Everything You Need to Know about KPIs and KPI Training

KPIs & KPI training are an integral part of any business and any business that neglects to use them could very well end up going under. That is never good for business and that is why you need to be implementing some of these ideas into your company. Effectively, a KPI is a Key Performance Indicator and it is essentially a measurement that companies can use to evaluate performance.

These measurements are taken according to specific goals and criteria that have relevance and meaning to the business. They are aligned with company objectives and needs, and they are put in place to make sure that the staff is working according to a common goal.  When you have everyone working towards the company’s best interest, you are guaranteed to have a successful business, no matter what the circumstances are.

Defining KPIs and Making them Work

In order to get a better insight into what is happening with your company, you need to create KPIs that will highlight all the key areas that play a critical role in keeping the business going. The performance carried out in each area also has to be measurable and marked, so that you can keep track of past and current performance. The ability to track also means that a comparison can be made and an employee can be made aware of how they are performing in their job.

When it comes to making KPIs work, the process is simple; all you have to do is tie in their monthly remuneration into the KPIs and your staff will immediately see the benefit of sticking to them. You can set minimum performance standards that need to be adhered to, and if they are not met, then their salaries are penalised for it. However, whenever they exceed the minimum requirements, then they are well rewarded for it.

Some Ideas for KPIs in Your Own Business

You may be wondering what you can measure for KPIs, or perhaps you have already done some research and you have seen how many there are, in which case, you are probably still wondering which ones to use. Well KPIs are industry and business specific, so you only need to pick the ones that apply to your business. For example, there is no need to create an environmental KPI for a call centre position, where SLAs would be your priority.

Operational goals can be measured by implementing 6 Sigma processes and measuring them. You could also measure things like time, to market or inventory shrinkage rate and it would still be in line with your operational goals. The same can be said for market goals, customer goals and employee performance, as they each have their own unique KPIs that can be applied to company objectives.

Professional Training is Essential for Management

KPI training is essential if you want to ensure that your managers are setting their goals correctly and aligning them with company requirements. They also have to understand how and why they have to measure all these things, in order to make sure that your staff managed and measured correctly. Managers can learn to outline business objectives clearly and scrap all the unnecessary data, while focusing on all the essential parts of the business.

KPI training is generally quite quick in terms of the course duration, you do however, still get in-depth courses that last a little longer, but they will normally fall part of a bigger curriculum. The training teaches business leaders to understand organisational goals and their importance, and then they learn to create KPIs that align staff performance to those goals. They also learn how to guide and motivate staff to work towards their KPIs effectively, so that they have the best possible impact for the business.

KPIs & KPI Training for Your Business

As you can see, KPIs & KPI training, play an integral part for any business, and whether you have to establish KPIs or you need to train your managers up to create effective ones, it is possible to get your managers and business leaders up-skilled, to a point where they can align company actions with company goals. Once you have that in place, there is no limit to where your company can go in the future.