These are crazy times we find ourselves in right now. I have heard more than one person say that they have never experienced anything like this in their lifetime—and a few of the folks are a bit more senior than me! That being said, I am so proud of the companies I work with and the friends that I have that run their own businesses. Everyone is doing everything they can to take care of their employees and service their customers to the best of their abilities. Most are doing a really great job despite the social, environmental and supply chain challenges.
There are a lot of things outside our control right now, but there are a few things we can control like good planning with our teams, strong communication and monitoring the right key performance indicators (KPIs). It is important to have the crucial, few KPIs in place to monitor critical items, drive the right behavior and measure your results. I recommend auditing your KPIs on a quarterly basis regardless of the circumstances, and it is even more important now.
With that in mind, I have put together a list of KPIs to consider with some input from my colleagues for your consideration:
- Cashflow Runway
- Accounts Receivable - Number of days outstanding
- Cash on Hand
- Available Credit
- Client Health Index
- Client Retention
- Employee Health Index
- Employee Turnover
- # Self Reported High Risk Employees
- Number of Sick Employees
- Customer Fill Rate
- On-time delivery
- Procurement – Supply Chain Issues
- Sales Pipeline
- Number of First Appointments Set
- Number of Second Appointments Set
- RFPs (request for proposals) Received
- Number of Proposals Sent
- Number of Proposals Signed
- Backlog
- Average Time to Problem Resolution
Now I am not suggesting you start measuring all of these KPIs. It depends on the business you are in and what challenges you are facing. I always say fewer is better when you track KPIs so that you do not begin to gloss over them in your weekly meetings. You can test some of these KPIs to see if they are helping you run the business better and respond to the current circumstance more effectively. It is important to take a balanced approach. I suggest having a few KPIs in four key areas: Employees, Customers, Revenue and Processes. Also, it’s important to have a good balance of leading and lagging indicators. There are other KPIs you need to run your business at various levels, but I believe these suggestions rise to the top at this time and merit consideration.
As always, please let me and the rest of our readers know your thoughts and suggestions.
Stay safe and healthy,
Alan
Check out these additional KPI resources:
33 KPI Examples to Measure Productivity & Prevent Organizational Drag
25 KPI Examples for Manufacturing Companies
Employee KPI Examples: How to Measure What (or Who) You Want to Move (Video)
KPI Examples for Successful Sales Teams
Rhythm Systems KPI Resource Center
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