The Power of a Key Performance Indicator!
So what is all the fuss about? What are they really? Why are Key Performance Indicators important in your business?
If your nodding you are head in agreeance you’ll find your not alone, so many business owners out there are busy enough in doing the day to day tasks let alone reporting on ‘KPIs’! But if you’re frustrated by not getting the results you had hoped for, then setting KPIs might be the answer you have been looking for. KPIs give you insights into your business, so you can be informed early on what is working and what isn’t. It can lead you to make those necessary adjustments quickly.
To break it down for you a KPI is:
- Key to the success of your business.
- It is related to Performance. When it can be clearly measured and quantified, it is therefore influenced by your business’s actions.
- It is used as an Indicator and it informs you on what is working and what isn’t.
Essentially, the KPIs for your business should provide visibility into the current activities that is impacting the business, from marketing strategies, to sales reps and to the products and/or services offered.
The ‘Power’ harnessed by KPIs:
- They will help you make better decisions. As a business owner, you can’t rely on hope and assumptions; you must have the real data, in real time. This data will reveal what is going on, so you can take action now before it is too late.
- This leads to better execution. By identifying, measuring and – most of all – reporting to the right KPIs is will instill confidence in the business that will amplify the execution of projects and tasks to a higher standard.
- KPIs set expectations and improve communication. Defining KPIs for any business will deliver clarity to business owners. With clarity comes clearer communication to staff and articulates the benchmarks they need to be working towards.
- A clear focus on KPIs will change your businesses behavior. Having a clear set of standards that everyone is working towards unifies the business and allows staff to devote more time and energy to these areas that matter.
- Focusing on a core set of KPIs will keep staff activities consistent. There is an old saying; “People don’t do what is expected, the only do what is inspected.” When your staff understand what you are going to inspect every week, they are much more likely to do them every week!
- Tracking KPIs takes the guesswork out of the evaluation. If you don’t regularly track business performance against a set of standard KPI metrics, then you don’t really have any objective basis for evaluating the business performance. Having KPIs alleviates the guesswork and presents the data you need in making those key decisions.
- Effective business decisions begin with KPIs. The greatest value of tracking KPIs is the information they reveal about where each aspect of the business is doing well, and where it might need help to do better.
If you’re wanting to know where to start with KPIs in your business, we can help! We work with business owners in identifying KPIs that will accelerate growth in your business. If you want to know more book in for a complimentary business review today.