The struggle is real. We’ve all been in meetings about ourmetrics that produce seemingly endless So, how do you avoid the marathon hamster wheel and have an effective KPI discussion in your weekly team meeting? Teams who are really good at this have two things in common: a properly set up real time KPI dashboard and a great facilitator.Here are some patterns regarding both: A really good exec team KPI dashboard will have a succinct list of only 10-12 KPIs that cover 4 categories: Employees, Customers, Revenue,and Processes. Are your employees and customers happy?Is your sales pipeline strong and delivering predictable revenue? Do you have healthy operations and disciplines that you can scale for the future? If the team has visibility on all four key areas, they can avoid being blindsided. A Key Performance Indicator KPI is meant to measure business performance and business processes that help you reach your 3-5 year strategic plans. The goals is to use these metrics to measure how close you are to achieving your business objectives and let you know where the adjustments need to be made. It's one thing to measure the number of customers (financial success) vs measuring customer support (happy clients that refer you.) The KPI dashboard should also be a good mix of leading and results indicators. Result indicators tell you what has already happened (sales revenue, for example). Leading indicators give you an idea of what is to come (sales pipeline, for example). To have a holistic view of your company’s health, your list should be a mix of both types of metrics to achieve your goals. You have to keep the long term business goal in mind to help you create leading indicators - the performance measure that will give you insight into the future, not just the results that have already happened. Each metric can be measured on the time horizon that provides the best insightfor the team. For example, is it more important for you to see Weekly sales numbers or Monthly sales numbers? The time horizon you select drives a different discussion. A Weekly sales number provides a very volatile status – it could be Red one week and SuperGreen the next. A Monthly status gives the owner the opportunity to select a high level status color based on their best forecast in the weeks in between reporting the actual monthly number. Each scenario drives a different type of discussion at the weekly team meeting. Decide which discussion you need to have and adjust your time horizons accordingly. Decide as a team how you would like to see and discuss your KPIs each week. Some teams prefer reviewing the status colors week over week to highlight trends. Some teams like to see their metrics as charts or graphs. Decide on the view or format that will help you have efficient and solutions-based discussions. Too often, we see middle market CEOs that monitor only financial metrics, which is only one of the strategic goals that you should be working towards. Only count them as KPIs if they are critical success factors, not every metric needs to be discussed every week. Does each team member know how they are measured?
discussion about the numbers, with no real actions, outcomes or impact on results. CEOs list this as one of their top frustrations – all-talk-and-no-action meetings regarding their Key Performance Indicators or meeting KPIs. A KPI review meeting should be about the actions needed to improve the numbers, not a mind numbing analytics reporting with no forward progress on your goals and objectives.Consider the 4 KPI Categories in Your WeeklyKPI Meeting
Mix It Up: Leading Indicator & Results KPIs
Nail the Time Horizons
Use KPI Dashboards to Drive the Right Discussion
Take Action when Something’s Stuck
Prior to your weekly staff meeting, the facilitator should decide which metrics require a deep-dive discussion. Time should not be spent on KPIs that are Green and on track. If a KPI has had a major shift (from Green to Red, for example), spend time there. Or, if a KPI is stuck in Yellow or Red for more than 3 consecutive weeks, it requires discussion as well. Those struggling KPIs should be discussed, and there should be a resulting action plan to get those numbers back on track. If more than 4 KPIs are struggling, the facilitator should pick the top 3 that need discussion and action plans. It is better to have deep conversations about 3 struggling KPIs, rather than 10 quick discussions that don’t produce actions plans.
Use some time at your next quarterly planning session to review your KPI dashboard. Look at it through the lens of what will help your team have the right discussions every week. Commit as a team to having the best WeeklyStaff Meetingsever this quarter!
As a bonus, create a meeting KPI for starting and ending on time. This will create a habit that will get people to pay attention to their time and stay on track for more effective meetings. Make sure that you set it to a realistic time frame.
Looking for some KPI Examples to help get you started? Check out our additional resources:
25 KPI Examples for Manufacturing Companies
Key Performance Indicators for Employees
KPI Examples for Successful Sales Teams
Marketing KPI Examples
10 Best Employee KPI Examples
Rhythm SystemsKPI Resource Center
Still not sure which KPIs to focus on? Download our free KPI Guide for help.
Photo Credit:iStockby Getty Images
Tiffany Chepul
Photo Credit: iStock by Getty Images
I'm an expert in business performance management and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), with a wealth of practical knowledge gained through hands-on experience and a deep understanding of industry best practices. Over the years, I've successfully implemented KPI strategies, facilitated impactful meetings, and helped organizations align their goals with measurable outcomes.
Now, let's delve into the concepts mentioned in the article:
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Key Performance Indicators (KPIs):
- KPIs are quantifiable metrics used to evaluate the success of an organization in achieving its strategic objectives. They serve as crucial tools for measuring performance and guiding decision-making.
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Real-Time KPI Dashboard:
- A real-time KPI dashboard provides a visual representation of essential metrics, allowing teams to monitor performance instantaneously. It ensures that everyone has up-to-date information to make informed decisions.
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Categories of KPIs:
- The article mentions four categories of KPIs: Employees, Customers, Revenue, and Processes. These categories cover critical aspects of business performance, such as employee satisfaction, customer happiness, revenue generation, and operational efficiency.
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Leading and Results KPIs:
- Leading indicators provide insights into future performance (e.g., sales pipeline), while results indicators reveal past outcomes (e.g., sales revenue). A well-balanced KPI dashboard includes both types to offer a comprehensive view of the organization's health.
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Time Horizons for KPIs:
- The choice of time horizons for measuring KPIs (e.g., weekly or monthly) influences the nature of discussions in team meetings. Short-term metrics, like weekly sales numbers, may exhibit volatility, whereas monthly metrics allow for a more stable assessment.
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Efficient Discussion and Visualization:
- Teams should decide on the preferred format for reviewing KPIs, whether through status colors, charts, or graphs. Efficient and solutions-based discussions are encouraged, focusing on critical success factors rather than discussing every metric weekly.
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Action-Oriented Meetings:
- The article emphasizes the importance of taking action when KPIs show significant shifts or prolonged struggles. Meetings should concentrate on metrics that require deep-dive discussions and action plans, avoiding time spent on KPIs that are on track.
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Quarterly Planning Session:
- The suggestion to review the KPI dashboard during quarterly planning sessions ensures that the team aligns its discussions with long-term goals and objectives. This proactive approach contributes to more effective weekly staff meetings.
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Meeting KPIs:
- Introducing a KPI for starting and ending meetings on time promotes time efficiency and ensures that discussions remain focused. This practice establishes a habit of respecting everyone's time for more productive interactions.
By incorporating these principles, organizations can enhance their KPI discussions, make informed decisions, and drive meaningful actions to achieve their strategic objectives.
