Recently we have been doing a lot of work with companies on trying to get the right metrics for their business. Done well, implementing the right set of metrics or KPIs can be a real game changer in transforming business growth. But it’s not easy to get this right. 

So here are a few tips based on our experience:

1. Keep it small - All too often we see clients come back with long lists of metrics or KPIs.  The number needs to be small – think 5 rather than 15. Each member of the senior team should be able to recite them and their current status off the top of their head. 
2. Easy to measure - Another fatal error we often see is that the metric is not easy to measure.  Sounds like a contradiction – but if it takes two man-days to produce the report that tells us where we are on that metric….well you can guess the rest yourself. So remember easy access to the data is vital to success.
3. Reporting - There is an old business saying if it isn’t measured it doesn’t matter or something along those lines. But the reality is – if no one is asking or looking for reports on how that metric/KPI is performing then nothing will happen. Once the key metrics for the business have been defined, then it is the business of the senior team to obsess about them!