Key Performance Indicators examples: 55 metrics to use

In this article, I have decided to focus on specific Key Performance Indicators examples.

I recently highlighted the importance of corporate performance indicators in terms of operational and strategic improvement.

To this end, the secret to effective use of KPIs is to choose the functional metric to measure a relevant and performing goal. This way you can:

• Create an analytical database to optimize your decision-making.
• Focus attention on what matters most.

“What is measured is done” (cit. Peter Drucker)

When you decide to use the management method with KPIs, you need to set strategic goals, corresponding to the expected level of performance, and monitor progress in relation to those goals.

 

What are KPIs?

 

The acronym KPI (Key Performance Indicator) refers to a management tool that allows you to measure performance with respect to the set goal and to quantify the aforementioned performance over a predetermined period of time.

When we work with KPIs, the effort is concentrated on improving those indicators that can bring benefits in the short, medium, or long term (depending on the reference objective).

With the key performance indicators:

• The team has a goal to aim for
• The manager makes functional decisions to improve the organization
• Together they reach useful milestones for evaluating progress

 

What are KPIs for?

 

Each sector can use KPIs to progress in the micro and macro objectives within the organization. Below I will show some Key Performance Indicators examples, relating to different business areas: the flexibility of the KPIs is what allows them to be applied in various contexts.

Being modular, however, is not the only reason why companies and organizations use key performance indicators. Among the other advantages I would like to highlight the following:

• They provide objective data and real numbers on the progress towards achieving the result
• They help detect what is important to improve decision making
• They allow a comparison of the variation of performances over a period of time
• They track efficiency and effectiveness, as well as metrics such as quality and compliance.

 

What are the types of KPIs?

 

Although modular and applicable to various business sectors and to different strategic areas, the KPIs can be classified according to the type of focus.

• Strategic KPIs: the key performance indicators included here are designed to monitor the general framework and the health of the organization. These are 1 maximum 3 KPIs that indicate how the organization is moving at a macro level in the reference context and in the medium-long term. Examples of strategic KPIs are revenues or market shares.
• Operational KPIs: the goal of these KPIs is generally short-term and the measured performance relates to processes and organizational efficiency. Examples of operational KPIs are zone sales and CPA (Cost Per Acquisition).
• Function KPIs: they are linked to specific company functions or areas, such as marketing, finance, HR, and so on. A function KPI, depending on the objective, can also be classified as strategic or as operational. Below I will show you many examples of function KPIs.

 

How are the KPIs structured?

 

To write a good KPI you essentially need clarity:

• Who uses the KPIs? Focus on the team
• What do you want to achieve? Focus on the goal
• How do you proceed? Focus on strategic milestones and how you intend to measure them

Once you have answered the above questions, you will find yourself managing the process or project with a set of SMART KPIs, namely:

• Specific: define the contours of the lens, avoiding vagueness and dispersiveness.
• Measurable: if you can’t measure it it’s not a goal, which is why you need to be able to quantify progress.
• Attainable: the objective must be achieved within the established time and with the resources available.
• Realistic: when the goal is achievable it is also realistic, i.e. commensurate with the resources and the maximum effort they can produce to achieve a goal relevant to the purpose.
• Time-bound: KPIs always have timing that includes a beginning and an end of the process, with intermediate stages useful for measuring progress.

 

 

I add another feature that I mentioned a little above flexibility. KPIs can be used in different business areas and in organizations of various sizes and sectors.

The flexibility of company performance indices concerns both application and management: if during monitoring it is found that some KPIs are no longer effective or relevant, they can be replaced or modified.

 

What do the company’s Key Performance Indicators measure?

 

After you have structured the best possible KPI, depending on the type of goal you can measure:

• Inputs: are the measures of the attributes (for example quantity and quality) of the resources used in the processes to produce outputs.
• Output: they are result/product measures that quantify the work done. They can be related to intermediate results or to final results. Example KPI marketing for intermediate result output: brand awareness (branding metrics). Marketing KPI example for final result output: customer loyalty (loyalty metrics), resulting from the brand awareness campaign.
• Processes: process measures are those relating to the efficiency, quality, and consistency of the activities carried out to produce a specific output.
• Projects: the measure of the project answers questions about the status of the results and the progress of the intermediate results (milestones) regarding the initiatives launched in a project context.
• Risk: risk measures focus on the threats to our success and on the factors that can affect progress towards the goal.
  Employees: these are the measures that make it possible to evaluate the professional skills and work performance necessary to implement the strategy.

 

Key Performance Indicators examples: which metrics to use?

 

Before proceeding with the practical KPI examples I have prepared for this post, I focus on the terminology and structure of the KPIs.

Here is a practical case study.

Scenario: Alba Coffee is a company that sells coffee. Slogan: “The best good morning there is”.

Input: fixed costs and variable costs (for example production, transport, storage, personal volume)

Output: coffee (for example quality, taste, packaging, etc.)

Results to be monitored: annual sales and market shares

In the image below I have set the KPIs for the case study in question.

 

The Key Performance Indicators are the results you need to measure because they have the greatest impact on the organization’s progress towards its mission of success.

 

Key Performance Indicators financial examples

 

Finance within an organization can choose to monitor various metrics, in order to produce related reports and verify opportunities and threats. Below I leave you 7 examples of financial KPIs to consider while defining the key performance indicators in this area.

1. Gross profit margin (%)
2. Operating profit margin (%)
3. Net profit margin (%)
4. Debt / equity ratio (D / E)
5. Expected return on assets
6. Credit turnover index
7. Budget changes

 

 

Key Performance Indicators examples for sale

 

The key sales performance indicators are fundamental in achieving the objectives. Monitoring them allows managers and teams to pinpoint what is working (and to what extent) in the sales strategy. Here are the 7 examples of must-have sales KPIs:

1. New incoming contacts
2. Lead conversion (%)
3. Average order value
4. Upselling value (%)
5. Customer loyalty rate
6. Sales volume by location
7. Change in sales on an annual, semi-annual, quarterly, or Month-over-Month basis

 

Key Performance Indicators marketing examples

 

The key performance indicators are highly functional in measuring all phases of the customer/user channeling. The 9 examples of marketing KPIs that you find below allow you to obtain useful data for in-depth analysis, allowing you to align the area objectives with the strategic ones for the organization.

1. Marketing Qualified Leads (MQL)
2. Sales Qualified Leads (SQL)
3. Return on ad spend (ROAS)
4. Conversion rates (for specific goals)
5. Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)
6. Organic traffic and leads report
7. Cost per lead
8. Cost Per Acquisition (CPA)
9. ROI of social campaigns

 

 

Key Performance Indicators customer support examples

 

The customer service manager can use the KPIs to monitor short-term or long-term results, all however aimed at achieving customer service, employee efficiency, and cost control objectives. I have chosen 7 examples of key performance indicators that allow for a broad and defined overview of the functional area in question.

1. Response time
2. First call resolution bound
3. Number of problems classified by type
4. Average resolution time
5. Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT)
6. Net Promoter Score (NPS)
7. Cost per conversation

 

 

Key Performance Indicators eCommerce examples

 

If online sales are part of the core business, ad hoc KPIs will have to be studied. Among those possible, I would like to point out 5 metrics that can provide representative data.

1. Average Order Value (AOV – Average Order Value)
2. Cost Per Acquisition (CPA – Cost Per Acquisition)
3. Cart abandonment rate
4. Conversion rate
5. Pageviews per visit

 

 

Key Performance Indicators HR examples

 

As regards the functional KPIs for the human resources area, it is appropriate to diversify them into 3 areas:

• Workforce management
• HR costs
• Recruiting

Here, I have compiled the main key indicators in each area, giving you a way to choose from 20 examples of HR KPIs.

 

Practical examples of human capital management KPIs

 

1. Absenteeism rate
2. ROI for outsourcing services
3. ROI for training
4. Composition of workers by gender, experience, and role
5. Employee satisfaction rate
6. Promotion rate

 

HR cost KPI practical examples

 

1. Full-Time Equivalent FTE Labor Cost
2. Percentage of personnel cost incidence on turnover
3. Total benefits as a percentage of labor costs
4. ROI of human capital
5. Functional cost of human resources per employee

 

KPI recruiting examples

 

1. Vacancy rate
2. Rotation rate
3. Discharge rate
4. Retirement rate forecast
5. Voluntary turnover rate
6. Retention rate
7. Metrics on the recruitment funnel
8. New talent entry / exit ratio
9. Recruitment fees for new hires

 

 

Final tips for the best performing business KPIs

 

Although each organization is unique, the real strength of KPIs is that they manage to function in diversified contexts, contributing to the achievement of priority results and the improvement of strategic performance.

KPIs are used when you are able to measure what really matters, that is when you select those indicators, based on the data of relevant history, which allow you to anticipate trends and make the most impactful decisions to improve results.

What have I learned from my experience in the field? To know how to exploit their flexibility. If I have chosen a set of KPIs that do not provide the expected results, I can adjust the game based on changes in the organization or in the market. For this modulation tactic to be truly effective, you will first need to understand what changes are necessary and sufficient and then post an update so that the entire team involved is aware of the new setting.

The latter aspect highlights the importance of creating a KPI-based corporate culture: management by objectives loses its effectiveness and empties its value if individuals and teams do not understand what KPIs are and what they are for.

It will therefore be appropriate to work on organizational literacy so that leaders and managers learn to work on data in order to achieve macro-level objectives. At the same time, it will be necessary to implement an education program for collaborators/employees so that they learn to make decisions based on the micro-level objectives assigned to them.

As soon as this ecosystem becomes operational, consistent and constant, we witness the measured and measurable progress of projects, processes and systems.

 

 

If you want to share with me which KPIs you have used for your business, or if you are looking for specialized advice to make high-impact decisions, based on analytical data and strategic objectives, do not hesitate to contact me.