Posts Tagged ‘kpi models’

Evaluating KPI Models

Saturday, January 10th, 2009

Various KPI models are available online. These online vendors provide KPI solutions to companies that need an efficient KPI-based system.

An increasing number of companies have decided to use key performance indicators (KPIs) as a means of improving organizational performance and achieving overall goals. While there are various KPI models that companies can choose from, using KPIs does not always mean successful implementation. To ensure success, there is a need to prepare for KPI implementation thoroughly. This would include following all the recommended stages for the integration of these indicators into business processes.

Key performance indicators (KPIs) are metrics or measures that are used by organizations to define and measure progress. These are usually incorporated in the different Business Intelligence techniques to evaluate current business processes. When these indicators are monitored in real-time, they become a vital part of a company’s business activity monitoring (BAM). KPIs are also often used to assess or measure certain aspects of business operations that may otherwise be difficult to assign a quantitative value to, like employee or customer satisfaction, leadership development, or service quality. They are likewise often integrated into a company’s strategic plans as exemplified in such management techniques like the Balanced Scorecard approach.

When using KPIs, it is important to keep in mind that they are distinct from performance targets or business goals and aims. The former are designed to function as a monitoring facility that is used to move the organization toward its goals. These indicators are also created to provide proof that performance targets are met. Generally, KPIs are quantitative in nature. That is, they can be expressed in numerical figures. However, some indicators are qualitative, as they are directional and actionable in nature.

In building a KPI-based performance evaluation system, the information infrastructure used by the business should reflect the information crucial to their operations. Moreover, the KPI framework devised should encompass such aspects as the company’s goals and plans, the methods for assessing output quality, facilitating and implementing procedures, as well as employee requirements. When integrating KPIs into a company’s performance evaluation system, it is crucial that relevant indicators be identified by managers. This is something that is not easy to do. After all, with all the seemingly important metrics available, it might be tricky to choose only a few of them. Ideally, the SMART criteria should be used in KPI selection. That is, a KPI should be specific, measurable, achievable, result-oriented, and time-bound.

Organizational success is highly dependent on intelligent KPI. Therefore, it is also essential for companies to use intelligent KPI models or software to measure or analyze these metrics. Having sophisticated technology will provide companies with a more efficient framework in executing multi-level analysis on business processes, profitability, and other metrics that affect organizational performance. Fortunately, a number of KPI model vendors exist online. These online companies offer their clients the technology that will enable the latter to easily plan and define KPIs and integrate those to short-term goals as well as strategic organizational goals. Some of these performance evaluation solutions even recommend certain indicators that are critical for business financial processes, like expense and accounts payable management.