provide clarity and focus to your strategic plan by measuring progress and aligning your team’s efforts to the organization’s objectives. They also show your measurable progress over time and create ways to track your organization’s continued improvement.
• Benefit #2: Key performance indicators create a way to communicate a shared understanding of success. They give your team a shared understanding of what’s important to achieve your long-term vision and create a shared language to express your progress.
• Benefit #3: They provide signposts and triggers to help you identify when to act. A good balance of leading and lagging key performance indicators allow you to see the early warning signs when things are going well, or when it’s time to act.

How to Develop KPIs

We’ve covered this extensively in our How to Identify Key Performance Indicators post. But, here’s a really quick recap:

Step 1: Identify Measures that Contribute Directly to Your Annual Organization-wide Objectives

Ensure you select measures that can be directly used to quantify your most important annual objectives.

Step 2: Evaluate the Quality of Your Core Performance Indicators

Select a balance of leading and lagging indicators (which we define later in the article) that are quantifiable and move your organization forward. Always ensure you have relevant KPIs. Having the right key performance indicators makes a world of difference!

Step 3: Assign Ownership

Every key performance indicator needs ownership! It’s just that simple.

Step 4: Monitor and Report with Consistency

Whatever you do, don’t just set and forget your goals. We see it occasionally that people will select measures and not track them, but what’s the point of that? Be consistent. We recommend selecting measures that can be reported upon at least monthly.

The 3 Common Types of KPIs to Reference as You Build Your Metrics

Key performance indicators answer the quantifiable piece of your goals and objectives . They come in three different flavors. Now that you know the components of great key performance indicators, here are some different ones that you might think about as you’re putting your plan together:

Broad Number Measures

The first type of KPI is what we like to call broad number measures. These are the ones that essentially count something. An example is counting the number of products sold or the number of visits to a webpage.

PRO TIP: There is nothing wrong with these, but they don’t tell a story. Great measures help you create a clear picture of what is going on in your organization. So, using only broad ones won’t help create a narrative.

Progress Measures

Progress key performance indicators are used to help measure the progress of outcomes . This is most commonly known as the “percent complete” KPI, which is helpful in measuring the progress of completing a goal or project. These are best when quantifiable outcomes are difficult to track, or you can’t get specific data.

PRO TIP: Progress KPIs are great, but your KPI stack needs to include some easily quantifiable measures. We recommend using a mixture of progress KPIs and other types that have clear targets and data sources.

Change Measures

The final type of KPI is a change indicator. These are used to measure the quantifiable change in a metric or measure. An example would be, “X% increase in sales.” It adds a change measure to a quantifiable target.

The more specific change measures are, the easier they are to understand. A better iteration of the example above would be “22% increase in sales over last year, which represents an xyz lift in net-new business.” More expressive measures are better.

PRO TIP: Change measures are good for helping create a clear narrative . It helps explain where you’re going instead of just a simple target.

Leading KPIs vs Lagging KPIs

Part of creating a holistic picture of your organization’s progress is looking at different types of measures, like a combination of leading and lagging indicators. Using a mixture of both allows you to monitor progress and early warning signs closely when your plan is under or over-performing (leading indicator) and you have a good hold on how that performance will impact your business down the road (lagging indicator). Here’s a deep dive on leading versus lagging indicators:

Leading Indicator

We often refer to these metrics as the measures that tell you how your business might/will perform in the future. They are the warning buoys you put out in the water to let you know when something is going well and when something isn’t.

For example, a leading KPI for an organization might be the cost to deliver a good/service. If the cost of labor increases, it will give you a leading indicator that you will see an impact on net profit or inventory cost.

Another example of a leading indicator might be how well your website is ranking or how well your advertising is performing. If your website is performing well, it might be a leading indicator that your sales team will have an increase in qualified leads and contracts signed.

Lagging Indicator

A lagging indicator refers to past developments and effects. This reflects the past outcomes of your measure. So, it lags behind the performance of your leading indicators.

An example of a lagging indicator is EBITA. It reflects your earnings for a past date. That lagging indicator may have been influenced by leading indicators like the cost of labor/materials.

Balancing Leading and Lagging Indicators

If you want to ensure that you’re on track, you might have a KPI in place telling you whether you will hit that increase, such as your lead pipeline. We don’t want to over-rotate on this, but as part of a holistic, agile plan, we recommend outlining 5-7 key performance metrics or indicators in your plan that show a mix of leading and lagging indicators. .

Having a mixture of both gives you both a look-back and a look-forward as you measure the success of your plan and business health. We also recommend identifying and committing to tracking and managing the same KPIs for about a year, with regular monthly or quarterly reporting cadence, to create consistency in data and reporting.

27 KPI Examples

Sales key performance indicators.

• Number of contracts signed per quarter
• Dollar value for new contracts signed per period
• Number of qualified leads per month
• Number of engaged qualified leads in the sales funnel
• Hours of resources spent on sales follow up
• Average time for conversion

Increase the number of contracts signed by 10% each quarter.

• Measure: Number of contracts signed per quarter
• Target: Increase number of new contracts signed by 10% each quarter
• Data Source: CRM system
• Reporting Frequency: Weekly
• *Owner: Sales Team
• Due Date: Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4

Increase the value of new contracts by $300,000 per quarter this year.

• Measure: Dollar value for new contracts signed per period
• Data Source: Hubspot Sales Funnel
• Reporting Frequency: Monthly
• *Owner: VP of Sales

Increase the close rate to 30% from 20% by the end of the year.

• Measure: Close rate – number of closed contracts/sales qualified leads
• Target: Increase close rate from 20% to 30%
• *Owner: Director of Sales
• Due Date: December 31, 2023

Increase the number of weekly engaged qualified leads in the sales from 50 to 75 by the end of FY23.

• Measure: Number of engaged qualified leads in sales funnel
• Target: 50 to 75 by end of FY2023
• Data Source: Marketing and Sales CRM
• *Owner: Head of Sales

Decrease time to conversion from 60 to 45 days by Q3 2023.

• Measure: Average time for conversion
• Target: 60 days to 45 days
• Due Date: Q3 2023

Increase number of closed contracts by 2 contracts/week in 2023.

• Measure: Number of closed contracts
• Target: Increase closed contracts a week from 4 to 6
• Data Source: Sales Pipeline
• *Owner: Sales and Marketing Team

Examples of KPIs for Financial

• Growth in revenue
• Net profit margin
• Gross profit margin
• Operational cash flow
• Current accounts receivables

Financial KPIs as SMART Annual Goals

Grow top-line revenue by 10% by the end of 2023.

• Measure: Revenue growth
• Target: 10% growt
• Data Source: Quickbooks
• *Owner: Finance and Operations Team
• Due Date: By the end 2023

Increase gross profit margin by 12% by the end of 2023.

• Measure: Percentage growth of net profit margin
• Target: 12% net profit margin increase
• Data Source: Financial statements
• *Owner: Accounting Department

Increase net profit margin from 32% to 40% by the end of 2023.

• Measure: Gross profit margin in percentage
• Target: Increase gross profit margin from 32% to 40% by the end of 2023
• Data Source: CRM and Quickbooks
• *Owner: CFO

Maintain $5M operating cash flow for FY2023.

• Measure: Dollar amount of operational cash flow
• Target: $5M average
• Data Source: P&L
• Due Date: By the end FY2023

Collect 95% of account receivables within 60 days in 2023.

• Measure: Accounts collected within 60 days
• Target: 95% in 2023
• Data Source: Finance
• Due Date: End of 2023

Examples of KPIs for Customers

• Number of customers retained
• Percentage of market share
• Net promotor score
• Average ticket/support resolution time

Customer KPIs as SMART Annual Goals

90% of current customer monthly subscriptions during FY2023.

• Measure: Number of customers retained
• Target: Retain 90% percent of monthly subscription customers in FY2023
• Data Source: CRM software
• *Owner: Director of Client Operations

Increase market share by 5% by the end of 2023.

• Measure: Percentage of market share
• Target: Increase market share from 25%-30% by the end of 2023
• Data Source: Market research reports
• Reporting Frequency: Quarterly
• *Owner: Head of Marketing

Increase NPS score by 9 points in 2023.

• Measure: Net Promoter Score
• Target: Achieve a 9-point NPS increase over FY2023
• Data Source: Customer surveys
• *Owner: COO

Achieve a weekly ticket close rate of 85% by the end of FY2023.

• Measure: Average ticket/support resolution time
• Target: Achieve a weekly ticket close rate of 85%
• Data Source: Customer support data
• *Owner: Customer Support Team

Examples of KPIs for Operations

• Order fulfillment time
• Time to market
• Employee satisfaction rating
• Employee churn rate
• Inventory turnover

Operational KPIs as SMART Annual Goals

Average 3 days maximum order fill time by the end of Q3 2023.

• Measure: Order fulfilment time
• Target: Average maximum of 3 days
• Data Source: Order management software
• *Owner: Shipping Manager

Achieve an average SaaS project time-to-market of 4 weeks per feature in 2023.

• Measure: Average time to market
• Target: 4 weeks per feature
• Data Source: Product development and launch data
• *Owner: Product Development Team

Earn a minimum score of 80% employee satisfaction survey over the next year.

• Measure: Employee satisfaction rating
• Target: Earn a minimum score of 80% employee
• Data Source: Employee satisfaction survey and feedback

Maintain a maximum of 10% employee churn rate over the next year.

• Measure: Employee churn rate
• Target: Maintain a maximum of 10% employee churn rate over the next year
• Data Source: Human resources and payroll data
• *Owner: Human Resources

Achieve a minimum ratio of 5-6 inventory turnover in 2023.

• Measure: Inventory turnover ratio
• Target: Minimum ratio of 5-6
• Data Source: Inventory management software
• *Owner: perations Department

Marketing Key Performance

• Monthly website traffic
• Number of marketing qualified leads
• Conversion rate for call-to-action content
• Keywords in top 10 search engine results
• Blog articles published this month
• E-Books published this month

Marketing KPIs as SMART Annual Goals

Achieve a minimum of 10% increase in monthly website traffic over the next year.

• Measure: Monthly website traffic
• Target: 10% increase in monthly website
• Data Source: Google analytics
• *Owner: Marketing Manager

Generate a minimum of 200 qualified leads per month in 2023.

• Measure: Number of marketing qualified leads
• Target: 200 qualified leads per month
• Data Source: Hubspot

Achieve a minimum of 10% conversion rate for on-page CTAs by end of Q3 2023.

• Measure: Conversion rate on service pages
• Target: 10%
• Due Date: End of Q3, 2023

Achieve a minimum of 20 high-intent keywords in the top 10 search engine results over the next year.

• Measure: Keywords in top 10 search engine results
• Target: 20 keywords
• Data Source: SEM Rush data
• *Owner: SEO Manager

Publish a minimum of 4 blog articles per month to earn new leads in 2023.

• Measure: Blog articles
• Target: 4 per month
• Data Source: CMS
• *Owner: Content Marketing Manager
• Due Date: December 2023

Publish at least 2 e-books per quarter in 2023 to create new marketing-qualified leads.

• Measure: E-Books published
• Target: 2 per quarter
• Data Source: Content management system

Bonus: +40 Extra KPI Examples

Supply chain example key performance indicators.

• Number of On-Time Deliveries
• Inventory Carry Rate
• Months of Supply on Hand
• Inventory-to-Sales Ratio (ISR)
• Carrying Cost of Inventory
• Inventory Turnover Rate
• Perfect Order Rate
• Inventory Accuracy

Healthcare Example Key Performance Indicators

• Bed or Room Turnover
• Average Patient Wait Time
• Average Treatment Charge
• Average Insurance Claim Cost
• Medical Error Rate
• Patient-to-Staff Ratio
• Medication Errors
• Average Emergency Room Wait Times
• Average Insurance Processing Time
• Billing Code Error Rates
• Average Hospital Stay
• Patient Satisfaction Rate

Human Resource Example Key Performance Indicators

• Organization Headcount
• Average Number of Job Vacancies
• Applications Received Per Job Vacancy
• Job Offer Acceptance Rate
• Cost Per New Hire
• Average Salary
• Average Employee Satisfaction
• Employee Turnover Rate
• New Hire Training Effectiveness

Social Media Example Key Performance Indicators

• Average Engagement
• % Growth in Following
• Traffic Conversions
• Social Interactions
• Website Traffic from Social Media
• Number of Post Shares
• Social Visitor Conversion Rates
• Issues Resolved Using Social Channel

Conclusion: Keeping a Pulse on Your Plan

With the foundational knowledge of the KPI anatomy and a few example starting points, it’s important you build out these metrics with detailed and specific data sources so you can truly evaluate if you’re achieving your goals. Remember, these will be the 5-7 core metrics you’ll live by for the next 12 months, so it’s crucial to develop effective KPIs that follow the SMART formula.

A combination of leading and lagging KPIs will paint a clear picture of your organization’s strategic performance and empower you to make agile decisions to impact your team’s success. KPI software allows your business to monitor and analyze performance trends over time by centralizing your data and using relevant data points and calculations. If you’d like more information on building better ones, check out the video above and click here to see why not all KPIs are created equal.

Our Other KPI Resources

We have several other great resources to consider as you build your organization’s Key Performance Indicators! Check out these other helpful posts and guides:

• OKRs vs. KPIs: A Downloadable Guide to Explain the Difference
• How to Identify KPIs in 4 Steps
• KPIs vs Metrics: Tips and Tricks to Performance Measures
• Guide to Establishing Weekly Health Metrics

FAQs on Key Performance Indicators

KPI stands for Key Performance Indicators. KPIs are the elements of your organization’s business or strategic plan that express what outcomes you are seeking and how you will measure their success. They express what you need to achieve by when. KPIs are always quantifiable, outcome-based statements to measure if you’re on track to meet your goals and objectives.

The 4 elements of key performance indicators are:

• A Measure – The best KPIs have more expressive measures.
• A Target – Every KPI needs to have a target that matches your measure and the time period of your goal.
• A Data Source – Every KPI needs to have a clearly defined data source.
• Reporting Frequency – A defined reporting frequency.

No, KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) are different from metrics. Metrics are quantitative measurements used to track and analyze various aspects of business performance, while KPIs are specific metrics chosen as indicators of success in achieving strategic goals.

16 Comments

HI Erica hope your are doing well, Sometime Strategy doesn’t cover all the activities through the company, like maintenance for example may be quality control …. sure they have a contribution in the overall goals achievement but there is no specific new requirement for them unless doing their job, do u think its better to develop a specific KPIs for these department? waiting your recommendation

Thanks for your strategic KPIs

Hello Erica, Could you please clarify how to set KPIs for the Strategic Planning team?

Hi Diana, check out the whitepaper above for more insight!

Hello Erica, Could you please clarify, how to set the KPIs for the Strategic PLanning team?

exampels of empowerment kpis

I found great information in this article. In any case, the characteristics that KPIs must have are: measurability, effectiveness, relevance, utility and feasibility

How to write methodology guidelines for strategy implementation / a company’s review and tracking (process and workflow) for all a company’s divisions

support on strategizing Learning & Development for Automobile dealership

Could you please to clarify how to write the KPIs for the Secretary.

Check out our guide to creating KPIs for more help here: https://onstrategyhq.com/kpi-guide-download/

That’s an amazing article.

Could you please to clarify how to write the KPIs for the office boy supervisor

Could you please clarify how to write KPIs for the editorial assistant in a start up publishing company.

Kindly advice how I would set a kpi for a mattress factory

Comments Cancel

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16 case study examples (+ 3 templates to make your own)

I like to think of case studies as a business's version of a resume. It highlights what the business can do, lends credibility to its offer, and contains only the positive bullet points that paint it in the best light possible.

Imagine if the guy running your favorite taco truck followed you home so that he could "really dig into how that burrito changed your life." I see the value in the practice. People naturally prefer a tried-and-true burrito just as they prefer tried-and-true products or services.

To help you showcase your success and flesh out your burrito questionnaire, I've put together some case study examples and key takeaways.

What is a case study?

A case study is an in-depth analysis of how your business, product, or service has helped past clients. It can be a document, a webpage, or a slide deck that showcases measurable, real-life results.

For example, if you're a SaaS company, you can analyze your customers' results after a few months of using your product to measure its effectiveness. You can then turn this analysis into a case study that further proves to potential customers what your product can do and how it can help them overcome their challenges.

It changes the narrative from "I promise that we can do X and Y for you" to "Here's what we've done for businesses like yours, and we can do it for you, too."

16 case study examples 

While most case studies follow the same structure, quite a few try to break the mold and create something unique. Some businesses lean heavily on design and presentation, while others pursue a detailed, stat-oriented approach. Some businesses try to mix both.

There's no set formula to follow, but I've found that the best case studies utilize impactful design to engage readers and leverage statistics and case details to drive the point home. A case study typically highlights the companies, the challenges, the solution, and the results. The examples below will help inspire you to do it, too.

1. .css-1l9i3yq-Link[class][class][class][class][class]{all:unset;box-sizing:border-box;-webkit-text-fill-color:currentColor;cursor:pointer;}.css-1l9i3yq-Link[class][class][class][class][class]{all:unset;box-sizing:border-box;-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;cursor:pointer;-webkit-transition:all 300ms ease-in-out;transition:all 300ms ease-in-out;outline-offset:1px;-webkit-text-fill-color:currentColor;outline:1px solid transparent;}.css-1l9i3yq-Link[class][class][class][class][class][data-color='ocean']{color:#3d4592;}.css-1l9i3yq-Link[class][class][class][class][class][data-color='ocean']:hover{color:#2b2358;}.css-1l9i3yq-Link[class][class][class][class][class][data-color='ocean']:focus{color:#3d4592;outline-color:#3d4592;}.css-1l9i3yq-Link[class][class][class][class][class][data-color='white']{color:#fffdf9;}.css-1l9i3yq-Link[class][class][class][class][class][data-color='white']:hover{color:#a8a5a0;}.css-1l9i3yq-Link[class][class][class][class][class][data-color='white']:focus{color:#fffdf9;outline-color:#fffdf9;}.css-1l9i3yq-Link[class][class][class][class][class][data-color='primary']{color:#3d4592;}.css-1l9i3yq-Link[class][class][class][class][class][data-color='primary']:hover{color:#2b2358;}.css-1l9i3yq-Link[class][class][class][class][class][data-color='primary']:focus{color:#3d4592;outline-color:#3d4592;}.css-1l9i3yq-Link[class][class][class][class][class][data-color='secondary']{color:#fffdf9;}.css-1l9i3yq-Link[class][class][class][class][class][data-color='secondary']:hover{color:#a8a5a0;}.css-1l9i3yq-Link[class][class][class][class][class][data-color='secondary']:focus{color:#fffdf9;outline-color:#fffdf9;}.css-1l9i3yq-Link[class][class][class][class][class][data-weight='inherit']{font-weight:inherit;}.css-1l9i3yq-Link[class][class][class][class][class][data-weight='normal']{font-weight:400;}.css-1l9i3yq-Link[class][class][class][class][class][data-weight='bold']{font-weight:700;} Volcanica Coffee and AdRoll

People love a good farm-to-table coffee story, and boy am I one of them. But I've shared this case study with you for more reasons than my love of coffee. I enjoyed this study because it was written as though it was a letter.

In this case study, the founder of Volcanica Coffee talks about the journey from founding the company to personally struggling with learning and applying digital marketing to finding and enlisting AdRoll's services.

It felt more authentic, less about AdRoll showcasing their worth and more like a testimonial from a grateful and appreciative client. After the story, the case study wraps up with successes, milestones, and achievements. Note that quite a few percentages are prominently displayed at the top, providing supporting evidence that backs up an inspiring story.

Takeaway: Highlight your goals and measurable results to draw the reader in and provide concise, easily digestible information.

2. Taylor Guitars and Airtable

This Airtable case study on Taylor Guitars comes as close as one can to an optimal structure. It features a video that represents the artistic nature of the client, highlighting key achievements and dissecting each element of Airtable's influence.

It also supplements each section with a testimonial or quote from the client, using their insights as a catalyst for the case study's narrative. For example, the case study quotes the social media manager and project manager's insights regarding team-wide communication and access before explaining in greater detail.

Takeaway: Highlight pain points your business solves for its client, and explore that influence in greater detail.

3. EndeavourX and Figma

My favorite part of Figma's case study is highlighting why EndeavourX chose its solution. You'll notice an entire section on what Figma does for teams and then specifically for EndeavourX.

It also places a heavy emphasis on numbers and stats. The study, as brief as it is, still manages to pack in a lot of compelling statistics about what's possible with Figma.

Takeaway: Showcase the "how" and "why" of your product's differentiators and how they benefit your customers.

4. ActiveCampaign and Zapier

Zapier's case study leans heavily on design, using graphics to present statistics and goals in a manner that not only remains consistent with the branding but also actively pushes it forward, drawing users' eyes to the information most important to them. 

The graphics, emphasis on branding elements, and cause/effect style tell the story without requiring long, drawn-out copy that risks boring readers. Instead, the cause and effect are concisely portrayed alongside the client company's information for a brief and easily scannable case study.

Takeaway: Lean on design to call attention to the most important elements of your case study, and make sure it stays consistent with your branding.

5. Ironclad and OpenAI

In true OpenAI fashion, this case study is a block of text. There's a distinct lack of imagery, but the study features a narrated video walking readers through the product.

The lack of imagery and color may not be the most inviting, but utilizing video format is commendable. It helps thoroughly communicate how OpenAI supported Ironclad in a way that allows the user to sit back, relax, listen, and be impressed. 

Takeaway: Get creative with the media you implement in your case study. Videos can be a very powerful addition when a case study requires more detailed storytelling.

6. Shopify and GitHub

GitHub's case study on Shopify is a light read. It addresses client pain points and discusses the different aspects its product considers and improves for clients. It touches on workflow issues, internal systems, automation, and security. It does a great job of representing what one company can do with GitHub.

To drive the point home, the case study features colorful quote callouts from the Shopify team, sharing their insights and perspectives on the partnership, the key issues, and how they were addressed.

Takeaway: Leverage quotes to boost the authoritativeness and trustworthiness of your case study. 

7 . Audible and Contentful

Contentful's case study on Audible features almost every element a case study should. It includes not one but two videos and clearly outlines the challenge, solution, and outcome before diving deeper into what Contentful did for Audible. The language is simple, and the writing is heavy with quotes and personal insights.

This case study is a uniquely original experience. The fact that the companies in question are perhaps two of the most creative brands out there may be the reason. I expected nothing short of a detailed analysis, a compelling story, and video content. 

Takeaway: Inject some brand voice into the case study, and create assets that tell the story for you.

8 . Zoom and Asana

Asana's case study on Zoom is longer than the average piece and features detailed data on Zoom's growth since 2020. Instead of relying on imagery and graphics, it features several quotes and testimonials. 

It's designed to be direct, informative, and promotional. At some point, the case study reads more like a feature list. There were a few sections that felt a tad too promotional for my liking, but to each their own burrito.

Takeaway: Maintain a balance between promotional and informative. You want to showcase the high-level goals your product helped achieve without losing the reader.

9 . Hickies and Mailchimp

I've always been a fan of Mailchimp's comic-like branding, and this case study does an excellent job of sticking to their tradition of making information easy to understand, casual, and inviting.

It features a short video that briefly covers Hickies as a company and Mailchimp's efforts to serve its needs for customer relationships and education processes. Overall, this case study is a concise overview of the partnership that manages to convey success data and tell a story at the same time. What sets it apart is that it does so in a uniquely colorful and brand-consistent manner.

Takeaway: Be concise to provide as much value in as little text as possible.

10. NVIDIA and Workday

The gaming industry is notoriously difficult to recruit for, as it requires a very specific set of skills and experience. This case study focuses on how Workday was able to help fill that recruitment gap for NVIDIA, one of the biggest names in the gaming world.

Though it doesn't feature videos or graphics, this case study stood out to me in how it structures information like "key products used" to give readers insight into which tools helped achieve these results.

Takeaway: If your company offers multiple products or services, outline exactly which ones were involved in your case study, so readers can assess each tool.

11. KFC and Contentful

I'm personally not a big KFC fan, but that's only because I refuse to eat out of a bucket. My aversion to the bucket format aside, Contentful follows its consistent case study format in this one, outlining challenges, solutions, and outcomes before diving into the nitty-gritty details of the project.

Say what you will about KFC, but their primary product (chicken) does present a unique opportunity for wordplay like "Continuing to march to the beat of a digital-first drum(stick)" or "Delivering deep-fried goodness to every channel."

Takeaway: Inject humor into your case study if there's room for it and if it fits your brand. 

12. Intuit and Twilio

Twilio does an excellent job of delivering achievements at the very beginning of the case study and going into detail in this two-minute read. While there aren't many graphics, the way quotes from the Intuit team are implemented adds a certain flair to the study and breaks up the sections nicely.

It's simple, concise, and manages to fit a lot of information in easily digestible sections.

Takeaway: Make sure each section is long enough to inform but brief enough to avoid boring readers. Break down information for each section, and don't go into so much detail that you lose the reader halfway through.

13. Spotify and Salesforce

Salesforce created a video that accurately summarizes the key points of the case study. Beyond that, the page itself is very light on content, and sections are as short as one paragraph.

I especially like how information is broken down into "What you need to know," "Why it matters," and "What the difference looks like." I'm not ashamed of being spoon-fed information. When it's structured so well and so simply, it makes for an entertaining read.

Takeaway: Invest in videos that capture and promote your partnership with your case study subject. Video content plays a promotional role that extends beyond the case study in social media and marketing initiatives .

14. Benchling and Airtable

Benchling is an impressive entity in its own right. Biotech R&D and health care nuances go right over my head. But the research and digging I've been doing in the name of these burritos (case studies) revealed that these products are immensely complex. 

And that's precisely why this case study deserves a read—it succeeds at explaining a complex project that readers outside the industry wouldn't know much about.

Takeaway: Simplify complex information, and walk readers through the company's operations and how your business helped streamline them.

15. Chipotle and Hubble

The concision of this case study is refreshing. It features two sections—the challenge and the solution—all in 316 words. This goes to show that your case study doesn't necessarily need to be a four-figure investment with video shoots and studio time. 

Sometimes, the message is simple and short enough to convey in a handful of paragraphs.

Takeaway: Consider what you should include instead of what you can include. Assess the time, resources, and effort you're able and willing to invest in a case study, and choose which elements you want to include from there.

16. Hudl and Zapier

I may be biased, but I'm a big fan of seeing metrics and achievements represented in branded graphics. It can be a jarring experience to navigate a website, then visit a case study page and feel as though you've gone to a completely different website.

The Zapier format provides nuggets of high-level insights, milestones, and achievements, as well as the challenge, solution, and results. My favorite part of this case study is how it's supplemented with a blog post detailing how Hudl uses Zapier automation to build a seamless user experience.

The case study is essentially the summary, and the blog article is the detailed analysis that provides context beyond X achievement or Y goal.

Takeaway: Keep your case study concise and informative. Create other resources to provide context under your blog, media or press, and product pages.

3 case study templates

Now that you've had your fill of case studies (if that's possible), I've got just what you need: an infinite number of case studies, which you can create yourself with these case study templates.

Case study template 1

If you've got a quick hit of stats you want to show off, try this template. The opening section gives space for a short summary and three visually appealing stats you can highlight, followed by a headline and body where you can break the case study down more thoroughly. This one's pretty simple, with only sections for solutions and results, but you can easily continue the formatting to add more sections as needed.

Case study template 2

For a case study template with a little more detail, use this one. Opening with a striking cover page for a quick overview, this one goes on to include context, stakeholders, challenges, multiple quote callouts, and quick-hit stats. 

Case study template 3

Whether you want a little structural variation or just like a nice dark green, this template has similar components to the last template but is designed to help tell a story. Move from the client overview through a description of your company before getting to the details of how you fixed said company's problems.

Tips for writing a case study

Examples are all well and good, but you don't learn how to make a burrito just by watching tutorials on YouTube without knowing what any of the ingredients are. You could , but it probably wouldn't be all that good.

Writing a good case study comes down to a mix of creativity, branding, and the capacity to invest in the project. With those details in mind, here are some case study tips to follow:

Have an objective: Define your objective by identifying the challenge, solution, and results. Assess your work with the client and focus on the most prominent wins. You're speaking to multiple businesses and industries through the case study, so make sure you know what you want to say to them.

Focus on persuasive data: Growth percentages and measurable results are your best friends. Extract your most compelling data and highlight it in your case study.

Use eye-grabbing graphics: Branded design goes a long way in accurately representing your brand and retaining readers as they review the study. Leverage unique and eye-catching graphics to keep readers engaged. 

Simplify data presentation: Some industries are more complex than others, and sometimes, data can be difficult to understand at a glance. Make sure you present your data in the simplest way possible. Make it concise, informative, and easy to understand.

Use automation to drive results for your case study

A case study example is a source of inspiration you can leverage to determine how to best position your brand's work. Find your unique angle, and refine it over time to help your business stand out. Ask anyone: the best burrito in town doesn't just appear at the number one spot. They find their angle (usually the house sauce) and leverage it to stand out.

In fact, with the right technology, it can be refined to work better . Explore how Zapier's automation features can help drive results for your case study by making your case study a part of a developed workflow that creates a user journey through your website, your case studies, and into the pipeline.

Case study FAQ

Got your case study template? Great—it's time to gather the team for an awkward semi-vague data collection task. While you do that, here are some case study quick answers for you to skim through while you contemplate what to call your team meeting.

What is an example of a case study?

An example of a case study is when a software company analyzes its results from a client project and creates a webpage, presentation, or document that focuses on high-level results, challenges, and solutions in an attempt to showcase effectiveness and promote the software.

How do you write a case study?

To write a good case study, you should have an objective, identify persuasive and compelling data, leverage graphics, and simplify data. Case studies typically include an analysis of the challenge, solution, and results of the partnership.

What is the format of a case study?

While case studies don't have a set format, they're often portrayed as reports or essays that inform readers about the partnership and its results. 

Related reading:

How Hudl uses automation to create a seamless user experience

How to make your case studies high-stakes—and why it matters

How experts write case studies that convert, not bore

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Hachem Ramki

Hachem is a writer and digital marketer from Montreal. After graduating with a degree in English, Hachem spent seven years traveling around the world before moving to Canada. When he's not writing, he enjoys Basketball, Dungeons and Dragons, and playing music for friends and family.

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Case study: key performance indicators in local digital marketing.

• April 24, 2017

Finding, tracking and collating Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)* that demonstrate the performance of your online efforts has always been difficult in the local digital marketing space. But with upgrades in reporting at Google, Yelp and a newly minted web site, I took the opportunity to do just that in a case study with our favorite “guinea pig” Barbara Oliver Jewelry from the Buffalo, NY area.

Not only were we able to create a credible view of the drivers of her local business we were able to implement an in-store survey so as to be able to ascribe attribution to both her online and offline marketing efforts which we discuss in part 2 of this series .

What Is The Diamond Of Local Digital Marketing?

Barbara Oliver Jewelry created a new website last August 2016 and hired a new staffer to help with marketing. She has had an active presence on Facebook, has been doing review management with good success since 2009 , is running a very small Google Adwords Express campaign and starting last June started an active Google+ campaign.

She does have a Yext account (provided gratis by Yext) as well and a verified Yelp presence but has never advertised there.

Her high end jewelry store is located on the 3rd floor of an office building with zero walk in traffic and no street side presence. Her advertising budget is limited to a few key areas. Most money is spent on radio, some on a billboard, less on G+ and search optimization. She has been spending about the same on the Yellow Pages per quarter as on SEO. A tiny amount per quarter on Facebook boosts and GetFiveStars. Thus her potential sources of new customers are relatively clean and defined.

The last quarter of 2016 was a good time to implement a study of her KPIs and attempt to glean attribution via an in-store survey.

Local Digital Marketing KPIs

We wanted to explore the “low on the funnel” performance indicators and understand their relationship to new customer acquisition and purchases. Obviously there are many KPIs from which to choose. We identified the following as the digital components that were trackable and, given that there was no e-commerce component on her site, as close as we could get to the purchase*.

• Contact form fill
• FB messaging and comments expressing intent
• Clicks to call
• Request for driving directions

They were, in her case, the best indicators of intent.

With the new website we were sure to put in place event tracking for contact form fills, click to call actions and driving directions requests. For additional sources of this information we looked at dashboards at Yelp, Bing, Google, indexed all comments that showed intent at FB and tracked all of these in addition to those events on her website. While she has a Yext dashboard as well, they do not track any of these metrics from the websites that they post on.

We were able to track roughly 360 actions across all platforms and the sources of these actions broke out like this:

Clearly the largest percentage of these KPIs occurred directly on Google either from the Knowledge Panel, the Pack results, the Local Finder or Maps.  Typically in Barbara’s case, 70% of those come from search and 30% from Maps.

The website came in second. We have only done this study for one quarter and have no historical reference point. But my sense is that Google has, over the past two years, generally increased their share of these actions with changes to the Local search results. Due to issues with the WordPress theme not all instances of the phone number were tracked although most were.

Thus the website might be slightly under counted. Any conversions that came directly via an iPhone/Apple Maps would not have surfaced nor would have calls directly from iOS “direct answer” results and it is possible that iOS was undercounted as a result.

I was a little surprised that we found zero Bing actions according to their dashboard and our analytics. But such is the world of search.

It’s A Google World In Local

When we further looked into the web site traffic and its origination sources Facebook showed about a 3% increase in contribution. But most of the web traffic that initiated one of the KPI actions obviously came from Google.

In a very real sense, Google has become the equivalent of the new home page for the business. The bulk of direct pre-sale actions that benefitted the business were taking place there and the bulk of those that weren’t (ie web actions) came from Google.

While I don’t have the quantitative data to back this up, my sense is that Google is taking an increasing share directly compared to 4, 3 or even 2 years ago with various “updates” to the Local pack results.

Clearly there are some blind spots in our analysis but I think that they are directionally correct. And while it is only a case study, the methodology can be applied more broadly. It would be of interest to make the same analysis across different industries and markets to understand the amount of variation that we would find.

On a philosophical level the fact that more activity is taking place directly on Google is a disturbing trend, I for one do not want a web that is controlled at one end by Google and at the other by Facebook.  As to what a business should or could do to avoid this is unclear.

For now if you need leads, you need to be present on Google.

That being said any given business really doesn’t care where the new customers come from as long as they come. The local business needs to be aware of the fact that many (actually most) of their new customers are coming from Google and has in place a plan to really treat both keyword and branded search results as their primary interface to the world, then they should get their fair share of new customers.

In this new reality your website is just a data source, one amongst many, that feeds the Google results.

Read part 2 to take a look at the in-store attribution and how that correlated with these measured KPIs.

* The KPIs chosen for any given local business will vary depending on the type of business and their goals. Obviously an emergency plumber would be more interested in phone calls and driving directions would be totally irrelevant. In that case call tracking might provide very meaningful metrics. A dance studio might be more interested in form fills for class sign ups. A dentist that has scheduling on their site might more interested in actual conversions to an appointment.

There are a ton of possibilities of KPIs that have strong consumer intent to purchase. From my point of view the closer the KPI is to the purchase the better and since so much activity isn’t taking place on your website, ones that are measurable at sites besides your website make sense. A local business, unlike an e-commerce play, doesn’t really care if the activity is at Google, Yelp or their website and given the realities of the digital world has very little to say about it anyway.

Mike Blumenthal

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What Is KPI Reporting? KPI Report Examples, Tips, and Best Practices

Table of contents

We’re constantly bombarded by data points and it takes real effort to make sense of them. While having a lot of information is a good thing, it’s easy to get overwhelmed and miss what’s really important. Businesses especially need to be able to sort the wheat from the chaff and assess their data accurately.

But, how do you go about this exactly?

A recent Databox’s research proved that it’s not an easy task – in fact, more than half of the surveyed companies are not sure they are tracking the right KPIs.

It all starts from businesses understanding their audience, collating the relevant information, analyzing it, and then leveraging it all in order to make strategic decisions that will lead to success.

This is where tracking KPIs and ensuring that information is presented in a digestible format comes in. And using KPI reporting tools will streamline the whole process.

We’ll explain what KPIs are, explore KPI reporting in depth, and cover a variety of useful reports as well as give you some of the best practices for creating a KPI report.

• What is a KPI?
• What is a KPI Report?
• What is the Difference Between a KPI Report and a KPI Dashboard?
• How Do I Prepare a KPI Report?
• How to Distribute a KPI Report?
• KPI Reporting Examples and Templates
• KPI Examples

KPI Reporting Best Practices

Build more insightful kpi reports with databox.

What Is a KPI?

Let’s start with the basics. A key performance indicator (KPI) is a way to measure the performance of a project or a business in achieving a specific goal. The best way to think of them is as milestones that can be used to gauge progress and provide insight that will help you make better decisions. KPIs are applicable in any business sphere and used in every industry. Businesses of all sizes track KPIs and use them to measure success and plan future endeavors. While this may sound like simple metrics tracking , KPIs are more strategic and have the greatest impact on business planning. While all KPIs are metrics, not all metrics are KPIs. Non-KPI metrics support KPIs and aren’t as crucial in and of themselves.

Related : KPIs vs. Metrics: What’s the Difference & How Do You Measure Both?

KPIs can provide you with a realistic look at how your business is doing, providing information about everything from risk factors and opportunities to financial indicators. As such they can keep the whole organization moving in the same direction and allow you to course-correct as necessary.

What Is a KPI Report?

A KPI report is a performance tracking tool that allows you to quickly analyze key performance indicators and understand how your organization is doing with respect to specific goals. They include data visualization, consisting of charts, tables, and graphs. Modern KPI reports are interactive, and all the underlying data can be accessed quickly. In addition, they allow you to reorganize displayed information which allows for a quick change of focus.

Related : Business Report: What is it & How to Write a Great One? (With Examples)

Why Are KPI Reports Important?

KPIs are more than just numbers or even metrics. They make it possible to understand how your business is performing, allowing you to make adjustments in your procedures and achieve your long-term goals. Identifying the right KPIs and measuring them will help you achieve results more quickly, and you’ll have a better insight into how well you did.

A well-made KPI report with an organized dashboard provides important insights in an easy-to-understand format, allowing everyone to understand the overall situation. That way, even non-technical personnel can recognize relationships between data points and identify trends. This means that relevant people will be able to correctly set business objectives and chart a course for achieving them.

PRO TIP: How Are Users Engaging on My Site? Which Content Drives the Most Online Activity?

If you want to discover how visitors engage with your website, and which content drives the most engagement and conversions, there are several on-page events and metrics you can track from Google Analytics 4 that will get you started:

• Sessions by channel. Which channels are driving the most traffic to your website? 
• Average session duration. How long do visitors spend on your website on average? 
• Pageviews and pageviews by page . Which pages on your website are viewed the most? 
• Total number of users . How many users engaged with your website? 
• Engagement rate . Which percentage of your website visitors have interacted with a piece of content and spent a significant amount of time on the site?
• Sessions conversion rate . How many of your website visitors have completed the desired or expected action(s) and what percentage of them completed the goals you’ve set in Google Analytics 4?

And more…

Now you can benefit from the experience of our Google Analytics 4 experts, who have put together a plug-and-play Databox template showing the most important KPIs for monitoring visitor engagement on your website. It’s simple to implement and start using as a standalone dashboard or in marketing reports, and best of all, it’s free!

You can easily set it up in just a few clicks – no coding required.

To set up the dashboard, follow these 3 simple steps:

Step 1: Get the template 

Step 2: Connect your Google Analytics account with Databox. 

Step 3: Watch your dashboard populate in seconds.

What Is the Difference Between a KPI Report and a KPI Dashboard?

While an interactive KPI report you can use to navigate through different metrics and perform data exploration and analysis is fairly similar to modern KPI dashboards , they’re not necessarily the same thing. Traditional KPI reports are static documents distributed to shareholders, while interactive dashboards allow for much easier access to different layers of information.

KPI reports focus on the analytical interpretation of underlying metrics , mostly via tables and graphs that make decision-making easier. On the other hand, dashboards are visualization tools that can support KPI reports — they employ various visual formats like graphs and charts that give real-time insight into KPI and metric performance.

Today, the line between the two is very much blurred. Modern Dashboards are robust enough to take on the role of a full-fledged report, or they can be integrated into the report. Additionally, nothing is stopping you from feeding information from a KPI Report into a dashboard in order to create a pleasing and impactful presentation.

How Do I Prepare a KPI Report? 

In order to prepare a good KPI report, you need to gather data and answer some questions. It’s best to present all important metrics. Ideally, you want to present performance over a period of time and showcase recent growth, decreases, and outliers.

In essence, no two KPI reports are the same. They need to be tailored to the user, industry, business, audience, and so on. You can and should customize your reports in order to match your requirements, and fortunately, modern reporting tools and dashboards can make the whole thing a breeze.

So, here’s what you should think about when you’re preparing a KPI report. 

Consider your goals

Choose the right kpis, check your data, ensure you know who’ll use the report, consider the visualization.

First, you need to decide what your desired business result is. Set out your long-term goals and consider the steps you need to take to achieve them. The goals need to be feasible and paired with measurable results. Don’t forget to add milestones and expected changes in the numbers or percentages.

Related : Goals Based Reporting: Everything You Need to Know

Second, select the KPIs you want to use to measure your progress. In order to create a useful KPI, you need to determine how you intend to reach the goals defined in the previous step. Set down what key activities will bring your business closer to reaching each of these goals and make sure they’re quantifiable.

Third, take a look at your data sources . Thanks to modern dashboards, you can consolidate all the data you need. The process can be made even easier with reporting software and its integrations that allow you to automatically import information from other sources. Dashboards can crunch numbers for you and present insights based on your KPIs. However, in order to do that, they need access to good data. 

That’s why you need to audit your data sources and make sure they align with your business objectives. Exclude chaff information that will only clutter up the dashboard, a KPI report needs to be trim, relevant, and actionable. If you do this, you’ll streamline the whole process and ensure that you only see information that needs to be analyzed.

Fourth, plan for the target audience. Consider who’s going to see and use the KPI report. If no one is interested in tracking a specific KPI, then there’s no real point in adding it to the dashboard. If the metric reflects a downward trend, then ensure that there’s a plan to correct this or that there’s someone ready to make that plan. In addition, keep in mind that not all people viewing the report may have permission to see the data reflected in the KPIs. Some information is confidential or just not relevant to some people so it may be worth it to create different versions of KPI reports for different audiences.

Fifth, take into account the visualization itself.  How will the metrics be displayed? Will you use bar charts, graphs, pie charts, line charts, or something else to present a KPI and supporting metrics? You can place similar metrics close to each other to create a natural flow of information. This makes it easy to find all the relevant information.

By visualizing data properly, you can tell a story about how the business is performing. If you emphasize what truly matters in an easy-to-understand format, you’ll be able to share critical information even with people who aren’t too familiar with the subject matter.

How to Distribute a KPI Report

Of course, creating a successful KPI reporting strategy requires more than building informative and actionable reports. Without people to review them and implement the strategies suggested, the reports aren’t worth much. So distributing them to people who can use the information is vital.

Managers, project stakeholders, and other staff are there “in the trenches” and can see the effects of their actions directly. This is why distributing the reports at the project management level is vital.  These people will be able to act on the reports and inform their coworkers about the progress towards the objectives that have been set up.

You can distribute them either through static reports (usually at scheduled meetings) or through live reports. Unfortunately, static reports often contain outdated information as collection, collation, and distribution are done manually, which comes with an inevitable time delay. Live reports can be distributed either as KPI dashboards that show trends and graphs or traditional reports with tables that display numeric data.

While they can be “distributed” by sending people emails or chat messages with links towards reports, they always exist and can be accessed anytime and anywhere. This real-time accessibility allows the recipients to have data at their fingertips and to make decisions in a timely fashion instead of waiting for the report to be compiled and then distributed. It makes the whole process much more streamlined and minimizes the chance of errors.

KPI Reporting Examples & Templates

Of course, there are countless possible reports you can make, all depending on what you’re trying to achieve, the type of organization, and the target audience. Here are templates and examples of some of the most common KPI reports you might need to make.

SEO report template

Employee performance dashboard, social media report template, financial kpi reporting template.

• Project management KPI report template

Sales performance KPI dashboard

• Customer support KPI dashboard

SaaS executive dashboard

Software development dashboard, ecommerce report example.

This SEO report template will help you track organic search performance in Google by showing you how your site is performing in organic search results. You’ll also see the changes in that performance by noting high-performing pages, keywords, and queries, as well as your average ranking.

An SEO report will help you identify which queries you should focus on, and you’ll be able to optimize search snippets to improve your CTR from search results. The key metrics are impressions, clicks, costs, clicks by queries, pages by clicks, position, and crawl errors.

If you need to make a more specific SEO KPI report, you can browse our library of SEO dashboard templates .

If you want to track custom metrics from Jira, this employee performance dashboard is exactly what you need. This is especially true if you use Agile principles.

By tracking key metrics like hours tracked, billable hours, and billing amounts, you’ll be able to visualize the data from Harvest in the way you want. The template will allow you to split tracked time by project, team, task, or client. It makes it easy to see how many hours have been tracked on a monthly, quarterly, and annual basis.

You can also browse all of our employee performance dashboards and customize them according to your needs.

Social media report templates can give you insights into how your social media campaign is progressing by tracking metrics like impressions, reach, followers, and more. If you want to track the performance of your business Instagram account, you’ll be able to see what posts have been popular with your followers, see the impact of your activity, and communicate how social media strategy is impacting the overall ROI.

All Databox’s social media dashboard templates come pre-built with the most commonly tracked metrics and are fully customizable. You can browse our library of social media dashboards and pick the right one for your purposes.

A well-made financial reporting dashboard will give you insight into your business’ bank accounts, cash flows, sales, expenses, etc. Databox’s financial reporting dashboards like this Quickbooks financial report can be integrated with accounting and streamline the whole reporting process with just a few clicks.

You can use them to track your company’s financial transactions, open and unpaid invoices, debits and credits, and many more metrics. They can even visualize cash flow projections and allow you to sort all the data by any category you wish.

Browse the full selection of our financial dashboards , and you’re guaranteed to find something you need.

Project Management KPI report template

Project management KPIs are possibly the most important for the long-term health of any organization. If you connect a dashboard to your work management software, you’ll be able to keep your workflow organized and track your team’s progress very easily.

With a project management report , you’ll be able to monitor relevant metrics related to task organization like assigned tasks, overdue, completed, and assigned tasks, time spent on tasks, team performance and productivity, and many more. These, in turn, can be turned into indicators of the health of the organization. An increasing number of overdue tasks could be a sign that there are workflow issues that need to be addressed.

You can browse all project management dashboards and find the one that works for your organization.

This type of KPI report dashboard is a visual snapshot of the sales team’s performance. You can use sales performance KPI dashboards to track sales performance and productivity KPIs, sales leaderboards, and progress towards achieving goals. You’ll be able to understand the sales pipeline better and compare team results with revenue goals.

Databox has a large selection of sales dashboards you can browse.

Customer support KPI dashboard template

This customer support report template that pulls data from Intercom is easy-to-use and allows you to assess your overall Help Desk performance and efficiency of individual customer service agents. You can integrate it with Intercom or any other CRM software and pull up a variety of metrics from leads and conversations to average handle time and customer satisfaction. You can use these data points and collate them into useful and actionable KPIs for your KPI report.

If you need a different dashboard, you can browse our library of customer support dashboards .

Executive dashboards include an array of important SaaS metrics like Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR) and churn rate. By using it you’ll learn how much did you make on any given day, the number of current customers, the percentage of customers churned in a specific time period, how much revenue was lost due to customer churn, etc. This can be built using an executive dashboard software .

You can also browse the full list of our SaaS dashboards and pick whatever suits your business.

Software development reports can help you track new features and bug fixes across your digital portfolio. They’re powerful collaboration tools that will enable your software team to execute projects quickly and efficiently. You’ll learn how many changes were made to the projects over a period of time, the number of branches, commits, and forks in the selected repository, the number of open issues that you can sort by kind, and so on.

All of our dashboards are fully customizable, and if you’d like a wider selection, you can browse our library of software development dashboards .

Ecommerce reports allow you to get full insights into your online sales statistics, product performance, conversion rate, and many more metrics. If you integrate it with Google Analytics, Facebook Ads, or Shopify, you’ll have access to a variety of data points you’ll be able to use to put together actionable KPIs and build useful KPI reports.

Check out our full selection of ecommerce dashboard templates and pick the one that suits your needs.

KPI Examples 

As we mentioned, metrics need to be selected with the target audience in mind. There’s no single list of best KPIs that are suitable for every report and every circumstance. However, there are some that tend to be more broadly applicable and can be used by various departments to measure performance.

Financial KPIs

Customer support kpis, marketing kpis, project management kpis.

These are particularly important to C-suite and the accounting department. After all, revenue information is perhaps the clearest measure of a business’ profitability.

Here are some common and useful financial KPIs :

• Gross Profit Margin
• Net Profit margin
• Current Ratio
• Return on Equity
• Debt-to-Equity Ratio
• Inventory Turnover

Important for any business that wants to maintain a good relationship with their customers. They’re useful for managers, executives, and agents in companies that deal with customers on a daily basis. 

The effective use of these metrics can improve productivity and create efficient processes.

Here are some very useful customer support KPIs :

• Average Response Time
• Customer Churn
• Number of Issues
• Customer Retention
• First Call Resolution
• Top Support Agents

These metrics provide insight into the effectiveness of marketing campaigns and are invaluable to not only marketing agencies but also to any business that relies on advertising (which is probably every business, at this point).

Marketers should keep track of the following KPIs:

• Return on Investment
• Return on Ad Spend
• Conversion Rate
• Customer Acquisition Cost
• Lifetime Value of a Customer
• SEO Keyword Ranking

Sales performance information needs to cover both completed work and the effectiveness of existing processes. Sales teams are the natural audience for these metrics, as are their managers and some executives.

Here are important sales KPIs :

• Sales Revenue
• Sales Growth
• Product Performance
• Sales Target
• Average Purchase Target
• Quote to Close Ratio

Looking for an effective tool to help you track your sales KPIs? Check out this sales dashboard software .

KPIs for project management cover a team’s ability to achieve goals. Project managers and their supervisors can make the best use of this data to ensure better team cohesion and improved performance in the future. They cover quality, timeliness, budget, and effectiveness.

Here are some important project management KPIs :

• Cost Performance Index
• Employee Churn Rate
• Number of Project Milestones
• Customer Complaints

Focusing on the right metrics is important. You don’t want to waste resources on measuring and monitoring KPIs that don’t matter. Poorly constructed KPI report with poorly chosen metrics can easily send you on the wrong path and waste opportunities or even cause irreparable damage to your business.

To help you with that, we’ve put together a list of best practices for KPI reporting.

Keep it simple

Set clear objectives, ensure the data is consistent and accurate, understand the relationship between kpis, embrace digital accessibility, coordinate across the organization, perform regular reviews.

It’s easy to get overwhelmed by the sheer number of data points available. The best idea is to focus on a small number of KPIs (key is the operative word in key performance indicators) and measure only the metrics that align with your business objectives. The most common KPIs aren’t necessarily the most important, and you should tailor your report to include only what’s truly relevant.

This is an extension of the previous point but avoid the temptation to add more information to the report without a clear reason to do so. Make a plan and stick to it. You want the report to be clear and concise and not bury the target audience under a mountain of data.

The computing maxim “garbage in, garbage out” applies to all data analysis applications. You simply cannot trust the result if the data isn’t up to par. Spend some time testing data sets and double-checking inputs before deciding to use them.

Metrics don’t exist in isolation. They impact each other, and sometimes it isn’t clear what caused a change (or what will cause the change) until you dig deeper and examine their relationships. 

This is important when developing KPIs because just wanting to increase certain metrics without understanding underlying causes can cause them to stagnate until you identify exact ways to improve them.

Using cloud-level solutions can make the whole process much simpler and even faster. Having immediate central access to a variety of data points is simply a must in today’s fast-paced world if you want your KPI reports to be useful by the time you’re done with them.

If you have something that’s not digitized, digitize it, and ensure that all metric sources are integrated with the right reporting dashboards.

The best reports require input from multiple people. Invite coworkers or stakeholders who will have to act on the information in the report to provide input about the required metrics. If you can, organize brainstorming sessions with relevant personnel before building KPIs and create dashboards and data visualizations that will make the communications and planning simpler.

Objectives change with time. Old ones are achieved, the market shifts or the company decides to pivot in a new direction. It’s important to regularly review existing KPIs and ensure they’re still relevant. This will ensure you’re tracking metrics that matter and that your business will continue to benefit from them.

As you can see, writing a KPI report can be a complex task. You need to be able to analyze a lot of information and identify important data points that will be useful to your business. These reports then need to be kept up to date, variables need to be monitored, and relevant people need to be in the loop.

However, it doesn’t have to be that time-consuming or complex.

With Databox, you can build more insightful KPI reports in less time, and it only takes a few clicks to get started. Stop wasting time on time-consuming busy work. Connect the relevant data sources, customize one of our existing dashboard templates or build your own, and visualize the data in one spot. You’ll be able to create lean and actionable KPI reports that will make sure your business is on the right track.

Sounds good? Feel free to try it out. Just sign up for a free trial and make KPI reporting easier than you thought possible.

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KPI Examples & Templates Measure what matters the most and really impacts your success

Discover the right kpi examples for your business.

A KPI or Key Performance Indicator is a measurement that evaluates the performance of a business activity. It measures a company’s success at reaching its operational and strategic goals on different performance aspects. KPIs can be high-level, monitoring the global performance of a business, or more low-level, focusing on processes or individual performance.

No matter which department you are in, KPIs are vital to grasp the status of your business and make the right calls. How can you tell which KPIs are relevant? Which is going to help you and which will cause a distraction?

KPIs help managers gauge the effectiveness of their functions, processes, campaigns, and actions. They are essential to ensure you are on track to reach organizational goals. All of the above is possible with datapine. We help you cut through the noise and see the actionable data you need. Control the act of accessing, visualizing, and reporting with our first-class interface. Monitor your most significant KPIs in one place, obtain a comprehensive business overview, and make more informed decisions.

It isn’t always easy to find the right performance indicators that will fit each department or activity. The objective is always to determine those that communicate progress most meaningfully. We have identified the KPI examples that are most relevant for each department , specific industry or platform . Take advantage of our metric library and KPI templates to identify and visualize the metrics that are most important to your business area. Below you will find the links to over 350 visual KPI examples and templates with recommendations for action as well as relevant showcase dashboards.

• KPI Templates by Function
• KPI Templates by Industry
• KPI Templates by Platform

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KPIS ARE JUST THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG

Compare your results with your goals and align your next move.

The KPI meaning in business is directly linked to potential success. These measurements ensure all relevant stakeholders (team members, managers, executives, etc.) are connected with general business goals and support them through different activities. They provide a general overview of a company’s performance in several areas and allow its users to quickly identify if an issue is happening and fix it immediately. And not just that, providing each team member with the right performance measurements can also help keep them accountable for their actions. For example, each sales representative can see their individual progress and optimize it to ensure they contribute to general departmental success.

Tracking the right KPIs is a huge step forward for any company - but why stop there? With datapine, identifying is just the first step. Explore, visualize, and efficiently communicate your insights across your company and induce more informed decisions enterprise wide.

But how do you choose the right ones for your specific needs? While there is a wide range of indicators to choose from, there are a few criteria you should follow to benefit from the best ones. We will cover this point in more detail later, but for now, it is important to keep in mind that your selection process should always be solely based on your core business goals. Your indicators should be actionable and help you measure the progress of your activities based on your general aims.

At this stage, you can also ask yourself a few critical questions that will map the role of each KPI. For example, what is the desired outcome, and how will it affect the organization? Who is responsible for the outcome? How will you measure the progress of it? These should provide a few guidelines to ensure you extract the maximum potential of your KPI analysis process.

Once you have set up the right KPIs, datapine provides you with a comfortable, clean interface to keep an eye on them. Our dashboard software helps you eliminate the time consuming process of constantly having to log into databases, cross-referencing information, and pulling it out from third-party applications to ensure you are always up to date.

Thanks to modern KPI dashboards , your KPIs can be accessed in real-time, from anywhere, at any given time. All you need is an internet connection, and you are set to go. We ensure that you always have the most relevant figures in front of you whenever you need them. An enterprise-grade user management combined with several sharing concepts and scheduled automated reports empowers everyone in your company to constantly access relevant KPIs and make more informed decisions.

Why are KPIs So Important for modern business?

Key performance indicators (KPIs) are sets of quantifiable measures that can determine how effectively a company is achieving its key business objectives, thus evaluating its progress or success at reaching strategic and operational goals. Depending on which part of the business you would like to analyze, you have to select different KPIs. There are a wide range of indicators to choose from, and the process can be overwhelming. Just remember to pick only the ones that are directly related to your core business goals.

For example, if you want to track your company’s financial performance, you might use the return on equity ratio. If you want to analyze the performance of sales, you can use the lead conversion ratio . From this example, it is obvious that KPIs represent detailed specifications used to analyze the objectives of the organization. It is essential to select the right KPI for a previously specified target in order to measure success. Since these indicators measure performance against a specific target, they help a company, department, or manager to instantly react to any events that might impact the business.

Which different Types of KPIs exist?

As mentioned, there are many types of KPIs, depending on the specific target and the best indicator to measure it. Some of them can be tracked for monthly progress, while others might be for yearly progress. Some of them might be linked to strategic goals, while others to operational ones. The broadest distinction is to separate the different kinds into nonfinancial and financial KPIs . The second refers to all indicators concerning the cash flow, debt, and assets of a company. For example, the profit margin, which measures the net profit in the percentage of revenue, or the current ratio, which is the ratio of current assets to current debts. The former refers to all indicators not directly related to the cash flow, debt, or assets of a company. A more specified distinction of KPI types is the following:

Quantitative vs Qualitative indicators: The first one can be expressed as a number, while the second one uses qualitative measures.

Lagging vs Leading indicators: Lagging indicates the source of success or failure of something that has already happened while leading indicators are used for forecasts.

Input vs Output indicators: The first one measures the resources consumed for a given output and the second the outcome of a process.

Process vs Actionable indicators: The former measures the efficiency or productivity of a specific business process, and the second one is mainly used by key decision-makers of a company to effect change.

Strategic vs Operational: Strategic ones are used to measure the long-term success of strategies like ROI, while operational ones are used to measure short-term performance like sales by region or transportation costs.

Another way is to distinguish the different types into departmental indicators, such as indicators for sales (for example sales growth ), marketing (for example return on investment ) or finances (for example current ratio ) as we did in our KPI examples above. Check out our KPI templates for the different business departments to learn more.

As you’ve just seen, there are several ways to classify the different types of key performance indicators. The main distinction between all types is that they measure different performances, thus being only compatible with a specific target. The essence is to choose the right one, which measures the performance or success of your specific target the best. Thus, you have to know exactly what you would like to measure.

WHAT ARE THE KEY BENEFITS OF USING KPIS?

Let’s briefly explore some key benefits of using key performance indicators:

Informed decision-making: KPIs provide decision-makers with the necessary knowledge to make informed decisions based on their current and historical performance. This way, they can build strategies based on accurate insights instead of pure intuition.

Increased transparency: Key performance indicators give businesses an objective view of how the different departments, teams, and areas perform. This knowledge allows for a level of transparency and accountability needed to succeed.

Increased productivity: When employees and other relevant stakeholders see their strategies are developing positively, they will be more motivated and engaged with the business’s success.

Lower costs: Strategies built based on intuition instead of factual data are at risk of finance failing and costing the company a lot of money. With the help of professional KPIs, businesses can build accurate strategies and ensure their budgets are spent smartly.

HOW TO PERFORM PROFESSIONAL KPI ANALYSIS?

After you’ve successfully identified the right KPIs for your business, it’s time to start the analysis process and generate actionable insights. Keep in mind that the value of the KPI analysis depends on the quality of the data as well as the skills of the analyst who is diving into the performance mix. datapine has a user-friendly interface that allows any user, without the need for technical knowledge, to generate KPIs with just a few clicks. Here we present some tips that can help in the process:

Create an interactive dashboard: Business dashboards are extremely useful when analyzing KPIs since they enable you to visualize and interact with each of them through powerful filters and features that traditional analysis lack. During analysis, ask specific questions and dig deeper into the data; for example, if your dashboard visualizes a map with the best-performing countries or regions, you can simply click to zoom, and display additional information, such as which cities, timeframes, or teams are responsible for success. That way, you can support any discussions that arise at the moment and incorporate additional findings that you can use for your future strategy development.

Set realistic and measurable targets: A fundamental step in efficiently performing KPI analysis is to set actionable targets to monitor development. Now, setting targets is not easy as you need to ensure they are not too high or too low but realistic to the organization. Setting too high targets and quickly realizing that all efforts are not helping in achieving them can be frustrating for your team. To avoid this, set targets that are align with your current performance and that you always readjust based on them. Another good practice is to divide them into long-term and short-term.

Compare different periods: Showing the development or decline in a certain performance indicator is a simple step to assist you in identifying if the bigger picture is improving or if you need additional adjustments. Connecting to this point, comparing different periods will also tell you how your performance has changed, allowing you to easily identify which actions caused those changes. For example, suppose you see that the number of sales contracts has declined in the past 3 months compared to the same period last year. In that case, you can examine if external factors have caused it (such as a pandemic) or internal ones (your sales team is reduced and you don’t have enough resources to fill the voids).

Incorporate intelligent alarms: Data alerts using modern technologies such as machine learning and artificial intelligence is another critical point to consider. KPI analysis has evolved from manual calculations into advanced algorithms that automatically notify the user when a KPI anomaly occurs. Predicting the next expected value of a data series is a feature of pattern recognition alerts that helps in achieving more accurate predictions, while the threshold alerts will activate as soon as the targets exceed or fall behind the pre-defined value. The intelligence behind these modern technologies will enable you to identify trends in your analysis, spot opportunities much faster, and eliminate tedious tasks of manual work.

Don’t focus just on the numbers: Numbers and software are the tools that will help you increase your productivity levels, save precious time, and ensure your information is up-to-date and visualized for easier comprehension. But numbers are not humans, and you always need to consider what kind of effect will your analysis cause on the human level. For example, if your leads are decreasing, you need to get yourself into your customers’ and teams’ shoes to identify why, not just blindly follow goals and objectives. If you see issues in your strategies, oftentimes, you need to adjust your approach, step away from the computer, and look beyond numbers.

Keep monitoring and evolving: Expanding on the point above, it is not enough to just choose a couple of KPIs and leave them there to measure your progress. On the contrary, your analysis process should be revisited regularly and optimized based on market, customer, and organizational changes. If this is not done regularly, it can throw away all the efforts invested. Therefore, it is important to make sure your KPIs are always up to date with the current requirements.

KPI analysis is designed to improve processes, ease repetitive work using modern KPI software , and stimulate a more efficient working environment. To help you even more, we have gathered the best practices that will stir your success and ensure sustainable development across the board.

What are common KPI Best Practices?

Choosing the right indicators for your specific target can be very difficult. But there are two main KPI best practices, that can help you to find the right one. A way to evaluate the relevance of a KPI is to use the SMARTER criteria ( S pecific, M easurable, A ttainable, R elevant, T ime-bound, E valuate, R eevaluate). The long version of SMARTER means a specific objective, the measurability of the progress towards that goal, the realistic attainability of the target, the relevance of the target to your company, the timeframe for achieving the target and the continuous evaluation and reevaluation of the KPI.

The second KPI best practice is the six A´s (Aligned, Attainable, Acute, Accurate, Actionable, Alive). The six A´s mean that the indicators are aligned with your specific targets, the data, which is used for the indicators, can be easily attained, the indicators keep everyone informed (acute) about the current situation, the data used to obtain them is accurate, the insights in the business given by the indicator is actionable and the indicator should evolve with the business (alive).

KPI WORST PRACTICES YOU SHOULD AVOID

So far, we’ve covered what are KPIs, their different uses and best practices and useful tips to apply when building them. Before showing you our complete list of key performance indicators, we will go quickly through a few worst practices you should avoid at all costs when dealing with these measurements.

Avoid overloading: This worst practice starts with a simple statement: not because something can be measured it means that it should be measured. Many businesses make the mistake of monitoring many KPIs regardless of their relevance to the core strategy. The important thing to remember here is to pick up to 3 to 5 KPIs directly related to your goals. Picking too many can deviate from what actually matters and frustrate all your analytical efforts.

Choosing basic indicators: Expanding on the point above, you should avoid measuring KPIs that are too simple or basic. Your mantra should always be to choose strategy over simplicity. For example, while it is very easy to measure the number of new customers, you should consider if this indicator is providing any value to your goals or if you are just tracking it because it is easy to do it.

Collecting the same as everyone: We might sound like a broken record here, but these are tiny mistakes that can lead to higher consequences when successfully dealing with KPIs. Our third worst practice is to monitor the same things everyone else is monitoring. Just because an indicator is popular amongst other organizations, it doesn’t mean it will be successful for yours. Once again, keep in mind that everyone has a different strategy and KPI selection should be solely based on it.

Focusing only on the past: A couple of years ago, businesses only used past data to measure their performance and build their strategies. Today, thanks to the rise of modern BI tools, data can be analyzed and visualized just a few seconds after it was first generated. For that reason, it would be a big mistake to measure your KPIs exclusively from a historical perspective. Using a mix of real-time and historical data can provide a more accurate picture of your performance, enabling you to make better strategic decisions in the long run.

Comparing yourself to others: We already mentioned the value and importance of setting KPI targets and goals in the previous section. However, if it’s not done correctly, it can end up harming your efforts. For instance, you should be careful when using industry or competitor benchmarks to evaluate your performance. It would be a great mistake to rely solely on industry values as each business works differently, and you can end up setting unrealistic targets that will ruin the morale of your team. We recommend using industry benchmarks as references but always mixing them with your current situation.

By avoiding these mistakes, you stand to achieve successful KPI management as well as gain a great advantage over your competitors. Now, without further ado, see our list of KPIs for different departments, functions, and platforms.

DESIGN TIPS FOR YOUR BUSINESS KPI EXAMPLES

Now that we know some of the best and worst practices for performing successful analysis, it is time to think about the design process. Rather you are generating KPI templates for your team or manager, designing them in an engaging and visually appealing way is a critical factor to the success of your analytical efforts. A well-designed indicator should strike a balance between well-presented data and simplicity. Let’s look at some key tips to correctly design your company KPI examples and templates!

Define your goals: Just like any other analytical process, before generating your KPIs, you should think about the audience and the general goal of the analysis. Doing so will help you pick the right chart to display the KPI and ensure the audience’s needs are covered, for example, by displaying a specific time period.

Keep it simple: When designing any type of data visualization simplicity is key. While it might sound tempting to include 3D effects, icons, and other elements in your KPI samples, if they are not required, then they should not be included. Adding too many distracting elements to your design can make the data harder to understand for the audience, especially for non-technical users who struggle to grasp the information as it is.

Use text carefully: Text plays a crucial role in visualizing your KPIs. The use of labels and legends helps the audience understand what the chart is talking about and any other extra details necessary for the analysis. That said, text should always be used wisely and with simplicity in mind. We recommend using a universal language for your labels, don’t make them too long to prevent overcrowding the visual, think carefully about placement, and include short explanations for too complex KPIs, in case the audience is not familiar with them.

Use colors wisely: As seen through our list of KPI examples presented above, these visuals are highly interactive and engaging to the eye. However, if you overdo it with the design, it can quickly become harder to understand. To prevent that from happening, keeping an eye on the way colors are used is a great practice. We recommend sticking to a couple of colors and using variations of the same to show different values. Using recognizable colors, such as green for positive results and red for negative ones, is also a great way to keep the audience engaged.

Following these simple tips will help you build successful KPI templates for multiple analytical scenarios. Just remember to keep simplicity as a top priority and you’ll be able to build engaging visuals that will skyrocket your business’s success.

COMPLETE LIST OF KPI EXAMPLES BY DEPARTMENT

Find hereafter a list of KPI examples specifically created to answer the needs of each department. All of them are compiled and visualized on professional KPI report templates that illustrate the data story every business possesses! Please click on the link of the specific department to learn more about the mentioned KPIs.

Management: Management KPIs give a strategic overview to top-managers and the C-level suite of the performance of certain parts of the business, so as to make data-driven decisions as soon as needed. Below you can find our top 8 key performance indicators examples for the management:

• 1) Customer Acquisition Costs
• 2) Customer Lifetime Value
• 3) Sales Target
• 4) Operating Expenses Ratio
• 5) Net Profit Margin Percentage
• 6) Return on Assets
• 7) Return on Equity
• 8) P/E Ratio

Finance: Financial KPIs track the performance of a business in its cash management, expenses, sales and profits. They allow you to stay on track with initial financial objectives. Below you can find our top 23 KPI examples for finances:

• 1) Gross Profit Margin Percentage
• 2) Operating Profit Margin Percentage
• 3) Operating Expenses Ratios
• 4) Fixed Operating Expenses
• 5) Variable Operating Expenses
• 6) Operating Expenses Development
• 7) Net Profit Margin Percentage
• 8) Working Capital
• 9) Current Ratio
• 10) Quick Ratio / Acid Test
• 11) Berry Ratio
• 12) Cash Conversion Cycle
• 13) Accounts Payable Turnover Ratio
• 14) Accounts Receivable Turnover Ratio
• 15) Vendor Payment Error Rate
• 16) Budget Variance
• 17) Actual vs Forecast Expenses
• 18) Actual vs Forecast Income
• 19) Return on Assets
• 20) Return on Equity
• 21) Economic Value Added
• 22) Employee Satisfaction
• 23) Payroll Headcount Ratio

Sales: Sales KPIs provide you with insights into your sales process and representatives. Tracking the pipeline health, lead generation, general activity and productivity, they are essential to driving sales forward. Below you can find our top 20 KPI examples for the sales team:

• 1) Sales Growth
• 2) Sales Target
• 3) Customer Acquisition Cost
• 6) Customer Churn Rate
• 7) Average Sales Cycle Length
• 8) Lead-to-Opportunity Ratio
• 9) Opportunity-to-Win Ratio
• 10) Lead Conversion Rate
• 11) Number of Sales Opportunities
• 12) Sales Opportunity Score
• 13) Average Purchase Value
• 14) Sales Volume by Country
• 15) Revenue & Profit per Product
• 16) Revenue per Sales Rep
• 17) Profit Margin per Sales Rep
• 18) NPS per Sales Rep
• 19) Upsell & Cross-Sell Rates
• 20) Incremental Sales by Campaign

Marketing: Marketing KPIs enable you to track your web performance in general and all the online campaigns you launch. They are important to give the big picture of all your online activities and determine an accurate marketing ROI. Below you can find our top 16 KPI examples for the marketing department:

• 1) Cost per Acquisition (CPA)
• 2) Cost per Lead
• 3) Sales Target & Growth
• 4) Average Order Value
• 5) Return on Investment (ROI)
• 7) Website-Traffic-to-Lead Ratio
• 8) Lead-to-MQL Ratio
• 9) MQL-to-SQL Ratio
• 10) Goal Conversion Rates
• 11) Average Time to Conversion
• 12) Landing Page Conversion Rates
• 13) Cost-per-Click (CPC)
• 14) Bounce Rate
• 15) Engagement Rate
• 16) Click-Through-Rate (CTR)

Human Resources: HR KPIs are essential to a functional human resources team that aims at improving its recruitment processes, workplace well-being as well as monitoring overall employee performance. Below you can find our top 26 KPI examples for the human resources department:

• 1) Absenteeism Rate
• 2) Overtime Hours
• 3) Training Costs
• 4) Salary Cost By Department
• 5) Salary Cost Development By Department
• 6) Salary Cost Development By Country
• 7) Employee Productivity
• 8) Talent Satisfaction
• 9) Manager Feedback Score
• 10) Cost per Hire
• 11) Recruiting Conversion Rate
• 12) Time to Fill
• 13) Headcount Development
• 14) ) Average Job Tenurel
• 15) Talent Rating
• 16) Employee Turnover Rate
• 17) Talent Turnover Rate
• 18) Turnover Rate By Group
• 19) Dismissal Rate
• 20) Female to Male Ratio
• 21) Gender Diversity By Role
• 22) Gender Ratio By Department
• 23) Ethnicity Diversity
• 24) Recruitment Breakdown By Ethnicity
• 25) Part-Time Employees
• 26) Average Time Stay

Service & Support: Customer service KPIs are helpful to get a holistic view of your support department, agents, as well as a 360-degree customer view. They are crucial in the process of increasing customer satisfaction. Below you can find our top 18 KPI examples for customer service teams:

• 1) Average Response Time
• 2) First Call Resolution
• 3) Average Resolution Time
• 4) Cost Per Resolution
• 5) Customer Churn
• 6) Top Agents
• 7) Number of Issues
• 8) Total & Solved Tickets By Channel
• 9) Abandon Rate
• 10) Customer Satisfaction
• 11) Net Promoter Score
• 12) Customer Effort Score
• 13) Customer Retention
• 14) Net Retention
• 15) Service Level
• 16) Support Costs vs Revenue
• 17) Revenue Churn
• 18) MRR Growth Rate

Procurement: Procurement KPIs assist in the management of the procurement department as a whole, leading to more sustainable and improving processes. They regulate costs, savings, purchases, etc. Below you can find our top 18 KPI examples for the procurement department:

• 1) Compliance Rate
• 2) Number of Suppliers
• 3) Purchase Order Cycle Time
• 4) Purchase Price Variance
• 5) Purchase Order Coverage
• 6) Supplier Quality Rating
• 7) Supplier Availability
• 8) Supplier Defect Rate
• 9) Vendor Rejection Rate & Costs
• 10) Lead Time
• 11) Emergency Purchase Ratio
• 12) Purchases In Time & Budget
• 13) Cost of Purchase Order
• 14) Procurement Cost Reduction
• 15) Procurement Cost Avoidance
• 16) Spend Under Management
• 17) Maverick Spend
• 18) Procurement ROI

IT: IT KPIs maintain all the IT projects on track with their deliverables. Managing the constant flow of tickets and issues while keeping track of IT costs is the cornerstone of a well-functioning department. Below you can find our top 20 KPI examples for the IT department:

• 1) Total Tickets vs Open Tickets
• 2) Projects Delivered on Budget
• 3) Average Handle Time
• 4) New Developed Features
• 5) Number of Critical Bugs
• 6) Server Downtime
• 7) Backup Frequency
• 8) Cybersecurity Rating
• 9) Amount Of Intrusion Attempts
• 10) Mean Time To Detect
• 11) Mean Time To Repair
• 12) Phishing Test Success Rate
• 13) Unsolved Tickets Per Employee
• 14) Reopened Tickets
• 15) IT Support Employees per End Users
• 16) Accuracy of Estimates
• 18) IT Costs Break Down
• 19) IT Costs vs Revenue
• 20) Team Attrition Rate

COMPLETE LIST OF KPI TEMPLATES BY INDUSTRY

Likewise, you can find hereafter a list of examples of industry specific indicators designed to answer different needs. They are also all gathered and visualized on BI dashboards . Please click on the link of the specific industry to learn more about the mentioned KPIs.

Healthcare: Healthcare KPIs gather hospital and patient analytics to improve the facility management, the patient satisfaction levels as well as the staffing needs. It helps healthcare professionals run their hospital better. Below you can find our top 20 KPI examples for the healthcare industry.

• 1) Average Hospital Stay
• 2) Bed Occupancy Rate:
• 3) Medical Equipment Utilization
• 4) Patient Drug Cost Per Stay
• 5) Treatment Costs
• 6) Operating Cash Flow
• 7) Net Profit Margin
• 8) Patient Room Turnover Rate
• 9) Patient Follow-up Rate
• 10) Hospital Readmission Rates
• 11) Patient Wait Time
• 12) Patient Satisfaction
• 13) Claims Denial Rate
• 14) Treatment Error Rate
• 15) Patient Mortality Rate
• 16) Staff-to-Patient Ratio
• 17) Canceled/missed appointments
• 18) Patient Safety
• 19) ER Wait Time
• 20) Costs By Payer

Logistics: Logistics KPIs inform you on transportation processes, warehouse operations, supply chain management and other aspects involved in the optimization of all the logistics operations. Below you can find our top 19 KPI templates for logistics:

• 1) Shipping Time
• 2) Order Accuracy
• 3) Picking Accuracy
• 4) Delivery Time
• 5) Pick & Pack Cycle Time
• 6) Order Cycle Time
• 7) Equipment Utilization Rate
• 8) Trailer Utilization Rate
• 9) Transportation Costs
• 10) Dwell Time
• 11) Inventory Carrying Costs
• 12) Warehousing Costs
• 13) Pick & Pack Costs
• 14) Operating Ratio
• 15) Use of Packing Material
• 16) Number of Shipments
• 17) Inventory Accuracy
• 18) Inventory Turnover
• 19) Inventory to Sales Ratio

Manufacturing: Manufacturing KPIs are a good asset when a business wants to optimize its production quality and manage the incurred costs efficiently. Below you can find our top 19 KPI templates for the manufacturing industry:

• 1) Production Volume
• 2) Production Downtime
• 3) Production Cost
• 7) Capacity Utilization
• 8) Throughput
• 9) First Pass Yield
• 10) Scrap Rate
• 11) Defect Density
• 12) Rate of Return
• 13) On-time Delivery
• 14) Right First Time
• 15) Asset Turnover
• 16) Unit Costs
• 17) Return on Assets
• 18) Maintenance Costs
• 19) Revenue Per Employee

Retail: In such a fast-moving industry, retail KPIs are crucial to any business that wants to identify and understand customer trends, enhance its stock management, lower the returns and ultimately increase sales profits. Below you can find our top 16 KPI templates for the retail industry:

• 1) Website Traffic/Foot Traffic
• 2) Average Transaction Size
• 3) Average Units per Customer
• 4) Total Volume of Sales
• 5) Sell-through Rate
• 6) Back Order Rate
• 7) Rate of Return
• 8) Customer Retention
• 9) Retail Conversion Rate
• 10) Total Orders
• 11) Total Sales by Region
• 12) Order Status
• 13) Perfect Order Rate
• 14) Return Reason
• 16) Monthly Revenue Per Employee

Digital Media: Digital Media KPIs help online publishers assess their presence and the content they share. They are a big advantage to spot trends as they arise and answer their readers‘ expectations in a more customized way. Below you can find our top 9 KPI templates for the digital media industry:

• 1) Top Articles by Readers
• 2) Top Content Categories
• 3) Subscribers by Age and Gender
• 4) Average Clicks per Post
• 5) Average Shares per Post
• 6) New vs Lost Follower
• 7) Flesch Reading Ease
• 8) Average Comments per Article
• 9) Story Turnaround Time

FMCG: Fast-moving consumer goods KPIs are particular in the way that they are transversal and touch several departments, from procurement to supply chain so as to optimize any strategy to meet financial goals and product quality. Below you can find our top 10 KPI examples for the FMCG industry.

• 1) Out of Stock Rate (OOF)
• 2) Delivered On-Time & In-Full (OTIF)
• 3) Average Time To Sell
• 4) Sold Products Within Freshness Date
• 5) Cash-to-Cash Cycle Time
• 6) Supply Chain Costs
• 7) Supply Chain Costs vs Sales
• 8) Carrying Cost of Inventory
• 9) On-Shelf Availability
• 10) Margin by Product Category

Energy: Energy KPIs help suppliers understand and manage fast-changing market demands, optimize production costs and analyze consumption patterns. That enables them to maximize profitability in the long-run. Below you can find our top 8 KPI examples for the energy industry.

• 1) Power Cuts & Average Duration
• 2) Consumption by Sector
• 3) Total Shareholder Return
• 4) Operating Cash Flow
• 5) Production Costs
• 6) Availability Factor
• 7) Energy Production Distribution
• 8) Performance Ratio

Market Research: Market Research KPIs let you analyze and visualize your research results in a meaningful way, so as to present your studies to top management or clients effectively. Below you can find our top 14 KPI examples for the market research industry.

• 1) Unaided Brand Awareness
• 2) Aided Brand Awareness
• 3) Brand Image
• 4) Celebrity Analysis
• 5) Customers Age Groups
• 6) Customers By Gender
• 7) Customers By Education Level
• 8) Customers By Technology Adoption
• 9) Usage Intention
• 10) Purchase Intention
• 11) Willingness To Pay (WTP)
• 12) Net Promoter Score (NPS)
• 13) Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT)
• 14) Customer Effort Score (CES)

COMPLETE LIST OF KPI TEMPLATES BY PLATFORM

Hereafter, you can find a list of KPI examples created to provide a solution for different platforms. They are compiled into a visual representation of the most important indicators of a successful data-story. Click on the link of the specific platform to learn what it can do for you and your business!

Facebook: Facebook KPIs gather content and advertising analytics to help social media professionals to optimize and maximize their social media strategy operations and results. Below you can find our top 10 KPI templates for Facebook:

• 1) Number of Fans
• 2) Follower Demographics
• 3) Page Views by Sources
• 4) Actions on Page
• 5) Reach by Post Type
• 6) Post Engagement Rate
• 7) Click-Through-Rate (CTR)
• 8) Ad Impressions & Frequency
• 9) CPM & CTR of Facebook Ads
• 10) Cost per Conversion

LinkedIn: LinkedIn KPIs let you analyze and identify the performance of a company or individual page profile, to determine the best possible combination of posting content, reaching to other professionals, and creating business opportunities. Below you can find our top 9 KPI examples for the LinkedIn network:

• 1) Followers’ Demographics
• 2) Number of Followers
• 3) Impressions & Reach
• 4) Engagement Rate
• 5) Company Update Stats
• 6) Viewer Information
• 7) Contact & Network Growth
• 8) Profile Views by Job Title
• 9) Post Views & Engagements

Twitter: Twitter KPIs inform you of the results of your set targets and indicate which performance is on track, and which needs to be optimized, leading to a sustainable social media strategy and operation. Below you can find our top 10 Twitter KPI examples for this social media platform:

• 1) Average Amount of Link Clicks
• 2) Average Engagement Rate
• 3) Average Amount of Impressions
• 4) Top 5 Tweets by Engagement
• 5) CPM of Twitter Ads
• 6) Results Rate of Twitter Ads
• 7) Cost per Result of Twitter Ads
• 8) Interests of Followers
• 9) Number of Followers
• 10) Hashtag Performance

YouTube: YouTube KPIs are crucial for the serious video story-teller, aiming to increase engagement, views, subscribers and overall performance of this channel. Below you can find our top 13 KPI examples for the YouTube platform:

• 1) Total Watch Time
• 2) Total Amount of Video Views
• 3) Viewer Retention
• 4) Video Engagement
• 5) Positive & Negative Comments
• 6) New & Lost Followers per Video
• 7) Number of Subscribers
• 8) Daily Active Users (DAU)
• 9) Traffic Source
• 10) Subscribers’ Demographics
• 11) Top 5 Videos by Views
• 12) Revenue Per Mille
• 13) Playback-based CPM

Google Analytics: Google Analytics KPIs enable website operators to objectively monitor, analyze and optimize user behaviors on a sustainable level across the entire website. This is our top 14 KPI list for Google Analytics:

• 1) Sessions and Users
• 2) New and Returning Visitors
• 3) Bounce Rate
• 4) Goal Conversion Rate
• 5) Time on Page
• 6) Average Page Load Time
• 7) Bounce Rate by Browser
• 8) Organic vs Paid Sessions
• 9) Average Session Duration
• 10) Top 5 Search Queries
• 11) Users by Gender
• 12) Pages per Session
• 13) Best Pages by Gender
• 14) Top 10 Landing Pages

Google AdWords: Google AdWords KPIs primarily focus on the monitoring, visualization, analysis and optimization of any kind of Google Search Engine Advertising (SEA) campaigns. These are our top 11 indicators for Google AdWords:

• 1) Number of Clicks
• 2) Click-Through-Rate (CTR)
• 3) Quality Score
• 4) Cost-per-Click (CPC)
• 5) Ad Position
• 6) Conversion Rate
• 7) Cost per Conversion
• 8) Budget Attainment
• 9) Cost per Mille (CPM)
• 10) Impression Share
• 11) View-Through-Conversions

Salesforce: Salesforce KPIs help salespeople effectively manage all relevant, strategic and ongoing processes of their customer liaisons through Customer Relationship Management (CRM). These are our top 16 KPIs for Salesforce:

• 1) Lead Response Time
• 2) Follow-Up Contact Rate
• 3) Open Pipeline Value
• 4) Open Pipeline by Product Package
• 5) Pipeline Value Forecast
• 6) Average Contract Value
• 7) Annual Contractual Value
• 8) Average Sales Cycle Length
• 9) Sales Activity
• 10) Outbound-Calls
• 11) Outbound-Calls Contact Rate
• 12) Number of Demos
• 13) Total Amount of Inbound Leads
• 14) Lead-to-Opportunity Ratio
• 15) Opportunity-to-Win Ratio
• 16) Lead Conversion Rate

Zendesk: Zendesk KPIs enable companies to objectively monitor the quality of customer service and support while optimizing all relevant customer interactions in an effective, data-driven way. These are our top 19 metrics for Zendesk:

• 1) Ticket-Status
• 2) First Response Time (FRT)
• 4) Customer Satisfaction
• 5) Tickets by Types
• 6) Tickets by Channel
• 7) Top Agents
• 8) Average Answer Time
• 9) Unsuccessful Inbound Calls
• 10) Quality Rate
• 11) Average Leg Talk Time
• 12) First Contact Resolution Rate
• 13) Utilization Rate
• 14) Net Promoter Score
• 15) Digital Assistant Engagement Rate
• 16) Digital Assistant NPS
• 17) Digital Assistant Referral Rate
• 18) Digital Assistant Resolution Rate
• 19) Article Suggestions CTR

KPI Case studies in action

Nov 6, 2023 | KPIs

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are more than mere numbers on a dashboard; they are vital signs that indicate the health and direction of a business. Like any powerful tool, the value they deliver hinges on their existence and thoughtful application. Through the lens of case studies, we gain a profound understanding of the dynamics that drive successful KPI implementation and the cautionary tales that remind us of potential pitfalls. In this exploration, we’ll delve into real-world scenarios where KPIs have acted as beacons leading to commercial triumph and those instances where they’ve served as misleading signals, spiralling businesses into challenges.  These stories are not just narratives but practical lessons carved out of the corporate frontlines, offering a blueprint for what to emulate and avoid. By dissecting these case studies, we equip ourselves with the wisdom to navigate the intricate world of performance metrics, ensuring that the KPIs we choose are not just numbers but actionable insights that steer us towards our intended strategic destinations. Join us on this journey as we unravel the tales of KPIs in action, where each success and failure brings us closer to mastering the art of performance measurement.

The Anatomy of a Successful KPI Strategy

A strong KPI strategy works like a compass. It guides a company towards its goals using well-chosen KPIs as its direction points. Each KPI should be SMART – this means it’s Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. These KPIs show us clearly what success looks like.

But it’s not just about picking KPIs. Everyone in the company needs to understand and work with them. This involves regular meetings to discuss the KPIs and see if they still point the company in the right direction.

Also, a good KPI strategy is woven into the day-to-day work. It makes sure that the insights from KPIs lead to real changes and improvements. It’s transparent, meaning it’s clear who is responsible for what, and it’s easy to see how things are going.

And finally, a good strategy can change if needed. It can adapt when there’s new information, when the market changes, or when the company’s goals change. This way, the strategy stays useful and keeps guiding the company to success. The following KPI case studies will illustrate these points.

Case Study 1: A Triumph of KPI Alignment

Let’s talk about a company that got it right with KPIs. We’ll call them “TechGrow,” a tech company eager to expand its market share. They wanted to grow their customer base by 25% in one year. To do this, they needed clear KPIs.

TechGrow set up a KPI to track new sign-ups every month. This KPI was SMART: specific to their goal, measurable by numbers, achievable with their resources, relevant to their growth aim, and time-bound within the year.

They also kept an eye on customer feedback scores. This wasn’t just about getting more customers but keeping them happy, too. So, another KPI tracked the average support ticket resolution time.

Here’s what they did well:

• They ensured their whole team knew about the KPIs and how each person could help meet them.
• They had monthly check-ins to see how they were doing against their KPIs.
• When they saw one KPI wasn’t moving as expected, they were quick to figure out why and fix it.

By the end of the year, not only had TechGrow hit their customer growth target, but their customer satisfaction had also gone up. Their KPIs were the stars of the show, shining a light on where to go and what to fix along the way. 

Case Study 2: Turning Data into Action

Meet “HealthFirst,” a healthcare provider who wanted to use KPIs to give better care and improve their services. Their main goal was to reduce patient waiting times by 15%. To track their progress, they chose a KPI that measured the average time patients spent in the waiting room.

HealthFirst used this KPI to see how they were doing each week. But they didn’t stop at just looking at the numbers. They used this data to make fundamental changes. For example, when they noticed waiting times were extended because of too few staff at peak times, they changed the staff schedules.

They also set up a KPI for patient follow-ups. They wanted to ensure patients were called for a check-up within a week after their visit. This helped them care for patients even after they left the clinic.

What HealthFirst did well was:

• They chose KPIs directly linked to their primary goal: better patient care.
• They checked their KPIs regularly and used what they learned to make decisions.
• They ensured everyone on their team understood the KPIs and knew how to help reach them.

By the end of their project, HealthFirst didn’t just meet their goal – they beat it. Patient waiting times were down by 20%, and their follow-ups were better than ever. Their story shows us that when you take action based on what KPIs tell you, you can make things better.

The Pitfalls of Mismanaged KPIs

KPIs are powerful, but like all powerful tools, they can cause problems if not used right. Imagine using a map with the wrong directions – it’s easy to get lost. It’s the same with KPIs. If they’re not managed well, they can lead a company in the wrong direction.

Here’s what can go wrong:

• Sometimes, companies pick too many KPIs. It’s like juggling too many balls ; they’re bound to drop one. It’s better to focus on a few that matter.
• Other times, the KPIs they choose don’t match what they’re trying to achieve. That’s like using a map of Paris when you’re trying to get around Tokyo.
• Companies might not check their KPIs often enough, or they might ignore what the KPIs tell them. Either way, it’s like having a warning light on your car dashboard and never fixing the problem.

In the following two sections, we’ll examine KPI case studies from companies that ran into these issues. They chose the wrong KPIs or didn’t use them well, and it caused trouble. But the good news is, there’s always a way back. These stories will show the mistakes to avoid and how to fix them if they happen.

Case Study 3: Lost in Translation – A KPI Misstep

Now, let’s talk about a company we’ll call “FashionForward,” a retail business that wanted to increase its sales. They decided to track the number of visitors to their website as their primary KPI, thinking that more visitors would mean more sales.

But here’s where they slipped up. They focused so much on increasing website traffic that they forgot about sales. Sure, the website got lots of visitors, but the number of people buying didn’t go up.

The problem was that they chose a KPI that wasn’t aligned with their ultimate goal – selling clothes. It’s like being excited that lots of people came to your party, but nobody ate the food you made.

FashionForward learned a few lessons:

• They learned that not any KPI will do. It has to be closely linked to the desired outcome.
• They realised it’s essential to check if your KPIs are working. If they’re not, you need to be ready to change them.
• They saw that everyone on the team needs to understand how their work helps to hit the KPIs and, in turn, reach the big goals.

Ultimately, FashionForward changed its KPI to track something more valuable: the conversion rate of visitors to buyers. This was a better way to see how well their website was selling. And with this new KPI, they started making changes that helped turn more visitors into customers.

Case Study 4: When KPIs Mislead – A Cautionary Tale

Let’s look at a company we’ll call “Build-It-Right,” a construction firm that wants to complete projects faster. They thought the best KPI to track their success would be the number of projects finished each month.

At first, this KPI made sense. But they didn’t think about the quality of the work. As they rushed to finish more projects, mistakes happened. And these mistakes led to redoing work, which cost time and money.

Here’s where Build-It-Right went wrong:

• They chose a KPI that only looked at speed, not at the work’s quality.
• They didn’t balance their KPIs. It’s like being fast in a race but forgetting to stay on track.
• They didn’t listen to their team, who were worried about rushing and making mistakes.

Build-It-Right realised that a better KPI would be the number of projects completed on time and with no mistakes. This new KPI helped them focus on doing the job well, not just quickly.

This story teaches us:

• It’s important to choose KPIs that match both the speed and quality of your work.
• It would help to have a balanced set of KPIs to ensure that you’re doing a good job overall.
• Always listen to your team. They often know best if a KPI takes things in the wrong direction.

With their new KPI, Build-It-Right started finishing projects with fewer mistakes and happier clients. They learned that the right KPI makes all the difference.

Lessons Learned and Recovery Paths

Looking at the stories of “FashionForward” and “Build-It-Right,” we can see that KPIs are more than just numbers—they’re signposts that guide businesses to their goals. But when these signposts point in the wrong direction, it’s time for a course correction.

Here’s what these companies KPI case studies revealed:

• Right KPI, Right Goal : KPIs must directly reflect your goals. If the goal is better sales, track sales conversions, not just website visitors.
• Balance is Key : Don’t focus on one KPI at the expense of others. Speedy project completion shouldn’t sacrifice quality.
• Flexibility : Be ready to adjust your KPIs if they’re not helping you reach your objectives. Being flexible means staying on the path to success, even if it’s not what you originally planned.
• Team Insights Matter : Your team’s feedback on KPIs can provide early warning signs of potential issues. Listen to them.

When KPIs misled these companies, they took steps to recover:

• They audited their KPIs to see which ones truly aligned with their goals.
• They started small, testing new KPIs on a few projects before rolling them out company-wide.
• They trained their teams on the importance of KPIs and how to use them effectively.
• They established regular review sessions to discuss KPI progress and any needed changes.

Both “FashionForward” and “Build-It-Right” came out stronger. They had a deeper understanding of how to set the right KPIs and pivot when necessary. And most importantly, they learned to value the journey of improvement as much as the destination of success.

In these recoveries, we find a universal lesson: KPIs are not set in stone. They’re a live part of your business strategy, evolving as you learn and grow. When you’re ready to adapt and realign, your KPIs become empowerment tools, driving you toward better performance and more remarkable achievements.

Integrating the Lessons into Your KPI Framework

The journey through these KPI case studies highlights a universal truth in business strategy: the power of Key Performance Indicators is not just in their ability to track progress but in their capacity to steer a company towards its desired destination. As we’ve seen, KPIs are most effective when they’re thoughtfully aligned with strategic goals, balanced across multiple dimensions of performance, flexible to shifts in the business landscape, and supported by the insights of a dedicated team.

Integrating these lessons into your KPI framework involves a commitment to continuous learning and adaptation. Whether you’re a budding startup or an established enterprise, the principles of effective KPI management remain the same: clarity of purpose, simplicity of measures, and responsiveness to feedback.

Now, it’s your turn to put these insights into action. With  Spider Impact KPI Software , you can craft a KPI framework that not only monitors progress but also empowers decision-making. Spider Impact helps you visualise your performance, identify areas of improvement, and make data-driven decisions with confidence.

Don’t let your business navigate in the dark. Illuminate your path to success with KPIs that reflect your true objectives and a tool that brings your data to life. Visit us at Intrafocus to learn how Spider Impact KPI Software can transform your data into actionable insights and drive your business forward.

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What is a KPI?

This guide provides examples, templates and practical advice to help you define the right key performance indicators for your organization and team.

KPI stands for key performance indicator, a quantifiable measure of performance over time for a specific objective. KPIs provide targets for teams to shoot for, milestones to gauge progress, and insights that help people across the organization make better decisions. From finance and HR to marketing and sales, key performance indicators help every area of the business move forward at the strategic level.

KPI Meaning vs Metrics Meaning

While key performance indicators and metrics are related, they’re not the same. Here’s a quick explanation:

KPIs are the key targets you should track to make the most impact on your strategic business outcomes. KPIs support your strategy and help your teams focus on what’s important. An example of a key performance indicator is, “targeted new customers per month”.

Metrics measure the success of everyday business activities that support your KPIs. While they impact your outcomes, they’re not the most critical measures. Some examples include “monthly store visits” or “white paper downloads”.

Don’t just measure. Measure what matters.

Download the KPI Planning Guide to learn:

10 steps to strong KPIs

Which questions help you define your KPIs

170 KPI examples and templates

Why Are KPIs Important?

KPIs are an important way to ensure your teams are supporting the overall goals of the organization. Here are some of the biggest reasons why you need key performance indicators.

Keep your teams aligned: Whether measuring project success or employee performance, KPIs keep teams moving in the same direction.

Provide a health check: Key performance indicators give you a realistic look at the health of your organization, from risk factors to financial indicators.

Make adjustments: KPIs help you clearly see your successes and failures so you can do more of what’s working, and less of what’s not.

Hold your teams accountable: Make sure everyone provides value with key performance indicators that help employees track their progress and help managers move things along.

Types of KPIs

Key performance indicators come in many flavors. While some are used to measure monthly progress against a goal, others have a longer-term focus. The one thing all KPIs have in common is that they’re tied to strategic goals. Here’s an overview of some of the most common types of KPIs.

Strategic: These big-picture key performance indicators monitor organizational goals. Executives typically look to one or two strategic KPIs to find out how the organization is doing at any given time. Examples include return on investment, revenue and market share.

Operational: These KPIs typically measure performance in a shorter time frame, and are focused on organizational processes and efficiencies. Some examples include sales by region, average monthly transportation costs and cost per acquisition (CPA).

Functional Unit: Many key performance indicators are tied to specific functions, such finance or IT. While IT might track time to resolution or average uptime, finance KPIs track gross profit margin or return on assets. These functional KPIs can also be classified as strategic or operational.

Leading vs Lagging: Regardless of the type of key performance indicator you define, you should know the difference between leading indicators and lagging indicators. While leading KPIs can help predict outcomes, lagging KPIs track what has already happened. Organizations use a mix of both to ensure they’re tracking what’s most important.

How to Develop KPIs

With so much data, it can be tempting to measure everything—or at least things that are easiest to measure. However, you need to be sure you’re measuring only the key performance indicators that will help you reach your business goals. The strategic focus is one of the most important aspects of the KPI definition. Here are some best practices for developing the right KPIs.

Define how KPIs will be used: Talk to people who will be using the KPI report to find out what they want to achieve and how they’ll use them. This will help you define KPIs that are relevant and valuable to business users.

Tie them to strategic goals: If your KPIs don’t relate to what you’re trying to achieve in your business, you’re wasting time. While they may be related to a specific business function like HR or marketing, every key performance indicator should tie directly back to your overall business goals.

Write SMART KPIs: The most effective KPIs follow the proven SMART formula. Make sure they’re Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time-Bound. Some examples include “Grow sales by 5% per quarter” or “Increase Net Promoter Score 25% over the next three years.”

Keep them clear-cut: Everyone in the organization should understand your KPIs so they can act on them. This is why data literacy is so important. When people understand how to work with data, they can make decisions that will move the needle in the right direction.

Plan to iterate: As your business and customers change, you may need to revise your key performance indicators. Perhaps certain ones are no longer relevant, or you need to adjust based on performance. Be sure you have a plan in place to evaluate and make changes to key performance indicators when necessary.

Avoid KPI overload: Business intelligence has given organizations access to mounds of data and interactive data visualization , making it easy to measure anything and everything. Keep in mind that the key performance indicator definition refers to the most important targets. Steer clear of KPI overload by focusing on the most impactful measures.

Inspire Action With Your KPIs

10 ways to take your data visualizations to the next level. Learn how to choose the right ones to highlight your KPIs and metrics.

3 Steps to a Stronger KPI Strategy

If your key performance indicators aren’t delivering the results you expect, it’s time to adjust your strategy. Here are three things you can do to ensure that people across the organization know what your KPIs mean, and how to use them to make data-driven decisions that impact your business.

Select KPIs that matter most: To be sure you’re measuring what matters, you should include a balance of leading and lagging indicators. Lagging indicators help you understand results over a period of time such as sales over the last 30 days. Leading indicators help you predict what might happen based on data, allowing you to make adjustments to improve outcomes.

Create a KPI-driven culture: Key performance indicators don’t mean much if people don’t understand what they are and how to use them (including what the KPI acronym means). Increase data literacy in your organization so everyone works toward strategic targets. Educate employees, assign them relevant KPIs, and use a best-in-class BI platform to keep everyone making decisions that move your business forward.

Iterate: Keep your key performance indicators current by revising them based on market, customer and organizational changes. Meet regularly to review them, take a close look at performance to see if adjustments need to be made, and publish any changes you make so teams are always up to date.

KPI Examples

Every business unit has unique key performance indicators that help them track progress. Many organizations use  KPI dashboards  to help them visualize, review and analyze their performance metrics all in one place. Here are a few  KPI examples by department , including a dashboard view of each.

Customer Service

From expense and revenue to margin and cash management, finance managers have lots of choices when it comes to tracking financial progress. Here are a few examples to consider as you define your own key performance indicators.

Gross Profit Margin (and %)

Operating Profit Margin (and %)

Net Profit Margin (and %)

Operating Expense Ratio

Working Capital Ratio

Explore a Finance Dashboard Demo

Ensure your teams are meeting sales targets by tracking and regularly reviewing sales key performance indicators, including those for leads, opportunities, closed sales and volume. Here are some examples of KPIs for sales teams:

New Inbound Leads

New Qualified Opportunities

Total Pipeline Value

Sales Volume by Location

Average Order Value

Learn More About Sales Dashboards

Get a handle on marketing spend, conversion rates and other indicators of marketing success by clearly defining key performance indicators and aligning them with your organization’s strategic goals. Here are a few marketing KPIs to get you started.

Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs)

Sales Qualified Leads (SQLs)

Conversion Rates (For Specific Goals)

Social Program ROI (By Platform)

Return on Ad Spend (ROAS)

Learn More About  Marketing KPIs and Marketing Dashboards

IT Key Performance Indicators

From support tickets to server downtime, IT key performance indicators can help keep teams accountable and alert them to any potential issues coming down the line. KPIs for IT teams could include targets like the following:

Total Support Tickets

Open Support Tickets

Ticket Resolution Time

Security Related Downtime

IT Costs vs Revenue

Reopened Tickets

Explore Dashboard Examples

Customer service leaders should track progress related to customers, employees and finances. In addition, key performance indicators should cover both short- and long-term targets, including support response times, customer satisfaction and others that help reach service objectives.

First Contact Resolution Rate

Average Response Time

Most Active Support Agents

Cost Per Conversation

Customer Effort Score

What does KPI stand for?

KPI stands for key performance indicator.

Which is the best KPI definition?

Key performance indicators (KPIs) are targets that help you measure progress against your most strategic objectives. While organizations can have many types of metrics, KPIs are targets that are “key” to the success of your business.

What are the different types of KPIs?

Key performance indicators can be either strategic or operational, and apply to specific business units. For example, finance tracks revenue growth rate and net profit margin, sales measures net sales and sales by region, customer service tracks Net Promoter Score and average resolution time, and marketing might measure traffic-to-lead ratio and cost per lead. Operational key performance indicators could include order fulfillment time and time to market.

How do you define KPIs?

There are many factors to consider as you develop your key performance indicators (KPIs). Here are some to keep in mind: Define how they will be used, tie them to strategic goals, keep them SMART (specific, measurable, attainable and time-bound), make them understandable, adjust them as needed, and take care only to measure the most important things.

Which are the best KPIs to use?

While every organization is different, there are a few ways to create high-performing key performance indicators: include a balance of leading and lagging indicators, create a KPI-driven culture by increasing data literacy, and regularly review and adjust your key performance indicators as your audience, market and business change.

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KPIs: What Are Key Performance Indicators? Types and Examples

What Are Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)?

Key performance indicators (KPIs) are quantifiable measurements used to gauge a company’s overall long-term performance. KPIs specifically help determine a company’s strategic, financial, and operational achievements, especially compared to those of other businesses within the same sector.

Key Takeaways

• Key performance indicators (KPIs) measure a company’s success vs. a set of targets, objectives, or industry peers.
• KPIs can be financial, including net profit (or the bottom line, net income), revenues minus certain expenses, or the current ratio (liquidity and cash availability).
• Customer-focused KPIs generally center on per-customer efficiency, customer satisfaction, and customer retention.
• Process-focused KPIs aim to measure and monitor operational performance across the organization.
• Businesses generally measure and track KPIs through analytics software and reporting tools.

Jiaqi Zhou / Investopedia

Understanding Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

Also referred to as key success indicators (KSIs), KPIs vary between companies and between industries, depending on performance criteria. For example, a software company striving to attain the fastest growth in its industry may consider year-over-year (YOY) revenue growth as its chief performance indicator. Conversely, a retail chain might place more value on same-store sales as the best KPI metric for gauging growth.

At the heart of KPIs lie data collection, storage, cleaning, and synthesizing. The information may be financial or nonfinancial and may relate to any department across the company. The goal of KPIs is to communicate results succinctly to allow management to make more informed strategic decisions.

Key performance indicators (KPIs) gauge a company’s output against a set of targets, objectives, or industry peers.

Categories of KPIs

Most KPIs fall into four different categories, with each category having its own characteristics, time frame, and users.

• Strategic KPIs are usually the most high-level. These types of KPIs may indicate how a company is doing, although it doesn’t provide much information beyond a very high-level snapshot. Executives are most likely to use strategic KPIs, and examples of strategic KPIs include return on investment , profit margin , and total company revenue .
• Operational KPIs are focused on a much tighter time frame. These KPIs measure how a company is doing month over month (or even day over day) by analyzing different processes, segments, or geographical locations. These operational KPIs are often used by managing staff and to analyze questions that are derived from analyzing strategic KPIs. For example, if an executive notices that company-wide revenue has decreased, they may investigate which product lines are struggling.
• Functional KPIs hone in on specific departments or functions within a company. For example, the finance department may keep track of how many new vendors they register within their accounting information system each month, while the marketing department measures how many clicks each email distribution receives. These types of KPIs may be strategic or operational but provide the greatest value to one specific set of users.
• Leading/lagging KPIs describe the nature of the data being analyzed and whether it is signaling something to come or something that has already occurred. Consider two different KPIs: the number of overtime hours worked and the profit margin for a flagship product. The number of overtime hours worked may be a leading KPI should the company begin to notice poorer manufacturing quality. Alternatively, profit margins are a result of operations and are considered a lagging indicator.

Types of KPIs

Financial metrics and kpis.

Key performance indicators tied to the financials typically focus on revenue and profit margins. Net profit, the most tried and true of profit-based measurements, represents the amount of revenue that remains, as profit for a given period, after accounting for all of the company’s expenses, taxes, and interest payments for the same period.

Financial metrics may be drawn from a company’s financial statements. However, internal management may find it more useful to analyze different numbers that are more specific to analyzing the problems or aspects of the company that management wants to analyze. For example, a company may leverage variable costing to recalculate certain account balances for internal analysis only.

Examples of financial KPIs include:

• Liquidity ratios (i.e., current ratios , which divide current assets by current liabilities): These types of KPIs measure how well a company will manage short-term debt obligations based on the short-term assets it has on hand.
• Profitability ratios (i.e., net profit margin): These types of KPIs measure how well a company is performing in generating sales while keeping expenses low.
• Solvency ratios (i.e., total debt-to-total-assets ratio ): These types of KPIs measure the long-term financial health of a company by evaluating how well a company will be able to pay long-term debt.
• Turnover ratios (i.e., inventory turnover): These types of KPIs measure how quickly a company can perform a certain task. For example, inventory turnover measures how quickly a company can convert an item from inventory to a sale. Companies strive to increase turnover to generate faster churn of spending cash to later recover that cash through revenue.

Customer Experience Metrics and KPI

Customer -focused KPIs generally center on per-customer efficiency, customer satisfaction, and customer retention. These metrics are used by customer service teams to better understand the service that customers have been receiving.

Examples of customer-centric metrics include:

• Number of new ticket requests : This KPI counts customer service requests and measures how many new and open issues customers are having.
• Number of resolved tickets : This KPI counts the number of requests that have been successfully taken care of . By comparing the number of requests to the number of resolutions, a company can assess its success rate in getting through customer requests.
• Average resolution time : This KPI is the average amount of time needed to help a customer with an issue. Companies may choose to segment average resolution time across different requests (i.e., technical issue requests vs. new account requests).
• Average response time : This KPI is the average amount of time needed for a customer service agent to first connect with a customer after the customer has submitted a request. Though the initial agent may not have the knowledge or expertise to provide a solution, a company may value decreasing the time that a customer is waiting for any help.
• Top customer service agent : This KPI is a combination of any metric above cross-referenced by customer service representatives. For example, in addition to analyzing company-wide average response time, a company can determine the three fastest and slowest responders.
• Type of request : This KPI is a count of the different types of requests. This KPI can help a company better understand the problems a customer may have (i.e., the company’s website gave incorrect or inaccurate directions) that need to be resolved by the company.
• Customer satisfaction rating : This KPI is a vague measurement, though companies may perform surveys or post-interaction questionnaires to gather additional information on the customer’s experience.

KPIs are usually not externally required; they are simply internal measurements used by management to evaluate a company’s performance.

Process Performance Metrics and KPI

Process metrics aim to measure and monitor operational performance across the organization. These KPIs analyze how tasks are performed and whether there are process, quality, or performance issues. These types of metrics are most useful for companies with repetitive processes, such as manufacturing firms or companies in cyclical industries.

Examples of process performance metrics include:

• Production efficiency : This KPI is often measured as the production time for each stage divided by the total processing time. A company may strive to spend only 2% of its time soliciting raw materials; if it discovers it takes 5% of the total process, then the company may strive for solicitation improvements.
• Total cycle time : This KPI is the total amount of time needed to complete a process from start to finish. This may be converted to average cycle time if management wishes to analyze a process over a period of time.
• Throughput : This KPI is the number of units produced divided by the production time per unit, measuring how fast the manufacturing process is.
• Error rate : This KPI is the total number of errors divided by the total number of units produced. A company striving to reduce waste can better understand the number of items that are failing quality control testing.
• Quality rate : This KPI focuses on the positive items produced instead of the negative. By dividing the successful units completed by the total number of units produced, this percentage informs management of its success rate in meeting quality standards.

Marketing KPIs

Marketing KPIs attempt to gain a better understanding of how effective marketing and promotional campaigns have been. These metrics often measure conversation rates on how often prospective customers perform certain actions in response to a given marketing medium. Examples of marketing KPIs include:

• Website traffic : This KPI tracks the number of people who visit certain pages of a company’s website. Management can use this KPI to better understand whether online traffic is being pushed down potential sales channels and if customers are not being funneled appropriately.
• Social media traffic : This KPI tracks the views, follows, likes, retweets, shares, engagement, and other measurable interactions between customers and the company’s social media profiles.
• Conversion rate on call-to-action content : This KPI centers around focused promotional programs that ask customers to perform certain actions. For example, a specific campaign may encourage customers to act before a certain sale date ends. A company can divide the number of successful engagements by the total number of content distributions to understand what percent of customers answered the call to action.
• Blog articles published per month : This KPI simply counts the number of blog posts a company publishes in a given month.
• Click-through rates : This KPI measures the number of specific clicks that are performed on email distributions. For example, certain programs may track how many customers opened an email distribution, clicked on a link, and followed through with a sale.

A company may desire operational excellence; in this case, it may want to track how its internal technology (IT) department is operating. These KPIs may encourage a better understanding of employee satisfaction or whether the IT department is being adequately staffed. Examples of IT KPIs include:

• Total system downtime : This KPI measures the amount of time that various systems must be taken offline for system updates or repairs. While systems are down, customers may be unable to place orders or employees may be unable to perform certain duties (i.e., when the accounting information system is down).
• Number of tickets/resolutions : This KPI is similar to customer service KPIs. However, these tickets and resolutions relate to internal staff requests such as hardware or software needs, network problems, or other internal technology problems.
• Number of developed features : This KPI measures internal product development by quantifying the number of product changes.
• Count of critical bugs : This KPI counts the number of critical problems within systems or programs. A company will need to have its own internal standards for what constitutes a minor vs. major bug.
• Back-up frequency : This KPI counts how often critical data is duplicated and stored in a safe location. In accordance with record retention requirements, management may set different targets for different bits of information.

The ultimate goal of a company is to generate revenue through sales. Though revenue is often measured through financial KPIs, sales KPIs take a more granular approach by leveraging nonfinancial data to better understand the sales process. Examples of sales KPIs include:

• Customer lifetime value (CLV) : This KPI represents the total amount of money that a customer is expected to spend on your products over the entire business relationship.
• Customer acquisition cost (CAC) : This KPI represents the total sales and marketing cost required to land a new customer. By comparing CAC to CLV, businesses can measure the effectiveness of their customer acquisition efforts.
• Average dollar value for new contracts : This KPI measures the average size of new agreements. A company may have a desired threshold for landing larger or smaller customers.
• Average conversion time : This KPI measures the amount of time from first contacting a prospective client to securing a signed contract to perform business.
• Number of engaged leads : This KPI counts how many potential leads have been contacted or met with. This metric can be further divided into mediums such as visits, emails, phone calls, or other contacts with customers.

Management may tie bonuses to KPIs. For salespeople, their commission rate may depend on whether they meet expected conversion rates or engage in an appropriate number of leads.

Human Resource and Staffing KPIs

Companies may also find it beneficial to analyze KPIs specific to their employees. Ranging from turnover to retention to satisfaction, a company may have a wealth of information already available about its staff. Examples of human resource or staffing KPIs include:

• Absenteeism rate : This KPI is a count of how many dates per year or specific period employees are calling in sick or missing shifts. This KPI may be a leading indicator for disengaged or unhappy employees.
• Number of overtime hours worked : This KPI tracks the number of overtime hours worked to gauge whether employees are potentially facing burnout or if staffing levels are appropriate.
• Employee satisfaction : This KPI often requires a company-wide survey to gauge how employees are feeling about various aspects of the company. To get the best value from this KPI, companies should consider hosting the same survey every year to track changes from one year to the next regarding the exact same questions.
• Employee turnover rate : This KPI measures how often and quickly employees are leaving their positions. Companies can further break down this KPI across departments or teams to determine why some positions may be leaving faster than others.
• Number of applicants : This KPI keeps count of how many applications are submitted to open job positions. This KPI helps assess whether job listings are adequately reaching a wide enough audience to capture interest and lure strong candidates.

Examples of KPIs

Let’s take a look at electric vehicle maker Tesla ( TSLA ) for a few examples of KPIs in real life. These numbers are from its fourth quarter (Q4) 2021 earnings release.

Vehicle Production

During the quarter, Tesla produced a record 305,840 vehicles and delivered 308,650 vehicles. Production is a big deal for the company because it has consistently been criticized for being bad at ramping up. Increased manufacturing scale means more market share and profits for Tesla.

Automotive Gross Margin

For the quarter, Tesla’s automotive gross margin expanded to 30.6%. Gross margin is one of the best measures of profitability for Tesla because it isolates its vehicle production costs. Tesla managed to expand its gross margin in Q4 even as sales of lower-priced models outpaced its higher-margin models.

Free Cash Flow

Tesla’s free cash flow clocked in at $2.8 billion during the quarter. That represented a vast improvement from the $1.9 billion free cash flow in the prior year. Tesla’s level of free cash flow production suggested that the company was reaching a scale of profitability without the help of regulatory credits.

Companies can use KPIs across three broad levels:

First, company-wide KPIs focus on the overall business health and performance. These types of KPIs are useful for informing management of how things are going. However, they are often not granular enough to make decisions. Company-wide KPIs often kick off conversations on why certain departments are performing well or poorly.

At this point, companies often begin digging into department-level KPIs. These are more specific than company-wide KPIs. Department-level KPIs are often more informative as to why specific outcomes are occurring. Many of the examples mentioned above are department-level KPIs, as they focus on a very niche aspect of a company.

If a company chooses to dig even deeper, it may engage with project-level or subdepartment-level KPIs. These KPIs are often specifically requested by management as they may require very specific data sets that may not be readily available. For example, management may want to ask very specific questions to a control group about a potential product rollout .

When preparing KPI reports, start by showing the highest level of data (i.e., company-wide revenue). Next, be prepared to show lower levels of data (i.e., revenue by department, then revenue by department and product).

With companies seemingly collecting more data every day, it can become overwhelming to sort through the information and determine what KPIs are most useful and impactful for decision-making. When beginning the process of pulling together KPI dashboards or reports, consider the following steps:

• Discuss goals and intentions with business partners . KPIs are only as useful as the users make them. Before pulling together any KPI reports, understand what you or your business partner are attempting to achieve.
• Draft SMART KPI requirements . KPIs should have restrictions and be tied to SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-bound) metrics. Vague, hard-to-ascertain, and unrealistic KPIs serve little to no value. Instead, focus on what information you have that is available and meeting the SMART acronym requirements.
• Be adaptable . As you pull together KPI reports, be prepared for new business problems to appear and for further attention to be given to other areas. As business and customer needs change, KPIs should also adapt with certain numbers, metrics, and goals changing in line with operational evolutions.
• Avoid overwhelming users . It may be tempting to overload report users with as many KPIs as you can fit on a report. At a certain point, KPIs start to become difficult to comprehend, and it may become more difficult to determine which metrics are important to focus on.

Advantages of KPIs

A company may wish to analyze KPIs for several reasons. KPIs help inform management of specific problems; the data-driven approach provides quantifiable information useful in strategic planning and ensuring operational excellence.

KPIs help hold employees accountable. Instead of relying on feelings or emotions, KPIs are statistically supported and cannot discriminate across employees. When used appropriately, KPIs may help encourage employees as they realize their numbers are being closely monitored.

KPIs are also the bridge that connects actual business operations and goals. A company may set targets, but without the ability to track progress toward those goals, there is little to no purpose in those plans. Instead, KPIs allow companies to set objectives, and then monitor progress toward those objectives.

Limitations of KPIs

There are some downsides to consider when working with KPIs. There may be a long time frame required for KPIs to provide meaningful data. For example, a company may need to collect annual data from employees for years to better understand trends in satisfaction rates over long periods of time.

KPIs require constant monitoring and close follow-up to be useful. A KPI report that is prepared but never analyzed serves no purpose. In addition, KPIs that are not continuously monitored for accuracy and reasonableness do not encourage beneficial decision making.

KPIs open up the possibility for managers to “game” KPIs. Instead of focusing on actually improving processes or results, managers may feel incentivized to focus on improving KPIs tied to performance bonuses . In addition, quality may decrease if managers are hyper-focused on productivity KPIs, and employees may feel pushed too hard to meet specific KPI measurements that may simply not be reasonable.

Informs management of how a company is performing in countless ways

Helps hold employees accountable for their actions (or lack of)

Can motivate employees who feel positively challenged to meet targets

Allows a company to set goals and measure progress toward those objectives

Results in potential time commitment to consistently gather data over long periods of time

Requires ongoing monitoring for accuracy and reasonableness in data

May encourage managers to focus on KPIs instead of broader strategies

May discourage employees if KPI targets are unreasonable

What Does KPI Mean?

KPI is an abbreviation for key performance indicator: data that has been collected, analyzed, and summarized to help decision-making. KPIs may be a single calculation or value that summarizes a period of activity, such as “450 sales in October.” By themselves, KPIs do not add any value to a company. However, a company can use this information to make more informed decisions about business operations and strategies.

What Is an example of a KPI?

One of the most basic examples of a KPI is revenue per client (RPC). For example, if you generate $100,000 in revenue annually and have 100 clients, then your RPC is $1,000. A company can use this KPI to track its RPC over time.

What Are 5 of the Most Common KPIs?

KPIs vary from business to business, and some KPIs are more suitable for certain companies compared to others. In general, five of the most commonly used KPIs are:

• Revenue growth
• Revenue per client
• Profit margin
• Client retention rate
• Customer satisfaction

How Do You Measure KPIs?

It depends on the actual KPI being measured. Generally speaking, businesses measure and track KPIs through business analytics software and reporting tools. This includes everything from the collection of data via reliable sources, the safe storage of information, the cleaning of data to standardize its format for analysis, and the actual number crunching. Finally, KPIs are often reported using visualization or reporting software.

What Makes a KPI Good?

A good KPI provides objective and clear information on progress toward an end goal. It tracks and measures factors such as efficiency, quality, timeliness, and performance while providing a way to measure performance over time. The ultimate goal of a KPI is to help management make more informed decisions.

KPIs offer an effective way to measure and track a company’s performance on a variety of different metrics. By understanding exactly what KPIs are and how to implement them properly, managers are better able to optimize the business for long-term success.

Tesla Investor Relations. “ Q4 and FY 2021 Update ,” Page 7.

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23 Most Important Healthcare KPIs & Metrics

• Updated on June 20, 2023

Is your health organization tracking the correct healthcare KPI? Moreover, what are key performance indicators for healthcare and why are they important? As Someka, we’ve been providing Healthcare Dashboard templates for years and here, we have curated a list of the most used healthcare KPIs you should track. But first, let’s start with the fundamentals.

What is a healthcare KPI?

In general, KPI stands for Key Performance Indicator. A healthcare KPI is a well-defined and measurable metric to track in order to improve the quality of patient-related services.  In the healthcare industry, there are many metrics (such as hospital metrics and other related key metrics) you should analyze and optimize to improve the processes.

Why should you track healthcare KPI and metrics?

Healthcare is a very demanding industry and patient-related services/processes should be improved on a daily basis. Especially to understand a hospital’s success, you should be tracking and improving the most important healthcare KPIs regularly.

What are the most important healthcare KPI and performance metrics?

There are lots of metrics and key performance indicators in healthcare. So, choosing the right ones to focus on is critical. During our consulting studies for years, we’ve dealt with hundreds of different healthcare KPIs. Then we worked on the data, eliminated and consolidated the metrics, and listed down the 23 most used healthcare KPIs to track.

23 Most Used Healthcare Metrics

1. Patient Wait Time for OR

Healthcare Metrics / Customer Satisfaction

Description: Average time to wait for operating room. It is an average time that patients are waiting for the surgery.

Calculation Method / Formula: total time to wait for OR all patients wait/ number of patients

Should be High or Low?: The shorter the better. It can have influence on the satisfactory rate.

2. Average Hospital Stay

Description: Amount of days on average that your patients stay in the medical center. Depending on the heath issue patient has the time will vary so if it is necessary this metrics could be split in more categories.

Calculation Method / Formula: number of days per each patient/number of patients

Should be High or Low?: Best if it’s close to the target. It has an impact on hospital capacity, number of beds, doctors and other medical stuff.

3. ER Wait Time

Healthcare KPIs and Metrics / Customer Satisfaction / Work Time Management

Description: Shows how long patients wait until seeing a doctor.

Calculation Method / Formula: total time all patients wait/ number of patients

4. ER Duration of Treatment

Healthcare Metrics / Customer Satisfaction / Work Time Management

Description: This is complete time measured from admission until getting into emergency room and full time of the first medical intervention.

Calculation Method / Formula: Total time ER wait time + Time of doctor intervention

5. Patient Follow-up

Description: How many days patient’s health conditions are under observation. Time between first day in the medical center and the end of the full recovery.

Should be High or Low?: Best if it’s close to the target,

6. Inpatient Satisfaction Rate

Healthcare Metrics / Customer Satisfaction / Work Organization

Description: Satisfaction of the patients being hospitalized. Shows an overall percentage of how satisfied inpatients are with healthcare and other services provided during the time of hospitalization.

Should be High or Low?: The best if it’s 100% or as close as possible.

7. Outpatient Satisfaction Rate

Description: Satisfaction of the patients NOT being hospitalized. Shows an overall percentage of how satisfied patients are with their visit and provided service during their visit.

8. Patient Confidentiality / Confidence Ratio of Patient Privacy

Healthcare Metrics / Customer Satisfaction / Customer Relationship / Brand Value

Description: This measures how on average patients feel confident about privacy regarding their medical records.

9. Number of No Show Patients/Cancellation

Healthcare Metrics / Cost / Work Time Management

Description: Shows number of missed or cancelled visits. Depending on cancelation policy and organization it can have an impact on other metrics like waiting times or capacity.

Should be High or Low?: The smaller the better.

10. Number of Patients per Medical Staff

Description: The target should be measured based on capacity (number of rooms, doctors, beds, time of visits etc.) of the medical center.

Calculation Method / Formula: number of medical personel / number of patients

Should be High or Low?: Best if it’s close to the target. A higher ratio number means bigger chance to provide better care to patients, but it also increases total cost of the medical facility.

11. Bed or Room Turnover Rate

Healthcare KPIs and Metrics / Customer Satisfaction / Cost / Market Demand

Description: Calculated as an average number of patients that used the same bed within a period of time. In our template the time period means 1 month.

Calculation Method / Formula: Number of discharges (including deaths) in a given time period / Number of beds in the hospital during that time period.

Should be High or Low?: Best if it’s close to the target. Higher number means bigger capacity but there is a limit depended on number of medical staff, fully recovery time that indicates satisfaction rate etc.

12. Average Treatment Costs

Healthcare Metrics / Customer Satisfaction / Cost

Description: The average amount that a facility charges a patient for treatment. However, on that cost influence a lot of factors depending on how serious problem patient has.

Calculation Method / Formula: average cost of total treatmants in a period of time

Should be High or Low?: The higher cost may indicate higher income, but it also depends on time it took to take care of a patient. It can have influence on satisfaction rate or claims denial.

13. Permanent Employee Wages

Healthcare Metrics / Employee Satisfaction / Cost / Work Efficiency / Budget Management

Description: The average value of wages paid to all full-time employees during the reporting period. It is very important metrics that influence the satisfaction rate of employees what leads to better qualified staff and better healthcare.

Should be High or Low?: It depends on a target; however higher wage leads to better quality of hired staff.

14. Avg. Insurance Claim Processing Cost

Healthcare Metrics / Cost

Description: Total money spent by a hospital on insurance claiming procedures.

Should be High or Low?: The best if total cost goes down but it depends on amount of cases to be proceed.

15. Claims Denial Rate

Description: The percentage of payment claims was rejected by payers in each period. It can be a patient itself because of not enough funds on its account or other reason or an insurance company that reject payment.

Calculation Method / Formula: Total of Claims Denied/Total of Claims Submitted.

Should be High or Low?: If it’s close to zero, the hospital does not lose money on that matter. Otherwise all the rejected claims are covered by the medical facility.

16. Hospital Readmission Rate

Healthcare Metrics / Cost / Brand Value / Customer Satisfaction

Description: What is the percentage of patients returning to the facility because of wrong treatment. It depends on personnel competence and quality.

Calculation Method / Formula: number of returning patients / total closed cases in a period of time

Should be High or Low?: High number might be a threat for facility prosperity.

17. Patient Safety

Healthcare Metrics / Customer Satisfaction / Brand Value

Description: The percentage showing how good the environment, tools, implementation and doctors to keep the safety for patients as high as possible.

18. Number of Referral Patients

Description: The number of patients referred to different departments.

19. Medication Error Rate

Description: The ratio of wrong treatment of patients. Like the “Hospital Readmission Rate” however might include medical malpractice or changes of medication during the time of treatment.

Should be High or Low?: If the number is close to zero it can have a big impact on reviews and patient satisfaction.

20. Mortality/Death Ratio

Description: The percentage of death patients out of all patients that has been treated in the medical center.

Calculation Method / Formula: Total number of patients’ death in facility/Total number of patients

Should be High or Low?: The lower the better. It builds trust of society. However, zero mortality is impossible.

21. Bed Occupancy Rate

Healthcare Metrics / Capacity / Brand Value / Customer Satisfaction

Description: The proportion of hospital beds in use at any time.

Calculation Method / Formula: number of days bed was used during period of time / available bed-days during the period of time

Should be High or Low?: The ratio should be close to 100 but slightly below because for any emergency it might be good to have available bed.

22. Number of Training for Employees

Healthcare Metrics / Employee Satisfaction / Employee Management / Budget Management / Quality / Work Efficiency

Description: It shows the total number of training for employees in a facility.

Should be High or Low?:In this healthcare kpi, h igher numbers of trainings results in higher qualifications however the target should be related to funds and possibility of the facility.

23. Number of Media Mentions

Healthcare Metrics / Digital Marketing / Marketing Effectiveness / Sales / Brand Value

Description: The total number of news, opinions or articles in media regarding to the facility and working staff.

Should be High or Low?: If the number is larger it brings more patients, however bad opinions or reviews may decrease the general opinion about facility.

Below is the summary of Healthcare KPI metrics:

Most Important KPIs for Different Industries

All industries have different dynamics hence various kpis are being tracked and measured. Below you can see the list of different sectors and areas where we have listed most important kpis for each of them.

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Best Practice Dashboards and KPIs for Manufacturing in Private Equity

By Katie Johnson and Suzanne Rains on March 9, 2023 10:08:32 AM MST

Topics: Manufacturing Power BI Financial Reporting Data Visibility Sales and Marketing Operations Portfolio Management

"Despite generally high levels of economic confidence, U.S. middle market manufacturing leaders are dealing with high inflation and continue to worry about a potential recession… Only half of manufacturers believe they are fully prepared to respond to new disruptions arising from these economic circumstances" (National Center for the Middle Market and Chubb, 2023, pg. 9).

Mixed Economic Indicators for Manufacturing

Q1 2023’s manufacturing economic indicators continue to send mixed signals.

Despite stable industrial production, steady hiring (Manufacturer’s Alliance, 2023), and 58% of mid-market companies projecting year-over-year growth in 2023 (National Center for the Middle Market et al, 2023), manufacturers contend with a contractionary PMI® (47.8% as of Feb 2023, Trading Economics, 2023), rising production costs, raw materials inventories, and a stubbornly elevated CPI.

In an uncertain, complex time, data visibility becomes a critical means of oversight and control. Data intelligence provides leaders with the insight they need to mitigate risks and control costs, while simultaneously aligning teams to the value creation plan, increasing employee retention, and boosting overall company valuation . 

Despite these noted benefits, there is a sizeable gap between companies’ data investments and their ability to establish data cultures. NewVantage’s 2023 Big Data and AI Executive Survey shows that while 93.9% of organizations are increasing their data investments, only 20.6% have a data culture (NewVantage, 2023).

Why the gap?

It comes down to the execution of their data strategy.

Over the past 12 years, we’ve worked extensively with mid-market manufacturers to develop their data infrastructure and reporting. Below, we’ve shared a few case studies , sample metrics, and dashboard examples that demonstrate how manufacturers leverage data for operational excellence, effectively closing the execution gap and supporting a data culture.

Jump to a report example:

• Business Unit Summary 

Labor Utilization

Production efficiency, sales rep scorecard.

• Material Margin Analysis 
• Shop Loading

Case Study #1 - Manufacturing Operations Reporting Portfolio

This manufacturer ($150+M) services multiple industries through a wide range of product lines. With seven separate manufacturing and finishing facilities, they are a logistically complex operation . They engaged Blue Margin to:

• Move KPI metric tracking across plants, business units, geography, and transactional systems out of spreadsheets
• Align executive team, managers, and operators on strategic priorities
• Operationalize and track priorities rather than make ad-hoc adjustments
• Surface and track the metrics, ratios, and initiatives critical to the bottom line.

In support of these goals, we created the following portfolio of reports:

Manufacturing Business Unit Summary Report

Management wanted a unified approach to monitor and compare performance by business unit and plant. This report compares key metrics of bookings, shipments and on-time delivery (OTD) across time for each business unit. 

Companies that regularly track employee labor hours and output produce insights that inform process improvements and HR decisions, such as job changes or additional training. Within a healthy organizational culture, tracking employee utilization fosters accountability and productivity, driving bottom-line growth. (For more information on data’s impact on team culture, listen to our interview with an organizational change expert or this podcast on how we embraced data transparency at Blue Margin.)

In this report, Employee Utilization is shown by various dimensions with detail down to the employee level.

Visibility into the performance of individual machines and facilities enables manufacturing leaders to quickly identify concerning trends and prevent costly delays by reallocating resources and/or adjusting production strategies to meet changing demand.

This Production Efficiency report shows a calendar view of production efficiency and highlights top- and bottom-performing facilities.

For a comprehensive view into sales performance, manufacturers need to see details on their sales pipeline, quote cycle, quotes won/lost, and performance by individual sales reps. Quote cycle data helps inform process adjustments to increase conversion rates (and ultimately revenue) while insight into individual sales reps’ quotes won/lost and revenue generation surfaces opportunities to recognize top performers or provide targeted coaching to increase overall team productivity.

This Sales Rep Scorecard visualizes metrics for expected revenue, total quotes, quotes won/lost, and quote summaries by business unit, plant, market, industry, territory, rep, and customer.

Case Study #2 - Material Margin Analysis 

A North American manufacturer ($180+ MM) with four US-based plants and warehouses in the midst of rapid expansion needed a unified business intelligence solution. Their key data source was Oracle E-Business Suite, and they faced the following issues:

• No real-time view of commodity material costs and impact against material margin and gross profitability.
• No insight into margins at the part level and uncertainty of when/how to adjust pricing.
• Their P&L couldn’t offer timely visibility to assess current performance versus prior periods.

The Material Margin Analysis report displays historical trends for material margins, analysis of changed costs based on CDI index, and the ability to filter large data sets by date ranges, markets, customers, parts, and material types.

Additionally, the margin analysis price calculator allows for a what-if analysis of impact on margins. Users change prices using sliders to observe impacts on GP or MM.

Case Study #3 - Shop Loading 

During a design project, a North American ($100M) circuit board manufacturer identified shop loading as an area of immediate opportunity for BI reporting . Increased visibility would allow leaders to closely monitor their production process, identify and resolve bottlenecks, and improve yields.

Blue Margin engaged with their IT team and warehouse leadership to wireframe and rapidly develop a report that improved visibility into shop load by different priority categories.​

With better visibility, production schedules could be adjusted to minimize downtime, reduce material waste, and maximize output. Additionally, analyzing shop load by priority category allowed them to prioritize orders, manage short-term fluctuations in demand, and better allocate resources.

Business Intelligence for Middle Market Manufacturers

Manufacturers looking accelerate value creation and digital transformation don’t have to (and shouldn’t) jump straight to prescriptive analytics for results. BI lays the foundation for advanced ML and AI opportunities, and as the examples above illustrate, allows for deeper insight into operations, the analysis of vast amounts of data, identification of trends in customer behavior, optimization of pricing models, and streamlined production.

Ultimately, by leveraging business intelligence for growth strategies, manufacturers get a leg up in today's increasingly competitive market. 

For Further Reading

• Tecum Capital: Using Data for Higher Returns in Manufacturing, Services, and Distribution
• Blue Margin's Manufacturing HQ™

• Manufacturer’s Alliance. (2023, February). Economic Trends for Manufacturers. Economic Trends for Manufacturers | Manufacturers Alliance
• National Center for the Middle Market and Chubb. (2023). Middle Market Manufacturing (chubb.com)
• National Center for the Middle Market et al. (2023). NCMM_MMI_YEAR-END_2022_012323.pdf (middlemarketcenter.org)
• NewVantage. (2023). Big Data and AI Executive Survey. Publications & Media | NewVantage Partners
• Trading Economics. (2023, February). United States Manufacturing PMI - February 2023 Data - 2012-2022 Historical (tradingeconomics.com)

Written by Katie Johnson and Suzanne Rains

Katie Johnson is Blue Margin’s marketing manager. With a degree in human development, Katie is a student of the connection between data insights and the people who use them. She has a gift for making complex ideas accessible and brings her aptitude for process design to every conversation. Suzanne Rains is a communications specialist at Blue Margin Inc. With a MA in Human Resources and BAs in Marketing and Management, Suzanne unites an understanding of human nature and a keen interest in industry research to author thought leadership articles for today’s business leaders.

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Outsourcing KPIs: Key Metrics for Success

Are you looking to optimize your outsourcing strategy and measure its success? Look no further! At OutsourcingInsight.com, we have the answers you need. 

Our website is your go-to source for all things outsourcing, providing valuable resources and information to help businesses, startups, and individuals navigate the world of outsourcing. 

In this article, we will explore key performance indicators (KPIs) that can help you effectively monitor and evaluate your outsourcing initiatives. 

Let's dive in and discover how you can achieve maximum efficiency and success with outsourcing KPIs!

What are KPIs In Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) ?

KPIs, or Key Performance Indicators, are quantifiable measures that organizations use to evaluate their success in achieving specific business objectives. 

These metrics help businesses track progress, identify areas for improvement, and make informed decisions. In the context of outsourcing, KPIs are essential tools that help measure the performance and effectiveness of outsourcing relationships. 

They enable businesses to assess the quality and efficiency of services provided by third-party service providers.

What is the Definition of KPIs ? 

KPIs are specific measurable parameters that reflect the critical success factors of an organization. 

They are designed to provide a clear and objective evaluation of performance and progress towards organizational goals. 

In the context of outsourcing, KPIs may include metrics related to cost savings, service quality, timeliness, customer and employee satisfaction, productivity, efficiency, contract compliance, risk management, and innovation.

What is the Importance of KPIs in Outsourcing?

KPIs play a crucial role in outsourcing by providing organizations with the means to ensure effective vendor management and performance evaluation. 

By defining and tracking relevant KPIs, businesses can monitor the performance of their service providers, identify areas for improvement, and take proactive measures to address any issues or risks. 

KPIs also help establish benchmarks and standards, facilitating a measurable and objective assessment of outsourcing engagements.

Which Are The Key KPIs Metrics for Outsourcing?

Here is the list of outsourcing related KPIs 

Cost Savings

One of the primary reasons organizations choose to outsource is to achieve cost savings. KPIs related to cost savings measure the financial benefits gained from outsourcing, such as reduced labor costs, decreased overhead expenses, and improved operational efficiency.

These KPIs help organizations assess the effectiveness of their outsourcing strategy in terms of achieving the desired financial benefits.

Quality of Service

The quality of service provided by outsourcing vendors is a critical factor in the success of outsourcing engagements. KPIs related to service quality measure factors such as accuracy, responsiveness, adherence to service level agreements (SLAs), and customer satisfaction.

These KPIs provide insights into the vendor's ability to deliver high-quality services that meet or exceed expectations.

Timeliness KPIs assess the ability of outsourcing vendors to deliver services within agreed-upon deadlines or turnaround times. These KPIs measure the efficiency of service delivery, highlighting any delays or bottlenecks that may impact overall performance.

Timeliness KPIs are particularly important in time-sensitive processes or industries where punctuality is critical.

Customer Satisfaction

Customer satisfaction is a vital KPI in outsourcing relationships. It measures the level of satisfaction or dissatisfaction experienced by the organization's customers or end-users with the services provided by the outsourcing vendor.

Customer satisfaction KPIs can be evaluated through surveys, feedback mechanisms, and other tools that gather customer insights. High customer satisfaction indicates a successful outsourcing partnership and helps retain business.

Employee Satisfaction

Employee satisfaction KPIs focus on the satisfaction and engagement levels of the organization's employees who interact with the outsourcing vendor.

These KPIs measure factors such as job satisfaction, motivation, and communication effectiveness. High employee satisfaction levels are indicators of a positive outsourcing relationship and contribute to overall productivity and performance.

Productivity

Productivity KPIs assess the efficiency and effectiveness of outsourcing engagements in terms of output and labor utilization. These KPIs measure factors such as the number of tasks completed, units produced, or processes executed within a specified timeframe.

Productivity KPIs provide insights into the efficiency of the outsourcing partnership and help identify areas for improvement.

Efficiency KPIs evaluate the effectiveness of outsourcing arrangements in terms of resource utilization and optimization. These KPIs measure factors such as reduced waste, improved process flow, and streamlined operations.

Efficiency KPIs help organizations assess the impact of outsourcing on their overall operational efficiency and identify opportunities for further optimization.

Contract Compliance

Contract compliance KPIs assess the adherence to contractual obligations and service level agreements between the organization and the outsourcing vendor. These KPIs measure factors such as meeting specified performance targets, delivering services as per agreed-upon parameters, and ensuring regulatory compliance.

Contract compliance KPIs help organizations monitor and enforce contractual obligations and hold vendors accountable for their performance.

Risk Management

Risk management KPIs focus on identifying, assessing, and mitigating risks associated with outsourcing engagements. These KPIs measure factors such as the vendor's ability to address security threats, ensure data protection, and manage business continuity.

Risk management KPIs help organizations evaluate the effectiveness of their outsourcing risk mitigation measures and implement proactive strategies to minimize potential risks.

Innovation KPIs evaluate the extent to which outsourcing vendors contribute to driving innovation and continuous improvement within the organization.

These KPIs measure factors such as the vendor's ability to propose innovative solutions, introduce new technologies, or suggest process improvements.

Innovation KPIs help organizations assess the value and impact of their outsourcing arrangements in driving innovation and staying competitive.

How To Setup Effective KPIs?

Aligning kpis with business objectives.

To ensure effective performance measurement, KPIs should align closely with the organization's overall business objectives and strategic goals.

By establishing KPIs that directly reflect desired outcomes, businesses can effectively track progress and evaluate the contribution of outsourcing to achieving those objectives.

This alignment ensures that KPIs provide meaningful insights into the success of outsourcing relationships.

KPIs should follow the SMART framework, which stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. Specific KPIs clearly define the desired outcome and provide a concrete target for measurement.

Measurable KPIs have quantifiable metrics attached to them, allowing for objective evaluation. Achievable KPIs set realistic expectations that can be met within the given context. Relevant KPIs align with the specific objectives of outsourcing engagements.

Time-bound KPIs are set within a defined timeframe for monitoring and evaluation.

Consideration of Outsourcing Specifics

When setting KPIs for outsourcing, it is crucial to consider the unique characteristics and requirements of outsourcing engagements.

Different outsourcing models , industries, and processes may require specific KPIs tailored to their context. Taking into account factors such as service complexity, industry standards, and organizational priorities helps ensure that KPIs accurately reflect the performance and impact of outsourcing partnerships.

Collaboration with Service Providers

Setting effective KPIs requires collaboration and communication between the organization and the outsourcing service provider. By involving the service provider in the process of defining KPIs, businesses can ensure that both parties have a shared understanding of performance expectations and measurement methodologies.

Collaboration also allows service providers to provide input and suggestions for KPIs based on their expertise and experience.

How To Track KPIs?

Collecting and analyzing data.

Tracking KPIs requires a systematic approach to collecting and analyzing relevant data. Organizations should establish processes and systems to capture accurate and reliable data that aligns with the defined KPIs.

This may involve data collection through automated monitoring systems, feedback surveys, performance evaluations, or other appropriate methods.

Analyzing the collected data provides valuable insights into the performance and progress of outsourcing relationships.

Regular Reporting and Review

To effectively track KPIs, organizations should establish a regular reporting and review mechanism. This includes periodic reporting on KPI performance, progress updates, and insights gained from data analysis.

Regular reviews allow organizations and their outsourcing partners to identify trends , address variances, and make timely adjustments to improve performance. Reporting and review processes should be transparent, collaborative, and focused on driving continuous improvement.

Addressing Variances and Trends

Tracking KPIs involves not only monitoring performance but also identifying and addressing any variances or trends that deviate from expected outcomes.

Organizations should have mechanisms in place to investigate the root causes of variances, whether positive or negative, and take appropriate actions.

Addressing variances and trends helps organizations adjust strategies, make informed decisions, and continually enhance the effectiveness of their outsourcing relationships.

What is the difference between KPIs vs SLAs?

Understanding the difference.

While KPIs and SLAs (Service Level Agreements) are both important components of outsourcing contracts, they serve different purposes.

KPIs focus on performance measurement and evaluation, providing objective insights into the success of outsourcing relationships.

SLAs, on the other hand, are contractual commitments that define the agreed-upon levels of service provision, including response times, service availability, and other measurable parameters. KPIs go beyond SLAs by providing a broader perspective on performance and outcomes.

Complementary Nature

KPIs and SLAs are complementary and should be designed to work together synergistically. SLAs set the minimum performance standards and expectations that the outsourcing vendor must meet.

KPIs, on the other hand, provide a more comprehensive and holistic view of performance, taking into account various factors that contribute to organizational success. While SLAs ensure contractual compliance, KPIs help evaluate the overall effectiveness and value of outsourcing partnerships.

Integration in Outsourcing Contracts

To ensure effective performance management, KPIs and SLAs should be included in outsourcing contracts. Incorporating KPIs and SLAs into contracts establishes clear expectations, provides a basis for measurement and evaluation, and facilitates meaningful performance discussions.

Well-defined KPIs and SLAs help align the interests and objectives of both parties, enhancing the transparency and accountability of outsourcing relationships.

What are the Common Challenges in Measuring KPIs?

Availability and accuracy of data.

One of the significant challenges in measuring KPIs is ensuring the availability and accuracy of data. Organizations may face difficulties in collecting relevant data from multiple sources, consolidating it, and verifying its accuracy.

Lack of data standardization, inconsistent data collection processes, and data quality issues can hinder accurate performance measurement.

Overcoming these challenges requires implementing robust data collection mechanisms and establishing data governance frameworks.

Subjectivity and Perception

Certain KPIs, such as customer or employee satisfaction, may involve subjective elements that are based on personal opinions or perceptions. Measuring subjectivity and perception requires capturing feedback through surveys, interviews, or other means of gathering qualitative data.

However, interpreting and quantifying such data can be challenging, as individual perspectives may vary.

To address this challenge, organizations can use established measurement scales, anonymize data, and ensure a representative sample size to achieve reliable insights.

Defining Appropriate Benchmark

Benchmarking KPIs against appropriate standards or benchmarks can be challenging, especially in outsourcing relationships. Differences in industry standards, process variations, or unique organizational requirements may make it difficult to find suitable benchmarks for comparison.

To overcome this challenge, organizations can collaborate with industry associations, engage in external benchmarking studies, or establish internal benchmarks based on historical performance data or best practices.

Limited Control in Outsourcing Relationships

When outsourcing business processes or functions, organizations may face challenges related to limited control over the outsourced activities.

This limited control can make it challenging to measure and improve KPIs, as organizations depend on the performance of external service providers. Effective governance mechanisms, regular performance evaluations, and open communication channels are essential to mitigate this challenge.

Collaborative partnerships and alignment of goals also help overcome the limited control challenge.

Which Tools and Technologies can be used for KPI Tracking?

Automated monitoring systems.

Automated monitoring systems play a crucial role in tracking KPIs efficiently and accurately. These systems collect and analyze relevant data automatically, eliminating manual data gathering and reducing human error.

Automated monitoring systems can be integrated with various IT and operational systems to capture real-time performance data. They provide organizations with comprehensive visibility into KPI performance, enabling proactive decision-making and performance management.

Performance Dashboards

Performance dashboards are visual tools that present KPIs and performance metrics in a concise and easily understandable format.

These dashboards offer real-time or near-real-time insights into KPI performance, allowing stakeholders to monitor performance trends, compare targets with actual, and identify areas for improvement. Performance dashboards can be customized to display relevant KPIs and provide drill-down capabilities for deeper analysis.

Data Visualization Tools

Data visualization tools help transform complex data sets into meaningful visual representations, such as graphs, charts, and diagrams. These tools enhance the interpretability and accessibility of KPI data, making it easier for stakeholders to comprehend and derive insights.

Data analytics tools can be used to highlight performance trends, identify correlations, or present patterns and outliers. By presenting data in a visually engaging manner, these tools make performance analysis more intuitive and effective.

Outsourcing KPI Case Studies Examples

Case study 1: cost savings achieved through outsourcing.

Company XYZ, a manufacturing organization, decided to outsource its logistics operations to a specialized third-party logistics provider.

The key KPI for this outsourcing engagement was cost savings. By partnering with the logistics provider, Company XYZ aimed to reduce transportation costs, optimize inventory management, and improve overall supply chain efficiency.

Over a period of six months, the outsourcing engagement resulted in a 20% reduction in logistics costs, leading to significant cost savings for the organization.

Case Study 2: Improving Customer Satisfaction through Outsourced Support

Company ABC, a software development company, faced challenges in meeting customer support demands due to limited resources and expertise.

To address this, they decided to outsource their customer support operations to a specialized service provider. Customer satisfaction was identified as the primary KPI for this outsourcing engagement. 

By leveraging the expertise of the service provider, Company ABC achieved a remarkable improvement in customer satisfaction levels, with an 80% increase in positive feedback and a significant decrease in customer complaints.

Case Study 3: Enhancing Efficiency and Productivity with Outsourcing

Organization PQR, a financial services provider, wanted to streamline its back-office operations and improve overall efficiency. They decided to outsource their data entry and processing functions to an offshore service provider.

Key KPIs for this outsourcing engagement included efficiency and productivity metrics, such as the number of transactions processed per hour and the accuracy of data entry. 

By leveraging the expertise and scalability of the service provider, Organization PQR achieved a 30% increase in operational efficiency and a significant reduction in error rates, resulting in enhanced productivity and cost savings.

What are the Benefits of Using KPIs in Outsourcing?

Improved performance measurement.

By using KPIs in outsourcing relationships, organizations gain a comprehensive and objective view of performance. KPIs provide real-time insights into various aspects of outsourcing engagements, helping organizations track progress, identify areas for improvement, and make data-driven decisions.

Improved performance measurement enables organizations to optimize their outsourcing relationships, drive continuous improvement, and enhance overall operational effectiveness.

Effective Vendor Management

KPIs play a crucial role in vendor management by providing organizations with the means to track and evaluate the performance of outsourcing vendors. By defining and monitoring relevant KPIs, organizations can assess vendor efficiency, quality of service, and adherence to contractual obligations.

Effective vendor management facilitates transparency, accountability, and open communication, fostering mutually beneficial and successful outsourcing relationships.

Facilitation of Continuous Improvement

KPIs enable organizations to identify performance gaps and initiate improvement initiatives proactively. By comparing KPI targets with actual performance, organizations can identify areas for optimization, implement corrective actions, and drive continuous improvement.

KPIs also provide a basis for benchmarking against industry standards or best practices, fostering a culture of learning and innovation within the organization and supporting ongoing process improvement efforts.

Better Decision Making

By using KPIs as performance indicators, organizations can make data-driven decisions based on objective insights. KPIs provide a quantifiable basis for evaluating the effectiveness and value of outsourcing engagements.

They help organizations assess ROI, evaluate the impact of outsourcing on key business objectives, and determine the feasibility of scaling or expanding outsourcing initiatives. With access to accurate and relevant KPI data, organizations can make informed decisions that align with their overall strategic goals.

In conclusion, KPIs are essential tools for measuring the performance and effectiveness of outsourcing engagements. By aligning KPIs with business objectives, setting SMART goals, and considering outsourcing specifics, organizations can effectively track and evaluate outsourcing relationships.

Tools and technologies such as automated monitoring systems, performance dashboards, and data visualization tools further enhance the efficiency and accuracy of KPI tracking.

KPIs provide organizations with valuable insights into cost savings, service quality, timeliness, customer and employee satisfaction, productivity, efficiency, contract compliance, risk management, and innovation.

By leveraging the benefits of KPIs, organizations can improve performance measurement, facilitate effective vendor management, drive continuous improvement, and make better-informed decisions when embarking on outsourcing initiatives.

KRA vs KPI: Difference Between KRA and KPI (with Examples)

Ever wondered about the new job, its roles and responsibilities, etc.? This is a common psychologically ingrained attitude of newly hired employees after onboarding to get a clear insight into the business objectives and their specific parameters that would add to the success of the organization as well as enhance their own productivity.

To clarify the confusion and provide employees with a clear picture of the description of their job role and the time assigned to achieve it, KRA (Key result areas) are designed. Further to keep a check on the leading indicators of performance metrics KPIs (key performance indicators) are evaluated.

For a business to grow it is extremely vital for the management to frame KRA of different employees and evaluate KPIs for measuring and tracking success. Now that a lot about KPI and KRA has been mentioned let us understand what KRA and KPI mean and how is it framed.

What Is KRA?

KRA the ‘Key result areas’ denotes the business performance metric, parameters, or objectives set for an employee according to their job position, role, and designation assigned, to achieve the overall business goals of the organization.

The KRAs are quantifiable and measurable values that help employees understand their roles and responsibilities clearly without perplexities and contribute to the success of the company in the long term.

The Key result area of different employees varies as per their job profile, location, business objectives, other strategic factors such as time zone, resource availability, employees performance metrics, etc.

KRAs are basically the expectations of management from the new employees as well as persisting employees. The internal promotion rate and appraisals are highly reliant on the accomplishment of quantifiable and measurable tasks drafted in the KRAs of different employees.

Furthermore, the business operations of the entire organization are heavily dependent on the appropriate framing of KRA as it not only gives an insight into the associated tasks but also highlights prioritized assignments to be completed within a particular time frame.

KRA serves as a blueprint for the employees irrespective of their designation or department to conduct their tasks efficiently with a clear vision hence discarding complexities.

What Is KPI?

KPIs focus on the key performance indicators which is used to measure the progress towards achieving the organizational goals. It measures the performance of individuals, teams, or groups by evaluating the perceptible and quantifiable metrics of measurable tasks assigned as per the KRA.

KPIs can be expressed using numbers, numeric values, percentages, ratios, currencies, indices, counts, and other units. The key activities that have quantifiable and measurable values are evaluated in key performance indicator to get an insight into employee performance in accomplishing business goals.

By documenting KPIs, employees can understand their job roles and areas of greys efficiently as well as combat inefficiencies with adequate training. KPI helps in tracking the progress of employees, making informed tailored decisions as per the company’s requirement, helps in evaluating the company’s operational efficiency, financial efficiency, and more.

Some other most critical KPI that measure the performance of key responsibility areas metrics include:

• Sales volume
• Customer Acquisition rate
• Attribution rate
• Profit margin
• Return on Investment
• Innovation Index
• Employee satisfaction index
• Employee engagement score
• Individual KPIs of employees
• Track progress of new product induction in the market.
• Risk Exposure and more.

Difference Between KRA And KPI

The key differences between KPI and KRA are significant as KRA is a strategic concept of framing tasks whereas KPIs measure performances. Let us understand it in brief.

How to Set KRA for Employees?

For setting up efficient KRA for employees, it is essential to take a few factors into consideration that would contribute to the business’s success.

The KRAs of different companies vary as per their location, company size, and policies yet there are some generic parameters and steps that are taken into consideration while drafting KRA for employees which include:

1. Profound Knowledge of Organizational Goals

The first and foremost parameter to set up KRA is to get a profound and brief knowledge of the goals of the organization. There can be long-term and short-term goals of the organization which should be analyzed accurately to frame KRA as per tasks precedence.

Identifying the key activities for goal accomplishments makes it easier for the HR manager to create, modify, rectify, or alter KRA as per the requirement of strategic goals hence, aligning the KRA with the overall target of the company.

2. Analyze Job profile

Next in a row is analyzing the job profile of the employee to get an insight into the strengths, weaknesses, profile scope, and job description details. This gives a clear picture of employees’ job roles and capabilities as well as helps draft KRAs which would keep up well with employees’ satisfaction.

Eccentric KRAs are vital reasons for employee turnover, negative growth, and an increase in attribution rates at the company. So, it is essential to analyze the job profile of employees before describing their key responsibility area.

3. Resource Availability

Scrutinizing the financial and non-financial metric or resources available in an organization that is required for the goal accomplishments of employees needs a thorough introspection before framing KRA.

Possibilities of maladministration arise when resource availableness doesn’t match with the KRA expectations, hence affecting the employee satisfaction index and the entire organization’s growth.

Measuring success of the organization depends on the KRA accomplishments so, checking the availability of resources is an important metric to frame the key measurable values.

4. Use SMART Technique

SMART technique denotes a comprehensive analysis of the workflow and workforce potent and key measurable values that affect or benefit the KRA of employees. It is vital to frame KRA keeping the SMART technique in consideration.

S – Specific: Setting specific roles for employees without overloading them with redundant tasks.

M – Measurable: The KRA drafted for employees should be measurable in terms of performance metrics, team performance indicators, customer satisfaction, key performance indicators KPIs, and more.

A – Achievable: The KRAs to be set should be realistic and not fictional, unreal, or irrelevant to an employee’s capability and capacity.

R – Realistic: The scope of KRA should match the skills and job profile of the employees.

T – Time Bound: The KRA’s for every employee should come up with an adequate time frame for tasks accomplishments to achieve business objectives and avoid missing deadlines.

5. Identify Possible Challenges

The next stride is to identify possible threats or challenges that can arise due to specifying KRAs and to prepare reinforcement to combat challenges in the future.

Business objectives are subject to uncertainties and unforeseen circumstances so while preparing KRAs of employees it is vital to evaluate the threats to keep their efficiency steady during a crisis.

6. Flexibility

Change is the only constant, business operations are dependent upon several factors such as sales volume, team performance, revenue generated, income sources, average order value of a particular product, better customer service, net promoter score , sales qualified leads, and more.

These factors do not stay constant throughout rather they take a toss with alterations in the market or degradation in employees’ performances. So, KRA should be kept flexible enough to review regulations, alter the scope, and make necessary alterations as per the suitability of circumstances to achieve business goals.

7. Employees Suggestions

Welcome suggestions from employees regarding their KRA this would not only add value to the KRA draft but also enhance employee satisfaction.

Employee feedback program highlights the challenges faced by an employee while adhering to the KRAs and provides management insight into the improvement areas.

It is a strategic factor in retaining the workforce as well as enhancing employee connection and reducing employee turnover.

How to Set KPIs for Employees?

The most critical factors that are considered to set the key performance indicators KPIs for employees include multiple parameters. Let us take a look at the steps

• Goals Alignment: While KPIs align with the business goal it is subject to alterations as per the prevailing market condition.
• Identify the Key factors
• Set Specific Measures
• Measures or units for measuring the performance.
• Quantify Data: For creating meaningful KPIs it is an important metric to make it measurable by using quantitative numeric data for representation. The objective analysis of quantitative data makes it more authentic and of high value.
• Equilibrate Qualitative & Quantitative Parameters: There are different types of key performance indicators so creating a balance between the two key measurable values, qualitative and quantitative parameters will benefit the organization. Quantifiable and measurable values will allow trend identification, performance comparison, etc. While qualitative parameters will allow contextual understanding of ‘how’ and ‘why’ behind the numbers.
• Implication of Leading and Lagging Technique: This evaluates the ‘future’ and ‘past’ outcomes. Leading indicators indicate proactive and predictive future performances. Whereas, Lagging indicators are the historical performances that have already occurred. This gives an insight into employees’ performances.
• Offer training and resources
• Rewards and recognition to valuable and productive employees
• Continuous monitoring and feedback for performance betterment and uncovering the lacking areas to work on.

KRA And KPI Examples

Both KPI and KRA have the common objective of achieving organizational goals. A few examples of KPI and KRA are as follows:

➔ KRA and KPI of Human Resource Manager

➔ kra and kpi of finance manager, ➔ kra and kpi of marketing manager, ➔ kra and kpi of operations manager, ➔ kra and kpi of sales manager, faqs (frequently asked questions), 1) what is the full form of kra.

KRA refers to ‘Key Results Areas’ are crucial specific tasks or responsibilities that are essential for goal achievement in the organization.

2) What is KPI vs KRI vs KRA?

KRA: KRA refers to key results areas which are strategic concepts used to define the responsibilities of individuals, groups, or organizations to achieve the business’s success and goals.

KPI: Key performance indicators (KPIs) is used to measure performance of individuals, teams, groups, or organization as a whole to achieve specific goals and targets.

KRI: Key Risk Indicators are used to evaluate metrics to identify potential risks that can affect the organization’s future contingency.

3) What is KRA for employees?

The type of employees varies as per their job roles and departments. KRA for different employees differs accordingly. A few Generic KRAs for employees include:

• Targets accomplishments
• Prompt and on-schedule task completion
• Enhance efficiency
• Elevate productivity
• Compliance adherence and more.

4) What are the KRA in HR?

The key results areas in HR include:

• Talent Acquisition & Recruitment
• Employee engagement and development
• Training, development, and mentorship of employees
• Maintaining a healthy work environment
• Diversity and inclusion
• Performance management and more.

5) Why is it important to define KRAs?

It is vital to define KRA to get a clear picture of specific tasks that are important for the accomplishment of organizational success and goals. It helps keep the workforce of the organization away from perplexities and confusion.

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