A common question I get from clients is how to get buy-in and more enthusiasm about KPIs.
Employees tend to look at KPIs as a management tool to evaluate their work. This leads to self-defence, blaming others or hiding problems.
To overcome this, shift the focus of your KPIs to monitor process performance.
Let me explain why with a couple of examples.
First, process KPIs remove threat and encourage engagement.
For example, measuring the average duration of customer support calls creates pressure for the agents to rush through calls. Instead, measure the first call resolution rate for the queue. The shift exposes call routing and training gaps. Agents for the queue become engaged in fixing problems rather than defending their own numbers.
Second, process KPIs build collective ownership.
For example, measuring individual sales close rate leads to hoarding of sales leads. Instead, measure pipeline conversion rate by sales stage. The shift from individual close rate to pipeline stage conversion rate incentivizes the team to improve the sales approach.
Process KPIs makes the manager’s job easier to sell to the team because the goal is to evaluate how well work flows. The approach encourages teams to collaborate and tackle systems problems.
For more tips on KPIs, check out my YouTube channel.
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