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KPIs: What Are Key Performance Indicators? Types and Examples

meaning of kpi report

What Are Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)?

Key performance indicators (KPIs) are quantifiable measurements used to gauge a company’s overall long-term performance. KPIs specifically help determine a company’s strategic, financial, and operational achievements, especially compared to those of other businesses within the same sector.

Key Takeaways

  • Key performance indicators (KPIs) measure a company’s success vs. a set of targets, objectives, or industry peers.
  • KPIs can be financial, including net profit (or the bottom line, net income), revenues minus certain expenses, or the current ratio (liquidity and cash availability).
  • Customer-focused KPIs generally center on per-customer efficiency, customer satisfaction, and customer retention.
  • Process-focused KPIs aim to measure and monitor operational performance across the organization.
  • Businesses generally measure and track KPIs through analytics software and reporting tools.

Jiaqi Zhou / Investopedia

Understanding Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

Also referred to as key success indicators (KSIs), KPIs vary between companies and between industries, depending on performance criteria. For example, a software company striving to attain the fastest growth in its industry may consider year-over-year (YOY) revenue growth as its chief performance indicator. Conversely, a retail chain might place more value on same-store sales as the best KPI metric for gauging growth.

At the heart of KPIs lie data collection, storage, cleaning, and synthesizing. The information may be financial or nonfinancial and may relate to any department across the company. The goal of KPIs is to communicate results succinctly to allow management to make more informed strategic decisions.

Key performance indicators (KPIs) gauge a company’s output against a set of targets, objectives, or industry peers.

Categories of KPIs

Most KPIs fall into four different categories, with each category having its own characteristics, time frame, and users.

  • Strategic KPIs are usually the most high-level. These types of KPIs may indicate how a company is doing, although it doesn’t provide much information beyond a very high-level snapshot. Executives are most likely to use strategic KPIs, and examples of strategic KPIs include return on investment , profit margin , and total company revenue .
  • Operational KPIs are focused on a much tighter time frame. These KPIs measure how a company is doing month over month (or even day over day) by analyzing different processes, segments, or geographical locations. These operational KPIs are often used by managing staff and to analyze questions that are derived from analyzing strategic KPIs. For example, if an executive notices that company-wide revenue has decreased, they may investigate which product lines are struggling.
  • Functional KPIs hone in on specific departments or functions within a company. For example, the finance department may keep track of how many new vendors they register within their accounting information system each month, while the marketing department measures how many clicks each email distribution receives. These types of KPIs may be strategic or operational but provide the greatest value to one specific set of users.
  • Leading/lagging KPIs describe the nature of the data being analyzed and whether it is signaling something to come or something that has already occurred. Consider two different KPIs: the number of overtime hours worked and the profit margin for a flagship product. The number of overtime hours worked may be a leading KPI should the company begin to notice poorer manufacturing quality. Alternatively, profit margins are a result of operations and are considered a lagging indicator.

Types of KPIs

Financial metrics and kpis.

Key performance indicators tied to the financials typically focus on revenue and profit margins. Net profit, the most tried and true of profit-based measurements, represents the amount of revenue that remains, as profit for a given period, after accounting for all of the company’s expenses, taxes, and interest payments for the same period.

Financial metrics may be drawn from a company’s financial statements. However, internal management may find it more useful to analyze different numbers that are more specific to analyzing the problems or aspects of the company that management wants to analyze. For example, a company may leverage variable costing to recalculate certain account balances for internal analysis only.

Examples of financial KPIs include:

  • Liquidity ratios (i.e., current ratios , which divide current assets by current liabilities): These types of KPIs measure how well a company will manage short-term debt obligations based on the short-term assets it has on hand.
  • Profitability ratios (i.e., net profit margin): These types of KPIs measure how well a company is performing in generating sales while keeping expenses low.
  • Solvency ratios (i.e., total debt-to-total-assets ratio ): These types of KPIs measure the long-term financial health of a company by evaluating how well a company will be able to pay long-term debt.
  • Turnover ratios (i.e., inventory turnover): These types of KPIs measure how quickly a company can perform a certain task. For example, inventory turnover measures how quickly a company can convert an item from inventory to a sale. Companies strive to increase turnover to generate faster churn of spending cash to later recover that cash through revenue.

Customer Experience Metrics and KPI

Customer -focused KPIs generally center on per-customer efficiency, customer satisfaction, and customer retention. These metrics are used by customer service teams to better understand the service that customers have been receiving.

Examples of customer-centric metrics include:

  • Number of new ticket requests : This KPI counts customer service requests and measures how many new and open issues customers are having.
  • Number of resolved tickets : This KPI counts the number of requests that have been successfully taken care of. By comparing the number of requests to the number of resolutions, a company can assess its success rate in getting through customer requests.
  • Average resolution time : This KPI is the average amount of time needed to help a customer with an issue. Companies may choose to segment average resolution time across different requests (i.e., technical issue requests vs. new account requests).
  • Average response time : This KPI is the average amount of time needed for a customer service agent to first connect with a customer after the customer has submitted a request. Though the initial agent may not have the knowledge or expertise to provide a solution, a company may value decreasing the time that a customer is waiting for any help.
  • Top customer service agent : This KPI is a combination of any metric above cross-referenced by customer service representatives. For example, in addition to analyzing company-wide average response time, a company can determine the three fastest and slowest responders.
  • Type of request : This KPI is a count of the different types of requests. This KPI can help a company better understand the problems a customer may have (i.e., the company’s website gave incorrect or inaccurate directions) that need to be resolved by the company.
  • Customer satisfaction rating : This KPI is a vague measurement, though companies may perform surveys or post-interaction questionnaires to gather additional information on the customer’s experience.

KPIs are usually not externally required; they are simply internal measurements used by management to evaluate a company’s performance.

Process Performance Metrics and KPI

Process metrics aim to measure and monitor operational performance across the organization. These KPIs analyze how tasks are performed and whether there are process, quality, or performance issues. These types of metrics are most useful for companies with repetitive processes, such as manufacturing firms or companies in cyclical industries.

Examples of process performance metrics include:

  • Production efficiency : This KPI is often measured as the production time for each stage divided by the total processing time. A company may strive to spend only 2% of its time soliciting raw materials; if it discovers it takes 5% of the total process, then the company may strive for solicitation improvements.
  • Total cycle time : This KPI is the total amount of time needed to complete a process from start to finish. This may be converted to average cycle time if management wishes to analyze a process over a period of time.
  • Throughput : This KPI is the number of units produced divided by the production time per unit, measuring how fast the manufacturing process is.
  • Error rate : This KPI is the total number of errors divided by the total number of units produced. A company striving to reduce waste can better understand the number of items that are failing quality control testing.
  • Quality rate : This KPI focuses on the positive items produced instead of the negative. By dividing the successful units completed by the total number of units produced, this percentage informs management of its success rate in meeting quality standards.

Marketing KPIs

Marketing KPIs attempt to gain a better understanding of how effective marketing and promotional campaigns have been. These metrics often measure conversation rates on how often prospective customers perform certain actions in response to a given marketing medium. Examples of marketing KPIs include:

  • Website traffic : This KPI tracks the number of people who visit certain pages of a company’s website. Management can use this KPI to better understand whether online traffic is being pushed down potential sales channels and if customers are not being funneled appropriately.
  • Social media traffic : This KPI tracks the views, follows, likes, retweets, shares, engagement, and other measurable interactions between customers and the company’s social media profiles.
  • Conversion rate on call-to-action content : This KPI centers around focused promotional programs that ask customers to perform certain actions. For example, a specific campaign may encourage customers to act before a certain sale date ends. A company can divide the number of successful engagements by the total number of content distributions to understand what percent of customers answered the call to action.
  • Blog articles published per month : This KPI simply counts the number of blog posts a company publishes in a given month.
  • Click-through rates : This KPI measures the number of specific clicks that are performed on email distributions. For example, certain programs may track how many customers opened an email distribution, clicked on a link, and followed through with a sale.

A company may desire operational excellence; in this case, it may want to track how its internal technology (IT) department is operating. These KPIs may encourage a better understanding of employee satisfaction or whether the IT department is being adequately staffed. Examples of IT KPIs include:

  • Total system downtime : This KPI measures the amount of time that various systems must be taken offline for system updates or repairs. While systems are down, customers may be unable to place orders or employees may be unable to perform certain duties (i.e., when the accounting information system is down).
  • Number of tickets/resolutions : This KPI is similar to customer service KPIs. However, these tickets and resolutions relate to internal staff requests such as hardware or software needs, network problems, or other internal technology problems.
  • Number of developed features : This KPI measures internal product development by quantifying the number of product changes.
  • Count of critical bugs : This KPI counts the number of critical problems within systems or programs. A company will need to have its own internal standards for what constitutes a minor vs. major bug.
  • Back-up frequency : This KPI counts how often critical data is duplicated and stored in a safe location. In accordance with record retention requirements, management may set different targets for different bits of information.

The ultimate goal of a company is to generate revenue through sales. Though revenue is often measured through financial KPIs, sales KPIs take a more granular approach by leveraging nonfinancial data to better understand the sales process. Examples of sales KPIs include:

  • Customer lifetime value (CLV) : This KPI represents the total amount of money that a customer is expected to spend on your products over the entire business relationship.
  • Customer acquisition cost (CAC) : This KPI represents the total sales and marketing cost required to land a new customer. By comparing CAC to CLV, businesses can measure the effectiveness of their customer acquisition efforts.
  • Average dollar value for new contracts : This KPI measures the average size of new agreements. A company may have a desired threshold for landing larger or smaller customers.
  • Average conversion time : This KPI measures the amount of time from first contacting a prospective client to securing a signed contract to perform business.
  • Number of engaged leads : This KPI counts how many potential leads have been contacted or met with. This metric can be further divided into mediums such as visits, emails, phone calls, or other contacts with customers.

Management may tie bonuses to KPIs. For salespeople, their commission rate may depend on whether they meet expected conversion rates or engage in an appropriate number of leads.

Human Resource and Staffing KPIs

Companies may also find it beneficial to analyze KPIs specific to their employees. Ranging from turnover to retention to satisfaction, a company may have a wealth of information already available about its staff. Examples of human resource or staffing KPIs include:

  • Absenteeism rate : This KPI is a count of how many dates per year or specific period employees are calling in sick or missing shifts. This KPI may be a leading indicator for disengaged or unhappy employees.
  • Number of overtime hours worked : This KPI tracks the number of overtime hours worked to gauge whether employees are potentially facing burnout or if staffing levels are appropriate.
  • Employee satisfaction : This KPI often requires a company-wide survey to gauge how employees are feeling about various aspects of the company. To get the best value from this KPI, companies should consider hosting the same survey every year to track changes from one year to the next regarding the exact same questions.
  • Employee turnover rate : This KPI measures how often and quickly employees are leaving their positions. Companies can further break down this KPI across departments or teams to determine why some positions may be leaving faster than others.
  • Number of applicants : This KPI keeps count of how many applications are submitted to open job positions. This KPI helps assess whether job listings are adequately reaching a wide enough audience to capture interest and lure strong candidates.

Examples of KPIs

Let’s take a look at electric vehicle maker Tesla ( TSLA ) for a few examples of KPIs in real life. These numbers are from its fourth quarter (Q4) 2021 earnings release.

Vehicle Production

During the quarter, Tesla produced a record 305,840 vehicles and delivered 308,650 vehicles. Production is a big deal for the company because it has consistently been criticized for being bad at ramping up. Increased manufacturing scale means more market share and profits for Tesla.

Automotive Gross Margin

For the quarter, Tesla’s automotive gross margin expanded to 30.6%. Gross margin is one of the best measures of profitability for Tesla because it isolates its vehicle production costs. Tesla managed to expand its gross margin in Q4 even as sales of lower-priced models outpaced its higher-margin models.

Free Cash Flow

Tesla’s free cash flow clocked in at $2.8 billion during the quarter. That represented a vast improvement from the $1.9 billion free cash flow in the prior year. Tesla’s level of free cash flow production suggested that the company was reaching a scale of profitability without the help of regulatory credits.

Companies can use KPIs across three broad levels:

First, company-wide KPIs focus on the overall business health and performance. These types of KPIs are useful for informing management of how things are going. However, they are often not granular enough to make decisions. Company-wide KPIs often kick off conversations on why certain departments are performing well or poorly.

At this point, companies often begin digging into department-level KPIs. These are more specific than company-wide KPIs. Department-level KPIs are often more informative as to why specific outcomes are occurring. Many of the examples mentioned above are department-level KPIs, as they focus on a very niche aspect of a company.

If a company chooses to dig even deeper, it may engage with project-level or subdepartment-level KPIs. These KPIs are often specifically requested by management as they may require very specific data sets that may not be readily available. For example, management may want to ask very specific questions to a control group about a potential product rollout .

When preparing KPI reports, start by showing the highest level of data (i.e., company-wide revenue). Next, be prepared to show lower levels of data (i.e., revenue by department, then revenue by department and product).

With companies seemingly collecting more data every day, it can become overwhelming to sort through the information and determine what KPIs are most useful and impactful for decision-making. When beginning the process of pulling together KPI dashboards or reports, consider the following steps:

  • Discuss goals and intentions with business partners . KPIs are only as useful as the users make them. Before pulling together any KPI reports, understand what you or your business partner are attempting to achieve.
  • Draft SMART KPI requirements . KPIs should have restrictions and be tied to SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-bound) metrics. Vague, hard-to-ascertain, and unrealistic KPIs serve little to no value. Instead, focus on what information you have that is available and meeting the SMART acronym requirements.
  • Be adaptable . As you pull together KPI reports, be prepared for new business problems to appear and for further attention to be given to other areas. As business and customer needs change, KPIs should also adapt with certain numbers, metrics, and goals changing in line with operational evolutions.
  • Avoid overwhelming users . It may be tempting to overload report users with as many KPIs as you can fit on a report. At a certain point, KPIs start to become difficult to comprehend, and it may become more difficult to determine which metrics are important to focus on.

Advantages of KPIs

A company may wish to analyze KPIs for several reasons. KPIs help inform management of specific problems; the data-driven approach provides quantifiable information useful in strategic planning and ensuring operational excellence.

KPIs help hold employees accountable. Instead of relying on feelings or emotions, KPIs are statistically supported and cannot discriminate across employees. When used appropriately, KPIs may help encourage employees as they realize their numbers are being closely monitored.

KPIs are also the bridge that connects actual business operations and goals. A company may set targets, but without the ability to track progress toward those goals, there is little to no purpose in those plans. Instead, KPIs allow companies to set objectives, and then monitor progress toward those objectives.

Limitations of KPIs

There are some downsides to consider when working with KPIs. There may be a long time frame required for KPIs to provide meaningful data. For example, a company may need to collect annual data from employees for years to better understand trends in satisfaction rates over long periods of time.

KPIs require constant monitoring and close follow-up to be useful. A KPI report that is prepared but never analyzed serves no purpose. In addition, KPIs that are not continuously monitored for accuracy and reasonableness do not encourage beneficial decision making.

KPIs open up the possibility for managers to “game” KPIs. Instead of focusing on actually improving processes or results, managers may feel incentivized to focus on improving KPIs tied to performance bonuses . In addition, quality may decrease if managers are hyper-focused on productivity KPIs, and employees may feel pushed too hard to meet specific KPI measurements that may simply not be reasonable.

Informs management of how a company is performing in countless ways

Helps hold employees accountable for their actions (or lack of)

Can motivate employees who feel positively challenged to meet targets

Allows a company to set goals and measure progress toward those objectives

Results in potential time commitment to consistently gather data over long periods of time

Requires ongoing monitoring for accuracy and reasonableness in data

May encourage managers to focus on KPIs instead of broader strategies

May discourage employees if KPI targets are unreasonable

What Does KPI Mean?

KPI is an abbreviation for key performance indicator: data that has been collected, analyzed, and summarized to help decision-making. KPIs may be a single calculation or value that summarizes a period of activity, such as “450 sales in October.” By themselves, KPIs do not add any value to a company. However, a company can use this information to make more informed decisions about business operations and strategies.

What Is an example of a KPI?

One of the most basic examples of a KPI is revenue per client (RPC). For example, if you generate $100,000 in revenue annually and have 100 clients, then your RPC is $1,000. A company can use this KPI to track its RPC over time.

What Are 5 of the Most Common KPIs?

KPIs vary from business to business, and some KPIs are more suitable for certain companies compared to others. In general, five of the most commonly used KPIs are:

  • Revenue growth
  • Revenue per client
  • Profit margin
  • Client retention rate
  • Customer satisfaction

How Do You Measure KPIs?

It depends on the actual KPI being measured. Generally speaking, businesses measure and track KPIs through business analytics software and reporting tools. This includes everything from the collection of data via reliable sources, the safe storage of information, the cleaning of data to standardize its format for analysis, and the actual number crunching. Finally, KPIs are often reported using visualization or reporting software.

What Makes a KPI Good?

A good KPI provides objective and clear information on progress toward an end goal. It tracks and measures factors such as efficiency, quality, timeliness, and performance while providing a way to measure performance over time. The ultimate goal of a KPI is to help management make more informed decisions.

KPIs offer an effective way to measure and track a company’s performance on a variety of different metrics. By understanding exactly what KPIs are and how to implement them properly, managers are better able to optimize the business for long-term success.

Tesla Investor Relations. “ Q4 and FY 2021 Update ,” Page 7.

Tesla Investor Relations. “ Q4 and FY 2021 Update ,” Page 4.

Tesla Investor Relations. “ Q4 and FY 2021 Update ,” Page 5.

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Your Ultimate Guide To Modern KPI Reports – Examples & Templates

KPI reports blog by datapine

Table of Contents

1) What Is A KPI?

2) What Is A KPI Report?

3) Why Are KPI Reports Important?

4) KPI Reports Examples & Templates

5) How Do I Prepare A KPI Report?

We live in a world rich with data, and for businesses looking to streamline their processes, monitor various areas of performance more accurately, and understand their audience on a deeper, more personal level, collecting, analyzing, and leveraging this wealth of insights is critical for success. KPI reporting steps in as a critical element of achieving organizational objectives.

Moreover, with so much information available from an ever-growing range of sources, how do you make sense of this information – and how do you extract value from it? An effective means of doing this is by utilizing KPI reporting tools .

Here, we’ll explore the KPI report meaning, look at how to create successful reports and consider the dynamics of a business-boosting KPI report template.

Let’s start by considering what KPIs are and what they mean in a business context. Or, in other words, answer the questions, “What is a key performance indicator (KPI)?” and “What is KPI reporting?”

What Is a KPI?

KPI is a value measured to assess how effective a project or company is at achieving its business objectives. In other words, KPIs provide organizations with the means of measuring how various aspects of the business are performing in relation to their strategic goals.

On a fundamental level, KPIs provide critical performance-based information that enables an organization, and its stakeholders, to understand whether or not it’s on track and thus take action accordingly. Here, you can find different lists of KPI examples classified according to their function and industry, which helps in narrowing down and selecting the most critical points you need.

After you've selected the right ones, you can create an extensive KPI dashboard and ensure your department and business strategy are on the right track.

Whether utilizing HR KPIs or any other department and industry, it is crucial to understand these basic definitions so that the creation and analysis can improve a company's bottom line.

Now that we’re up to speed on what a KPI is in an organizational context let’s look at an official KPI report meaning.

What Is a KPI Report?

KPI report example showing metrics of a CRM system

A KPI report is a management tool that allows companies to monitor and analyze their most important key performance indicators (KPIs) in real-time. Professional KPI reporting helps businesses reach their goals by identifying strengths, weaknesses, and trends in the data.

Typically presented as an interactive dashboard , this kind of report provides a visual representation of the info associated with your predetermined set of key performance indicators.

A KPI dashboard presents critical insights in a logical, digestible format that makes it easy to extract important information and act upon it retrospectively as well as in real time. Fundamentally, this kind of report is a strategic tracking method that will provide a window to your business’s most essential activities.

Why Are KPI Reports Important?

You know the meaning, now let’s look at the role of these reports in the modern business age. As mentioned, we live in a data-driven era, and to win on today’s commercial battlefield, making informed decisions based on digital insights (KPI data) is a must if you want to thrive today, tomorrow, and long into the future. Here are the key reasons these types of reports are so important in the modern business age.

Setting powerful targets and benchmarks: Measurable dashboards are important as they empower businesses to set meaningful goals and benchmarks, the kind which will help them improve, evolve, scale, and become more adaptable in an ever-changing digital landscape. By setting and measuring KPIs and customizing them through a report, you will gain a wealth of insights into your business, from customer behaviors to financial inefficiencies and content performance.

Gaining greater vision: In addition to setting solid benchmarks, a key performance indicator-based dashboard will also help you identify hidden patterns that will ultimately propel your business forward.  All of these relevant metrics, when organized in intuitive and visual reporting dashboards, will not only allow you to spot patterns as they unfold but drill down into historical data and make the strategic tweaks and changes that can ultimately make or break your business.

Better collaboration and communication: Visual performance-based metrics are far more accessible to everyone in the business (not just technical staff), making them invaluable tools for optimizing performance. When everyone can use data to their advantage, silos break down, and communication thrives - which, in turn, will accelerate your business growth.

KPI Reports Examples And Templates

Now that we’ve examined the definition and put the value of key performance indicators under a microscope let’s provide a set of examples to visualize the power of KPI reporting. Here are 18 hand-picked KPI reports examples that are specific to some of the most critical areas of any modern business: financial, management, procurement, operations, customer service, manufacturing, HR, and sales. If you want to know how to measure KPIs, these examples will serve as a comprehensive roadmap.

1. Financial profit and loss KPI report example

The first of our KPI reports examples is financial. Profit and loss are the two most essential factors in any organization’s bottom line. This particular financial report example , visualized on a comprehensive fiscal dashboard, provides a digestible overview of a business’s income statement from revenue to net profit, fortified with appropriate performance ratios.

KPI report example: a financial business report for top-management

**click to enlarge**

The monetary loss and profit dashboard hone in on gross profit margin, OPEX ratio, operating profit margin, and net profit margin, offering a host of bespoke information at your fingertips.

By monitoring this financial KPI report on a consistent basis, you’ll gain a panoramic insight into your business’s overall financial performance and be able to take measures to improve areas you deem to be weak while also capitalizing on areas of strength – essential metrics for any business looking to grow their profits and report KPIs that are critical in the financial industry or department.

  • Gross profit margin percentage:

This KPI is quite straightforward: a higher margin will mean you retain more income from your sales dollars. In essence, it shows how effective your operational processes are, and if you're reporting KPIs within the finance industry or department, this is one of the most critical to include and monitor regularly.

The gross profit margin expressed in euros and percentage on a gauge chart

To calculate this KPI, you need to deduct the costs of all sold goods or services from your total revenue and divide it by the sales revenue.

  • Operating profit margin percentage:

To fully take advantage of financial key performance indicator reporting, you must monitor the operating income. It will show you the earnings before interest and tax, also known as EBIT, expressed in a percentage. It won't include tax effects or investments, so if you want to calculate it, you need to divide the operating profit by your sales revenue.

The operating profit margin is a KPI report used in the financial industry and shows the development over time

The sample KPI report above focuses on profitability, the operating profit margin is expressed in a clear percentage, but you can immediately see the development.

  • Operating expense ratio:

Operational effectiveness is another important metric that finance professionals need to take into account in order to improve and increase the company's profitability.

KPI report showing the operating expenses ratio in a gauge chart with 3 different colors

In a simple gauge chart, where colors serve as a kind of traffic light, you can instantly spot if your operating expenses are in a healthy ratio to the total revenue or if you need to adjust your operational costs. Essentially, if your operating expenses are low, the more profitability you can reach.

2. Employee performance dashboard

The next of our dynamic KPI reports examples is an employee dashboard that is talent-centric, as it offers a balanced mix of KPIs designed to benchmark employee performance over specific timeframes. This perfect storm of visual knowledge helps HR managers monitor rates of absence while drilling into essential performance-based areas, including training costs, overtime worked, and overall productivity.

Employee performance depicted with business intelligence KPI reporting processes

By working with this most valuable of KPI reports, HR managers can offer support, training, and mentorship exactly where it’s needed while making informed strategic decisions to boost engagement and productivity levels across the board.

  • Absenteeism rate:

Customer service KPI report displaying the average absenteeism rate

Not everyone knows this, but rates of absenteeism have a strong correlation with employee engagement and motivation. This highly visual employee performance KPI gives a clear-cut snapshot of absenteeism over a five-year period, offering vital insight into overall staff motivation while providing the tools to find the root of the issue and nip any productivity-reducing roadblocks in the bud. It’s an essential KPI report metric for any HR data analytics process. 

  • Employee productivity:

Employee productivity KPI tracking the OLE of a business in a 5 years period

Another essential HR metric for your KPI reporting, is employee productivity drills down deeper into staff output, providing an accessible snapshot of your Overall Labor Effectiveness (OLE) over a specified period. Taking many dimensions into account, this effective metric showcases how long your team has been productive in conjunction with sales levels and production output. Displayed as a chart as well as a percentage, this KPI allows you to compare productivity from month to month or year to year at a glance and take definitive measures to improve your OLE sustainability.

3. Financial KPI reporting template

At the heart of every successful modern business lies a cohesive, well-managed, and data-driven financial department. Our second financially-based KPI report sample, the financial dashboard , offers a comprehensive overview of every area of your organization’s monetary activities, both internal and external.

KPI report example from the financial department

Powered with cutting-edge financial analytics software, this KPI report template dashboard exists to answer essential questions centered on liquidity, invoicing, budgeting, and the general financial stability of your business.

Broad, balanced, and insightful, this dynamic reporting tool offers the ability to drill down into aspects of your company’s financial health by working with KPIs, including working capital, cash conversion cycle, budget variance, and more.

  • Working capital:

This KPI report sample doesn't show a ratio or proportion but a straightforward number of dollars that remain after you deduct the current liabilities from current assets. A visual representation looks like this:

Working capital depicting details of current assets and current liabilities as one of the financial graph templates for showing short-term financial health.

It's a simple table that will show you the operational effectiveness of your organization and short-term financial health, as obligations and debts are current liabilities that are due within a year.

  • Cash conversion cycle:

The cash conversion cycle should be included in KPI monitoring and reporting since it's a critical component of evaluating how efficient the management processes are, meaning how long it takes to convert the inventory resources into cash flows from sales.

A financial KPI reporting sample depicting the cash conversion cycle in a specific time frame

In our visual above, you can see that the cycle is getting shorter as the years pass by, which is a clearly positive sign, and the company should keep up the good work. The lower the cycle, the better the management and operational processes are. If, in any case, the cycle starts growing, it would make sense to make an additional analysis and find the cause. By using modern online data visualization , all these calculations are presented in an intuitive, visual way, where you don't need to scroll through endless rows and columns of a traditional spreadsheet.

  • Vendor payment error rate:

Processing invoices are also an important element in the financial department or organization that deals with issuing invoices and paying creditors, suppliers, or vendors. The errors need to be taken into account as sometimes can happen that the accounts payable department issues an invoice to the wrong entity, for instance

The vendor payment error rate is depicted with line graphs and in percentage during the last 12 months

The point is to keep the percentage of errors within the minimum values possible - that way, invoices are paid on time, they contain accurate metrics, and the relationship between companies becomes stronger. Otherwise, disputes can happen, which is not in anyone’s interest. We have seen how detailed financial graphs can serve as a self-service reporting KPI solution since all of our samples are easily automated and delivered with real-time data. In essence, you don't need to perform or update information manually but let the BI dashboard software do the hard work.

4. Manufacturing cost management dashboard

Next in our list of modern KPI reporting examples, we look at the cost management manufacturing dashboard . This powerful reporting tool is essential for any business that creates its own products in-house, with a balanced mix of insights that will keep your costs and turnover on target consistently. 

Manufacturing KPI report tracking relevant metrics related to cost management

In an asset-heavy sector, keeping a firm grip on your unit and maintenance costs as well as your productivity and return rates, is essential. Split into definitive sections, this most essential of KPI report examples will ensure you keep your maintenance activities on track while keeping your return on investment (ROI) consistently healthy.

  • Unit costs:

KPI reporting examples tracking manufacturing metric unit costs based on a target

A priceless manufacturing management KPI, the unit costs provide a panoramic snapshot of the various outgoings associated with a single product or item. Taking into account elements, including equipment, material, and warehousing, this insightful metric will allow you to access and analyze specific pockets of your manufacturing processes and reduce any unnecessary costs. This is a money- and resource-saving metric for any modern manufacturing-focused business.

  • Return on assets (ROA):

ROA: KPI report that helps you understand how good is your company at making profit from the goods you make

Your ROA is among the most critical manufacturing metrics , as it gives you a working gauge of your organization’s ability to make a profit from the goods you make and sell. 

With a highly digestible graph- and chart-based design, this KPI will give you a clear indication of how effectively you’re using your assets to generate revenue based on the earnings you’ve made from the capital you’ve invested. Tracking your ROA and aiming to increase your percentage will ultimately optimize your manufacturing processes for accelerated growth and success.

  • Maintenance costs:

Manufacturing KPI report example monitoring the average maintenance costs

This cost-centric KPI tells you exactly how much your equipment sets your business back in terms of regular running and maintenance. By tracking this metric frequently, you can work to a target cost, refining your efforts to keep your machinery and tools running smoothly while identifying any budget-sapping costs.

Whether it’s a defective piece of machinery or a consistent lack of maintenance response, this KPI will empower you to identify the issue swiftly and take effective measures to drive down overall costs, preserving the productivity of your entire operation in the process.

5. Management KPI report template

This management-centric KPI dashboard focuses specifically on total revenues in addition to consumer-based revenues while providing vital insights that will help you set informed sales targets for your organization.

Management executive dashboard showing the important KPIs to C-level executives

Offering visual details on customer acquisition costs, CLV, and sales targets, on this management dashboard , you will be able to make intelligent managerial forecasts, spot trends, and understand where you need to improve processes within the business—a priceless KPI tool for those in senior management roles across a range of sectors and industries.

  • Customer acquisition costs:

One of the most crucial metrics deals with sales data and expounds on the costs of acquiring a new consumer. The costs usually vary based on your specific industry, but this KPI report on the business you should definitely include in your reporting processes.

The Customer Acquisition Costs are all the costs involved in the process of turning a prospect into a client. Keeping them as low as possible is a best practice to have

As we can see in the visual, the costs are represented at a glance with a simple gauge chart, but you can also see a graphic development over a particular period.

  • Customer lifetime value:

When you want to create a dashboard KPI reporting practice, including predicting the potential value of the relationship between a consumer and the company is another critical component of successful metrics management. The issue is that nobody can actually predict 100% how long this relationship will last. Therefore, it would make sense to state it as a periodic value (6 months, 12, or 24, e.g.).

the Customer Lifetime Value is a KPI that represents the amount of money you would like/forecast to make on the period of time that your relationship lasts with that customer

The visual above shows us a quick overview of the average numbers and how long the relationship lasts, while the bottom part depicts the development.

  • Sales target:

General management is usually interested in whether goals are being met or whether there are issues in the process. Sales target is one of them, but you can also set goals for each management metric separately.

The sales target is a KPI report template that shows the development of sales

This is one of our KPI reporting examples that expounds on achieving predefined targets and is depicted in comparison with the overall sales revenue. The point is to reach the target and examine further if you're lagging behind.

6. Sales performance dashboard

In the commercial world, sales cover a broad spectrum, and to ensure you meet your targets while cementing growth, collecting the right intelligence is essential.

This KPI report format offers an ideal overview of the progress of your sales department, drilling down on sales KPIs such as sales growth, sales targets, ARPU, CAC, and CLV.

KPI report focusing on sales performance: overview of sales graphs and charts related to performance, providing a good idea of how the business is going.

By providing a detailed visualization of every aspect of your sales portfolio, this report empowers sales managers to take a full snapshot of their sales operations without losing any insights, enabling them to create an extensive sales report .

Here it’s possible to take an overall glance at your sales performance or analyze specific pockets of intel to your advantage, increasing metrics like CLV and average revenue per unit as a result.

  • Sales growth:

An important sales chart to include in your reporting schedule, the sales growth will show you whether your business is developing steadily or needs further adjustments.

This KPI report shows the evolution of your revenue and compares it to previous periods

Tracking this metric is important for any sales professional or manager that needs to deliver fresh revenue and ensure sustainable development. In the visual above, we see the comparison between periods and the development of sales representatives within the last 12 weeks.

The average revenue per unit demonstrates how much revenue you generate from your consumers from all your sales. The goal is to keep the ARPU rising, but if you see that it’s getting higher compared to the acquisition costs, additional adjustments should be made.

KPI reporting template displaying the average revenue per unit of a business

In our example above, we can see that ARPU is steadily increasing, which is a positive indicator of growth. It could mean that you’re closing deals with bigger companies or consumers, for example.

Other critical metrics, such as the CLV, sales target, and acquisition costs, we have explained in our management KPI report solution above since they are also important to look at from a general management point of view.

7. Customer service team dashboard

In today’s information-rich, hyper-connected digital age, consumers demand an exceptional level of service from brands across industries. Only the best will do— no exceptions, no compromises.

Customer service KPI report example

Our interactive customer service dashboard is a KPI report sample packed with invaluable intel that exists to streamline your service department and meet your customers’ needs head-on.

This KPI reporting template, equipped with a wealth of weekly and monthly service performance visualizations, is the perfect tool for responding to any potential service issues in real time while making strategic tweaks geared toward long-term success. With call resolution and response times, as well as agent performance insights and issue number calculations on the menu, you have everything you need to become more responsive, efficient, and valuable from a front-line, consumer-facing perspective.

  • Average response time:

First Response Time KPI displaying the time in seconds needed to answer a call, on average and per days of the week

This is an essential KPI reporting example as it empowers you to measure how long your customers are on hold according to weekdays. By gaining access to this valuable information, you can see exactly where performance rates increase as well as dwindle, responding with service-boosting strategies to drive your response times down (and keep them there).

  • Top support agents:

Call center KPI report: ranking your agents according to specific criteria to find out who stands out

Your service agents are the beating heart of your entire department. To ensure you offer a consistently seamless level of support, monitoring individual performance with precision is essential.

This service-based KPI report metric allows you to drill down into specific performance levels, gaining an understanding of which agents are performing the best. Gaining this knowledge will empower you to reward agents that are showing consistently high levels of performance while supporting those in need of motivation or additional service training.

  • First call resolution (FCR):

This metric shows how many problems are solved on the first call, second, third or more call

Call resolution is an essential customer service KPIs for any thriving or growing customer service department. Here, you can view how successful your service team is at getting to the root of your consumers’ issues upon the first contact. The better your FCR, the more productive and effective your support levels. If you notice a negative trend emerging, you can take tactical measures, including mentoring, workshops, or structural changes.

8. Procurement KPI dashboard

Your procurement initiatives are essential to the ongoing productivity and success of your entire organization. One snag in the chain, and you run the risk of losing precious minutes and money while damaging your brand reputation.

This procurement KPI reporting example provides an overview of the most essential metrics of the procurement department

Our procurement KPI report presents a balanced mix of metrics to ensure your activities are consistently fluent, cohesive, and compliant. Designed to make your procurement analytics process as informative and streamlined as possible, this is a KPI reporting template that will enable you to fortify your supplier relationships, tighten up your cycle times, and avoid any unnecessary procurement issues.

  • Compliance rate:

Compliance rate is one of our KPI examples focused on the procurement industry, and broken down per type of suppliers

This accessible compliance rate visualization allows you to set and benchmark your compliance levels as a whole and according to different branches or suppliers. As a result, you can tackle any emerging compliance issues head-on while assessing your existing relationships using informed info to guide your decisions.

  • Number of suppliers:

KPI reporting template tracking the number of suppliers and their performance

As somewhat of an evolutionary element in a KPI report, the number of suppliers will assist you in meeting every one of your procurement needs with a mix of partners that will keep your chain protected, efficient, and fluent always. Here, you can examine how many suppliers your business acquires within a period, explore the value of each relationship, add extra suppliers to the mix, or “trim the fat” to reach an optimal level.

  • Purchase order cycle time:

Procurement KPI covering the end-to-end ordering journey

The next KPI reporting example covers the end-to-end ordering journey. Our purchase order cycle time KPI is armed with the visual information you need to analyze and ultimately condense or streamline your processes. By doing so, you will make your overall procurement activities extra efficient, allowing you to focus on a wealth of other business-boosting strategies and initiatives.

9. SaaS executive dashboard

For SaaS businesses looking to thrive in the digital age, our dedicated KPI dashboard is essential. By focusing on the three most critical areas relevant to any SaaS-based organization at an executive level –  customers, recurring revenue, and costs – you’ll be able to foster the continued growth and evolution for ongoing success in your field.

A KPI report template visualizing the number of paying customers, ARPU, CAC, CLTV, and MRR over the course of a month

The KPIs included within this KPI reporting example offer a detailed view of each of these key areas. This powerful reporting tool assists in the fluid and proactive management of your SaaS organization as a whole.

From customer acquisition costs to churn rates, lifetime value, and beyond, this digestible dashboard is the go-to tool for SaaS business seniors and a KPI report in full form that expounds on the most critical aspects of a business.

The monthly recurring revenue is the beating heart of a SaaS company. It gives seniors a “checkup” of the pricing plans and predictable revenue that a SaaS business expects in a given month. In essence, this KPI reporting template needs to be included in the fiscal aspect of strategizing “recurring” components and enables you to predict the state of business in the future.

KPI report for tracking all element of monthly recurring revenue

10. Sales conversion dashboard

One of the best ways to grow your business is by increasing your conversion rates. Of course, there are a number of stages to closing a sale, from gaining and nurturing leads to prompting a conversion – and this particular KPI dashboard allows you to look at each critical stage of the process in detail.

KPI report example: this sales dashboard shows you how efficient our team is at converting leads to closed deals, and the number of leads you have

Through a series of comprehensive insights and lead-based details, this KPI report sample will empower you to streamline your sales processes, enhance your sales strategy, and increase your all-important conversion rate result, which you can also see in more detail on our sales dashboard template .

  • Lead-to-opportunity ratio:

This metric is the first element to examine in your sales funnel. To ensure optimal real-time KPI performance monitoring, the lead-to-opportunity ratio should be high on your list. It will assist you in determining whether you’re on track with your revenue goals, and based on that, you can manage your marketing and sales team much better.

KPI report displaying the lead-to-opportunity ratio of a business

In the example above, you can see a clear overview of the ratio and, below that, the exact number of leads and opportunities within a timeframe. You can use this visual as a monthly or weekly KPI report. It depends on your preferences and strategies.

  • Opportunity-to-win ratio:

Showing how many of your qualified leads result in closing a deal or signing a contract is essential in your sales funnel. Modern online data analysis tools enable you to easily analyze and derive insights, as we can see in the example below:

The opportunity to win ratio is a sales KPI report that displays the efficiency of your sales representative at closing a deal

We quickly see the percentage, and the efficiency of the team while, at the bottom of the visual, you can quickly see the behavior of the KPI in the last 10 weeks.

  • Lead conversion rate:

The conversion ratio should be stable, and this number can vary greatly between industries and functions. In some industries, a conversion rate of 1% is a success, while others can reach 10% and also record success. The goal is to find a baseline and compare it with the industry benchmarks.

The lead conversion rate is a KPI report useful to understand how profitable is your business

The goal is to grow your conversion rate or keep it stable. If you notice that it’s decreasing, you need to start asking questions and digging deeper into the reasons because no conversions could cause serious business damage.

11. HR recruiting dashboard

Sourcing and maintaining the right talent for your organization is crucial to your ongoing success. Without a clear-cut analytical strategy, not only do you risk hiring the wrong people for your business, but your staff turnover rates will skyrocket. That’s why you need a recruitment-based HR dashboard for your hiring efforts.

KPI report template tracking recruitment metrics

Populated with a cohesive mix of highly-visual recruiting metrics, this invaluable KPI reporting template will give you all the information required to gain a deeper understanding of your recruiting funnel, hiring costs, and talent acquisition conversion rates. Working with these KPI reporting metrics will empower you to make better hiring decisions while streamlining your entire recruiting process for maximum success.

Metrics used:

  • Cost Per Hire

The lead conversion rate is a KPI report useful to understand how profitable is your business

This particular KPIs report metric will give you a clear-cut indication of the number of resources you dedicate to hiring new candidates based on the level of seniority. Tracking this key HR metric will let you get to grips with how much it costs to hire quality candidates while helping you to understand the value of your hires based on other key performance indicators based around staff turnover and performance rates.

  • Recruiting conversion rate

Recruiting conversion rate to track the performance of HR employees

An essential addition to any recruitment KPI report template, this conversion rate metric is designed to offer a visual representation of your HR staff members’ hiring performance. By seeing how many applicants your HR executives turn into successful candidates, you can take targeted measures to reduce unnecessary recruitment while earning a better return on investment (ROI) from your talent-sourcing efforts.

  • Time To Fill

KPI report example: average time to fill by department

As an HR or recruitment professional, time to fill is a metric that you need in your KPI performance report. Broken down into each key department, here you can view exactly how long it takes you to hire a new employee. By setting a benchmark for each department, you can uncover any inefficiencies stunting your hiring processes and create an informed strategy to reduce hire times while making more valuable recruiting decisions.

12. Transportation dashboard

If you deal in tangible goods or services, having an efficient end-to-end transportation strategy is key to your ongoing organizational growth.

COO KPI report example visualizing essential KPIs when it comes to transportation (delivery status, deliveries by destination, average loading time, etc.)

An invaluable KPI reporting and analysis for scaling organizations, our transportation dashboard offers a panoramic view of your feet' efficiency, delivery status, destinations, and load statistics—everything you need to keep your transportation chain well and truly on track.

  • Delivery Time

KPI reporting example from the logistics industry: average delivery time in days

A KPI reports sample with a striking geographic visual. Here, you can view your delivery times in detail according to route or region. In doing so, you can manage consumer as well as supplier expectations by offering a more accurate breakdown of delivery timelines while consistently meeting expectations.

  • Transportation Costs

Transportation costs as a KPI report template

Presented as a digestible pie chart, this handy KPI report example metric offers a precise breakdown of the costs related to transportation. By regularly tracking this key logistics metric, you can see exactly where you can afford to reduce unnecessary costs while maintaining a top-quality service.

13. Marketing performance dashboard

One of our most valuable KPI report examples for brand awareness, our marketing dashboard , will optimize your promotional campaigns and strategies.

Marketing performance KPI report example

Offering deep-dive insights, this marketing KPI report will help you earn a healthy ROI from your marketing activities across channels and touchpoints.

Here you will gain a vivid insight into the campaigns and content that resonate with your audience the most while getting a handle on costs as well as how you can drive them down while still making an impact.

  • Click-Through Rate (CTR)

KPI reporting in business: click through rate

As a marketer, CTR is an essential branch of data as you can discover how many users physically click through on an ad, article, blog post, email, or piece of promotional content based on a range of factors. Analyzing this metric regularly will allow you to see which channels, keywords, or campaigns are yielding the best results and update your strategy to further boost your CTR.

  • Cost-Per-Click (CPC)

This social media metric evaluating how much you get for your money investment.

An excellent addition to a marketing-based monthly KPI report or weekly dashboard, CPC is an essential piece of knowledge as it will help you optimize the ROI of your various campaigns. The aim here is to reduce your CPC gradually to make your campaigns or promotions as impactful as possible.

  • Cost-Per-Acquisition

The cost per acquisition is one of the marketing KPI reports to track costs

This marketing data visualization is essential to your ongoing performance management strategy as it offers an accessible breakdown of how much it costs to gain new consumers per channel. Having regular access to this information will ensure you can optimize your acquisition costs while enjoying continual consumer growth.

14. Customer demographics dashboard

KPI reports exist to provide a deeper level of context and insight into a specific organizational process, department, or function - and our market research dashboard is no exception.

Customer demographics dashboard as an example of a KPI report for market research

If you want to improve your loyalty and retention rates, knowing your consumer demographics is vital. By accessing this treasure trove of demographics-based visuals, you will get a practical understanding of the kind of strategies and tactics that will strike a chord with specific segments of your audience.

This incredibly interactive dashboard will help you get under the skin of your core consumer segments, providing the tools to offer products, services, and content that meets their exact needs.

  • Customers by gender 

KPI reporting example for market research: number of customers by gender

A KPI reporting software metric that will help you trace and measure the gender share of your customer base over the months and years, here you can analyze your brand image and messaging as well as what you offer to ensure you’re being inclusive and unbiased - which is bad for business.

  • Customers By Education Level

KPI reporting example for market research: number of customers by education level

With an insightful market research visualization, here you can drill down into the education level of your customer base with a simple glance. Tracking this metric frequently will allow you to see if your customers’ education level has increased, decreased, or remained the same over time so you can tweak your messaging and strategies accordingly.

  • Customers By Tech Adoption

KPI reporting example for market research: number of customers by technology adoption

A vital visualization for any market-researched-based KPI reporting process, knowing your customers’ level or status of tech adoption will also help you update your products, services, or messaging to meet their particular needs. Measure this regularly, and you will ensure your new product or service launches offer the best possible experience for your customers.

  • Customer Age Groups

KPI reporting example for market research: number of customers by age group

Displayed as an easy-to-navigate bar chart, this age-based key performance indicator will give you a full breakdown of your existing customers’ age bracket or generational status (Baby Boomer, Millennial, Gen Z, etc.). Armed with these facts, you can see where to place your efforts and resources to cement existing loyalty or enter exciting new markets.

15. Cyber security dashboard

In our hyper-connected digital age, keeping your company fortified from the threat of cybercrime should be at the top of your priority list.

Cybersecurity KPI report template

Cybercrime costs the world economy 1% of the World’s GDP - that’s a staggering figure. To keep your organization safe and ensure it thrives in the long term, working with a cybercrime-based IT dashboard is essential.

With a balanced mix of visuals designed to help you track potential malware attacks, phishing test success rates, resolution times, and more - here you have everything to ensure you nip any potential threats in the bud.

  • Mean Time To Detect (MTTD)

The mean time to detect is a great KPI report to track the performance of your IT efforts

This KPI reporting examples metric will give you the tools to track how long it takes you to detect different types of attacks. Tracking this visualization will ensure that you can nip any potential disasters in the bud and, ultimately, save hours, money - and organizational devastation.

  • Phishing Test Success Rate

IT KPI report example: phishing test success rate

A trend-based metric that will showcase your employees’ abilities to detect potential phishing attacks will prove pivotal in making sure every department of your company is as water-tight as possible. If you discover any notable dips or troughs, you can take action to provide improved training and guidance.

  • Cybersecurity Rating

IT KPI reporting example for cybersecurity rating

This incredibly useful metric will give a swift idea of how your cybersecurity management strategy is based on three key ratings. Here you can work with a mix of additional cybersecurity metrics to analyze the progress of your strategy according to tech or industry changes. If you notice your rating is dwindling, you can take action before the problem gets out of hand.

16. HR diversity dashboard

Meeting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) goals has become a top priority for organizations as they build more inclusive workplaces. One way to visually track your progress is to leverage the HR diversity dashboard.

KPI report example for the human resources department tracking diversity metrics

Creating a diverse workforce is easier said than done. It requires proactiveness and a keen understanding of your workforce’s current mix of genders and ethnicities, along with the roles they fill. This allows HR professionals to recognize where gaps exist and how they can make progress toward DE&I goals.

Visually tracking applicants and current employees as they relate to diversity provides insights at a glance. Share quick findings with key stakeholders and gain data-driven proof of how your company is upholding its mission of a diverse workplace.

Metrics Used:

  • Gender Ratio by Department

Gender ratio by department as a KPI report sample

Placing more women in traditionally male-dominated roles is a core part of DE&I initiatives. This KPI tracks gender ratio by department (e.g., admin & HR, IT, sales & marketing) to illustrate where gender imbalances exist. These insights give leaders a sound starting point to identify potential biases and create more opportunities for gender equality.

  • Gender Diversity by Role

Role level by gender is a KPI reporting sample for HR

Diversity applies across all levels of an organization. The gender diversity by role metric tracks the share of males vs. females in various roles, specifically leadership titles. By understanding the gender balance of power within an organization, decision-makers can set realistic targets to close gender gaps and track their progress along the way.

  • Female to Male Ratio

KPI reporting sample: female to male ratio

Closing gender gaps in the workplace can’t happen unless you have a balanced workforce, to begin with. Gender diversity can provide a powerful standalone metric that shows you’re in the right position to move other DE&I initiatives forward.

17. COO KPI scorecard

COO KPI report tracking operational metrics for transport, order management, inventory and finances

The scorecard format offers an organized, highly valuable view into multiple metrics at once. This format proves especially beneficial for time-constrained executives. The COO KPI scoreboard is designed specifically for operational metrics and includes a 360-degree view of KPIs related to distribution and transport, order management, inventory, and financials. Metrics show a side-by-side comparison of the current week and the prior week, along with trends over the last 10 weeks. These instant insights can help COOs make more informed decisions at key moments and react to negative trends before they spiral out of control.

Average dwell time is a KPI report template for the logistics industry

Dwell time refers to how long a driver spends waiting in the warehouse before items are unloaded or loaded and ready for transport. The higher the dwell time, the less efficient the entire supply chain. Multiple factors can be responsible for dwell times, such as complex or heavy orders, high order volumes, or detailed check-in processes. Tracking dwell time allows COOs to identify and rectify potential problems to streamline loading and unloading procedures.

  • Trailer Utilization Rate

KPI report format for the logistics industry tracking the trailer utilization rate by month

This metric tracks the amount of space being utilized in your trailers each month. Every bit of space in a trailer that goes unused is an opportunity for revenue loss. Tracking this metric ensures the best use of your trailer space, which can have a positive impact on fuel costs, mileage, vehicle wear and tear, and labor costs.

  • Order Cycle Time

Order cycle time by day as a logistics KPI report example

Order cycle times have a direct correlation to customer satisfaction, making it one of the most important metrics to track in a logistics dashboard . This metric reveals how long it takes to ship an order, giving you greater insights into your supply chain efficiency. Long order cycles or anomalies can surface potential bottlenecks, especially if you can pinpoint where these delays occur.

18. Zendesk digital assistant dashboard

KPI reporting sample for customer service tracking digital assistant metrics

Zendesk has become a leading name in customer service management systems for businesses across industries. In the age of AI tools such as chatbots, Zendesk continues to flex its power and capabilities. Harnessing key metrics from all customer service channels is critical to business success, which is why the Zendesk digital assistant dashboard takes into account new ways that businesses are connecting with customers.

This Zendesk dashboard offers insights into how customers engage with your digital assistants. View interactions with chatbots, the percentage of queries the chatbot resolves, requests by topic, click-through rates from bot-suggested content, and more.

  • Digital Assistant Engagement Rate

Digital assitant engagment rate as a KPI report

The anchor of the Zendesk digital assistant dashboard, engagement rate, helps shape all other metrics in this dashboard. Digital assistants can’t perform other tasks on your behalf unless people are initiating engagement. Requests show the total number of people who experience an issue. A percentage of those will initiate contact with the bot, and a portion of those will have their full request solved by your digital assistant. Understanding these engagement rates will allow you to gauge your assistant’s effectiveness and deliver greater value to the customer.

  • Digital Assistant Referral Rate

KPI reporting example showing the trasferred to agent rate of a customer service digital assistant

Chatbots can’t solve all customer needs, which is why they have the ability to refer customers to human agents. This percentage is called the Referral Rate and indicates how many queries the chatbot is unable to solve or understand. Businesses should compare referral rates with the underlying reasons for the referral to understand the true effectiveness of their chatbots.

  • Digital Assistant Resolution Rate

The requests development and resolution rate is a great customer service KPI report example

Chatbots can significantly reduce demand on human agents, streamline customer service, and increase satisfaction. Tracking the percentage of resolutions completed by chatbots compared to the total number of inquiries demonstrates the value of digital assistants. Digging deeper into the specifics of unresolved requests, companies can determine additional ways to train their digital assistants and harness the true power of what their technology is capable of.

We have provided 18 valuable examples of how to present KPIs in different business functions, and now we will focus on the creation of such reports and provide basic tips and tricks.

How Do I Prepare a KPI Report?

How to prepare a KPI report: top 10 tips

These reports are interactive, dynamic, and tailored to the individual user, department, or organization depending on their operational needs, strategies, aims, goals, and objectives. They are customizable and thus offer a powerful means of drilling down deep into very specific pockets of information. Picture procurement metrics – you need to know if suppliers fulfill your demands, their capacity to respond to urgent demands, costs of orders, and many other indicators to efficiently track your company's performance. But you need to know what to consider when preparing your report.

When considering how to create a KPI report, it’s important to understand that for optimum success, you must follow a process.

Before we  continue, here’s a quick summary of essential KPI reporting best practices:

  • Define your strategic business goals and consider your stakeholders.
  • Select KPIs that will track and assess the performance and specify the purpose of each indicator.
  • Consider your data sources.
  • Set up a report you can visualize with an online dashboard .
  • Purposely select the types of graphs and charts you use.
  • Create a template and use intuitive software to improve efficiency.
  • Refine your approach.

Now, to help you on your path to data-driven enlightenment, here’s a more detailed explanation of each of these points:

1) Define your business aims & goals

Every business, depending on its size, sector, and core objectives, will have its own set of KPIs dedicated to different disciplines within the organization. To understand which KPIs will prove to be the most valuable to your business, you should sit down with key stakeholders and discuss your business aims, goals, and objectives in an open, collaborative environment .

In doing so, you’ll gain a panoramic perspective of where to aim your efforts, as well as the metrics and insights that are worth measuring for success. This will form the foundations of your ultimate reporting success.

2)  Select your KPIs

Once you’ve defined all of your organization's most critical goals, the next stage in your reporting journey will be selecting the key performance indicators you want to work with according to your ongoing initiatives and strategies.

Fortunately, in the digital age, a wealth of invaluable KPIs exist to assist growth in a number of areas, from marketing and accounts to customer service, fulfillment, and beyond.

Also, explore our guide to KPI management and learn from a host of helpful best practices.

3) Specify the purpose of each KPI

Creating an effective KPI report requires purpose. Truth be told, there are a lot of metrics and indicators you can report on, but that doesn’t mean everything deserves a place in your report. It’s essential to choose only the KPIs that connect to your initial objectives and will help leaders make decisions based on the data they see.

Specifying the purpose of each KPI within the report adds context and value to the data you’re sharing. Months or years later, it can be difficult to remember why a particular KPI was included in your reporting, along with its significance in the bigger picture and what the data will help the decision-maker do.

4) Consider your data sources

The next stage in the process boils down to taking a detailed look at your data sources.

Today’s dashboards consolidate all of your data, with the help of data connectors , from various platforms or sources, working with your assigned KPIs to deliver the insights you need for growth, improvement, and sustainable success. As such, performing an audit of your data sources is essential.

Before physically creating your data dashboard, you should consider which data sources align with your business objectives and which will best suit your KPIs. Anything that is surplus to the requirement should be disabled or omitted from use.

By doing this, you’ll streamline your efforts and ensure that your reporting dashboard only serves up the insights worth analyzing. In practice, for example, that means that accounting reports should correspond with specific fiscal data you need to generate insights.

5) Consider your stakeholders

Your KPI report is for someone . Make sure that everything contained in the report is relevant to their needs, interests, and decision-making power. 

Know who will be using the report, what their role is within the organization's context, and how they will be using the report. For example, is this person making changes on a strategic level or an operational level? Will you need multiple reports or sections to appeal to multiple stakeholders? 

Understanding this information early in the process will inform the rest of your KPI reporting design.

6) Set up and customize your report

Once you have decided which KPIs you’d like to work with and examined your key data sources, you’ll be ready to set up a report and customize it to your requirements.

The most effective way to collate and manage your performance indicator is through KPI software , as it will empower you to create comprehensive summary reports from various metrics and visualize them through powerful dashboards. Of all the available data visualization mediums, the dashboard is the most effective, efficient, and easy-to-navigate format.

Moreover, once you’ve set up user access, your reports, your key performance indicators, and tailored the look, feel, and functionality of your reports to your preferences, you’ll be able to gain swift 24/7 access to your most valuable data through the medium of desktop, tablet, or smartphone.

To help you with your creation and customization efforts, here’s a comprehensive guide to data dashboard design principles for your reading pleasure.

7) Drill down into data visualization

Data visualization is a powerful concept and one that is pivotal to reports of any shape or size. Through data visualization, you can extract value from your most important data at a glance, tell a story with your metrics or insights, and share critical information with others inside or outside your organization in a way that is digestible as well as inspirational.

8) Create a template for repeatable success

In the past, reporting has been a labor-intensive, cumbersome process because of the multiple data sources and details involved. Today’s technology makes it easy to create repeatable processes for reporting, helping you save man-hours and removing some of the guesswork.

This step is easier once you’ve created your first report. After laying the groundwork and knowing which KPIs you want to report on, you can turn your report into a template that allows you to plug in new information for future reports.

9) Use plug-and-play technology to support your reporting process

Data sourcing is the core pillar of KPI reporting. It’s also arguably the most resource-consuming part of the process. To simplify how you find and add data to your reports, use plug-and-play dashboards that capture the details you want to report on. 

Taking screenshots of these dashboards in as much or as little detail as you like will add instant color to your reports and help to put your findings into greater perspective for stakeholders.

10) Refine your approach

Business needs change. New services or processes may be added, which means your KPI reporting is likely to evolve. Consider these reports an evolving document that requires refinement. This ensures you’re continuing to capture relevant information for decision-makers and will present the most important details needed to drive real improvements throughout the organization.

The best way to do this is to have a regular schedule for reporting and maintenance. This way, leaders can anticipate the release of new reports. Report creators can also avoid having bloated reports by focusing on the most important KPIs that are relevant during that reporting period.

Our additional post on how to make a dashboard will help you take your decision-making to the next level and offers a wealth of particulars on crafting, developing, and presenting your company’s reports.

Key Takeaways KPI reports

We’ve looked at how to prepare a KPI report, and now, let's take a look at some key takeaways and industry studies.

Experts predict that by 2025, around 175 Zettabytes of data will be generated annually. Moreover, within just five years, the number of smart connected devices in the world will amount to more than 22 billion – all of which will produce colossal sets of collectible, curable, and analyzable data, claimed by IoT Analytics in their industry report .

After asking the question, “What is a KPI report,” and exploring the KPI reporting meaning in greater detail, understanding how to make them, and looking at real-world examples, it’s clear that these invaluable tools offer a wealth of insights into critical areas of any business . Reports like this provide the means to set viable goals, work towards progressive benchmarks, and leverage a wealth of invaluable information to your advantage. 

Whether you’re looking to focus on manufacturing KPIs or tinkering with your logistics analytics , a powerful KPI dashboard will provide a foundation for all your operational and strategic needs and development.

By knowing how to create a report and present your most valuable performance-centric information in a logical, visually engaging format, you’ll develop seamless processes, evolve your decision-making, improve internal communication, and, ultimately, push yourself ahead of the pack.

To find out more about common KPI reports examples dedicated to disciplines from management to marketing, you can take a look at our business dashboards examples and templates.

To benefit from everything that an online dashboard software can offer your business and start creating your own reports, take on our 14-day free trial !

What Is a KPI? Definition, Types, Examples and Best Practices

meaning of kpi report

Table of contents

Have you heard this quote from Edwards Deming? – “ In God we trust, all others bring data .”

In today’s competitive landscape, if you’re not measuring your performance and closely analyzing each relevant data point, you’re not going to see much success with your strategies.

This is the golden rule no matter what type of business you run – whether you’re a small, local jewelry store or Coca-Cola.

And KPIs (key performance indicators) help us do just that.

A KPI is a measurable value that helps organizations track and evaluate their progress toward achieving specific goals.

But if you’re looking to better understand KPIs, how to use them, how to develop them, and how to properly track them in your business, this standalone definition won’t to cut it.

So in this article, we’ll roll up our sleeves and get into the nitty-gritty of everything KPI-related you need to know to take advantage of them in your own business.

ga_hubspot_monthly_mkt_overview_databox

Let’s get started.

What is a Key Performance Indicator (KPI)?

Why are kpis important, what are kpis used for.

  • What is the Difference Between KPIs and Metrics?

Types of KPIs (Key Performance Indicators)

How to develop kpis, how to measure kpis, kpi examples, kpi best practices, streamline kpi monitoring and reporting with databox.

A Key Performance Indicator (KPI) is a measurable target that’s used to quantify progress toward important business objectives and evaluate the success of an organization, specific department, project, or individual.

KPIs provide quantifiable and objective data that helps organizations track their progress and make informed decisions, making it mandatory practice for any type of business.  

KPIs aren’t just another buzzword – they play a pivotal role in helping businesses hit their goals and scale properly.  

Here are some of the main reasons why KPIs are so important:

  • They bring clarity and help you focus : KPIs provide clarity by defining specific, measurable objectives. This way, everyone within an organization is aligned and focused on common goals. It leaves no room for confusion and promotes a shared understanding of what success looks like.
  • Helps measure success: KPIs are one of the best yardsticks for measuring success. By quantifying your progress, they provide a clear picture of whether you’re moving in the right direction.
  • Ensures informed decision-making: Informed decisions are rooted in data, not intuition. KPIs provide data-driven insights that enable more informed, strategic decision-making. When you have access to accurate KPI data, you can adjust your strategies as needed.
  • Bring transparency and accountability : KPIs create a sense of accountability. When individuals or teams are responsible for specific KPIs, they are more likely to take ownership of their work.
  • Crucial for benchmarking your performance: With KPIs, you can compare your performance against industry standards, competitors, or your own historical data. In general, benchmarking is one of the best ways to know whether your strategies are on par or they need to be optimized.

KPIs serve a variety of purposes.

Primarily, they’re used to assess and measure the performance of different aspects of a business.

Whether it’s sales, marketing, customer service, or production, KPIs provide tangible data that indicates how well these areas are performing.

They’re also instrumental in tracking progress toward specific objectives. Using them, companies can break down their broader goals into smaller, measurable components.

And once you have all the performance data ready, you can use it for data-driven decision-making.

When backed by KPIs, decisions become more objective and less reliant on gut feelings (as they should be).  

What Is the Difference Between KPIs and Metrics?

KPIs and metrics are often used interchangeably, but they serve different roles.

Metrics present a broader category that encompasses any quantifiable data point used to measure performance, track progress, or analyze various aspects of an operation.

They can include a wide range of data, such as revenue, website traffic, customer satisfaction scores, and employee turnover rates. They provide a comprehensive view of an organization’s activities but may not always be directly tied to strategic objectives.

In essence, metrics are the building blocks of data analysis. They’re useful for monitoring day-to-day operations and providing a foundation for more detailed analysis.

KPIs, on the other hand, are a specific subset of metrics.

KPIs are carefully selected metrics that are directly aligned with an organization’s strategic objectives. They represent the most relevant data points that have a direct impact on an organization’s success.

In other words, KPIs are the metrics that matter the most. They’re not just about tracking progress but also about measuring success.

Time to extend another olive branch – types of KPIs.

We’ve divided them into:

Strategic KPIs

Operational kpis, functional kpis, leading and lagging indicators.

Strategic KPIs are high-level metrics that focus on an organization’s long-term objectives.

In other words, they provide a big-picture view of how well an organization is progressing toward its strategic goals.

Here are some key types of strategic KPIs:

  • Goals : Goals are specific, measurable targets that reflect the desired outcomes and success criteria at the highest level.
  • Outcome metrics : Outcome metrics measure the final result of specific initiatives. They help assess the real-world effects of strategies and whether they are delivering the desired outcomes. For example, an outcome metric for a marketing campaign could be the increase in customer conversions.
  • Benchmarks : Benchmarking involves comparing an organization’s performance to industry standards, competitors, or historical data. This type of KPI provides more context and helps determine whether the organization is ahead, on par, or behind in specific areas.

Instantly and Anonymously Benchmark Your Company’s Performance Against Others Just Like You

If you ever asked yourself:

  • How does our marketing stack up against our competitors?
  • Are our salespeople as productive as reps from similar companies?
  • Are our profit margins as high as our peers?

Databox Benchmark Groups can finally help you answer these questions and discover how your company measures up against similar companies based on your KPIs.

When you join Benchmark Groups, you will:

  • Get instant, up-to-date data on how your company stacks up against similar companies based on the metrics most important to you. Explore benchmarks for dozens of metrics, built on anonymized data from thousands of companies and get a full 360° view of your company’s KPIs across sales, marketing, finance, and more.
  • Understand where your business excels and where you may be falling behind so you can shift to what will make the biggest impact. Leverage industry insights to set more effective, competitive business strategies. Explore where exactly you have room for growth within your business based on objective market data.
  • Keep your clients happy by using data to back up your expertise. Show your clients where you’re helping them overperform against similar companies. Use the data to show prospects where they really are… and the potential of where they could be.
  • Get a valuable asset for improving yearly and quarterly planning . Get valuable insights into areas that need more work. Gain more context for strategic planning.

The best part?

  • Benchmark Groups are free to access.
  • The data is 100% anonymized. No other company will be able to see your performance, and you won’t be able to see the performance of individual companies either.

When it comes to showing you how your performance compares to others, here is what it might look like for the metric Average Session Duration:

meaning of kpi report

And here is an example of an open group you could join:

meaning of kpi report

And this is just a fraction of what you’ll get. With Databox Benchmarks, you will need only one spot to see how all of your teams stack up — marketing, sales, customer service, product development, finance, and more. 

  • Choose criteria so that the Benchmark is calculated using only companies like yours
  • Narrow the benchmark sample using criteria that describe your company
  • Display benchmarks right on your Databox dashboards

Sounds like something you want to try out? Join a Databox Benchmark Group today!

Operational KPIs are metrics that focus more on an organization’s day-to-day activities. They help monitor the efficiency of various operations.

We can further divide them into:

  • Processes : Process KPIs assess the quality of specific operational processes. They may include metrics related to production cycles, project completion times, or customer support response times.
  • Input metrics : Input metrics measure the resources, materials, and effort invested in various operations. For example, in manufacturing, input metrics could include raw material consumption or labor hours.
  • Output metrics : Output metrics evaluate the results of operational activities. These could include product quality, sales revenue, or customer satisfaction scores.

Functional KPIs assess the performance of specific functions within an organization.

Here are some of the key types of functional KPIs:

  • Sales KPIs : These KPIs evaluate the performance of the sales department. Examples include revenue generated, sales conversion rates, and the average deal size.
  • Marketing KPIs : Marketing KPIs assess the success of marketing campaigns and strategies. Metrics such as website traffic, lead generation, click-through rates, and customer acquisition are just some examples.
  • Customer service KPIs : These focus on the quality of customer support. Metrics may include customer satisfaction scores, response times, resolution rates, and customer retention rates.
  • Finance KPIs : Finance KPIs are related to financial performance. Examples include cash flow, profitability margins, and budget adherence.

Leading indicators are forward-looking KPIs that provide early signals of potential changes in performance.

They help predict future trends and signal the organization to take proactive measures to maintain or improve current performances.

Some examples of leading indicators include website traffic or customer engagement levels.

Lagging indicators, on the other hand, are retrospective KPIs that measure the outcomes of past activities and provide insights into historical performance.

Examples of lagging indicators include revenue, customer churn rate, employee turnover rate, and product defect rate.

How much research and effort you put into developing your KPIs can dictate the speed at which it takes you to reach your business objectives.

Here’s a step-by-step guide you can follow to develop effective KPIs:

  • Define your objectives: Before creating KPIs, clearly outline your objectives. What do you want to achieve? Your KPIs should directly align with your organizational goals. For example, if your goal is to increase revenue, your KPI could be “quarterly revenue growth.”
  • Identify the key metrics: Identify the specific metrics that will help you measure progress. Consider the KPIs we discussed earlier, such as strategic, operational, and functional.
  • Consider both leading and lagging Indicators: Depending on your goals, incorporate both leading and lagging indicators into your KPI framework. Leading indicators can help you take proactive measures while lagging indicators provide retrospective insights.
  • Involve relevant stakeholders : Collaboration is also crucial in KPI development. Make sure you involve relevant departments and stakeholders to ensure that KPIs are well-understood across the organization.
  • Document your KPIs: Create a KPI documentation plan that outlines each KPI’s definition, measurement method, data sources, and responsible individuals or teams.
  • Decide how you’ll track the KPI : Set up systems and tools to track and monitor your KPIs. Automated reporting and visualization tools can make this process more efficient.
  • Regularly review and adjust : KPIs are not static. Periodically review your KPIs to assess their relevance and effectiveness. If your goals or strategies change, adjust your KPIs accordingly.

PRO TIP: Two more important things you also need to take into account during the development process are your financial model and past experiences . Each financial model has a unique roadmap for achieving business goals, so you need to make sure the KPIs you develop actually fit the bill. If you’ve developed KPIs in the past, draw the insights from that experience to see which indicators have historically driven success or highlighted potential issues. Why start from zero if you don’t have to?

Once you finish developing your KPIs, it’s time to start measuring them.

To measure KPIs properly, follow these best practices:

Rely on the SMART Framework

Choose the right tools for measuring kpis, visualize kpis through live dashboards, create standard and customized kpi reports, track a limited number of kpis, revise kpis on a quarterly basis.

The SMART framework is one of the most valuable tools to ensure that your KPIs are well-defined (and actionable).

SMART stands for – Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.

Your KPIs should be specific, so define precisely what you want to accomplish. Instead of a vague goal like “increase sales,” specify a KPI like “increase monthly sales revenue by 10%.”

There should also be a straightforward way to measure your progress. For instance, if your KPI is “reduce customer complaints,” define how you’ll measure complaints and set a target number.

Next up, you want to make your goals achievable . Are your KPIs realistic? Consider your resources, capabilities, and constraints when defining important KPIs .

KPIs should also be relevant and have a clear connection to the goal you’re actively trying to achieve. So if you want to get more organic leads, it’s only natural to track website traffic.

Lastly, set a specific time frame for achieving your KPIs and make them time-bound . For example, “increase website traffic by 20% in the next quarter.”

Let’s talk tools.

While it’s certainly possible to track and measure KPIs manually, why waste countless hours (and nerves) when you can streamline the process with the right business analytics tools?

More often than not, tracking KPIs manually involves scouring through different tools and compiling all of your most relevant data in a separate spreadsheet – each time.

This quickly takes a toll on any marketer or business owner’s schedule.

But with specialized business analytics tools like Databox, you can handle this entire process in half the time. Actually, scratch that – you can do it in minutes.

You can create a dedicated dashboard for the KPIs you want to monitor, connect your data sources, and fill the dashboard with your most relevant metrics.

Each time you log into your dashboard, you’ll have real-time insights into what’s happening, all in one place.

Another best practice when it comes to measuring your KPIs is to visualize them using a live dashboard so the data is more understandable.

Live dashboards offer real-time, interactive representations of your KPI data, making it easier to track, analyze, and respond to performance changes effectively.

In fact, about 60% of companies that hit more than 75% of their annual goals use live dashboards to share their findings .

And this is one of Databox’s strongest suits.

With Databox dashboard reporting , you get an all-in-one reporting tool that helps you visualize and analyze your data more simply and efficiently than ever before.

In a single place, you can build your dashboard, present it live to your team, and create detailed reports. No need to juggle through a dozen different apps.

Your reports should provide a clear and organized overview of your performance data.

They’re an essential part of your measuring process because they serve as a communication tool with stakeholders so they can easily understand the KPI information.

And if you want to streamline your reporting process, you should give Databox’s automated reporting tool a go.

Reporting is one of the most important processes within an organization, but until now, it’s also been one of the more tedious.

Swimming in spreadsheets and going back and forth between platforms shouldn’t be the standard operating procedure.

With Databox, you can automate this entire process.

You can build professional, deck-like reports in just minutes and add entire dashboards (and forget about screenshot reports).

Plus, once it’s ready, you can schedule sends and reminders to put the process on complete autopilot.

When it comes to measuring KPIs, one big mistake that many businesses make at the beginning is “data overload.”

Tracking too many KPIs simply isn’t feasible in the long run, and you end up adding even more confusion to your numbers instead of understanding them.

Instead of attempting to track numerous KPIs, prioritize a select few that are directly aligned with your objectives. These should be the KPIs that have the most impact on your organization’s success.

PRO TIP : Did you know that companies that hit over 75% of their goals in 2021 tracked more than five metrics? Finding the right balance between useful information and being overwhelmed with too much data is what allows the most successful companies to stand out.

Your organization’s priorities and strategies may shift over time. Regular KPI revisions allow you to realign your performance metrics with these evolving priorities.

What’s more, they enable your organization to be more agile and responsive to market change.

According to our research, most businesses change or add to KPIs at least quarterly .

But what if something relevant is happening with your KPI right now? You should wait several months until you find out?

This could lead to a lot of missed opportunities down the road.

Instead, why not use Databox’s alert tool to get these insights when they matter the most?

With alerts, you and your team are notified immediately when your performance is off, and something needs to be optimized strategy-wise.

You can create an alert for any type of data source and set up the exact variable that will trigger the notification (e.g., performance is down/performance is up ).

PRO TIP: How Well Are Your Marketing KPIs Performing?

Like most marketers and marketing managers, you want to know how your efforts are translating into results each month. How is your website performing? How well are you converting traffic into leads and customers? Which marketing channels are performing best? How does organic search compare to paid campaigns and to previous months? You might have to scramble to put all of this together in a single report, but now you can have it all at your fingertips in a single Databox dashboard.

Our Monthly Marketing Performance Dashboard includes data from Google Analytics 4 and HubSpot Marketing with key performance metrics like:

  • Website sessions, new users, and new leads. Basic engagement data from your website. How much traffic? How many new visitors? How many lead conversions?
  • Lead generation vs goal. Did you reach your goal for lead conversion for the month, quarter, or year? If not, by how much did you miss?  
  • Overall marketing performance . A summary list of the main KPIs for your website: sessions, contacts, leads, customers, bounce rate, avg. session duration, pages/session, and pageviews.
  • Email response . Overall, how effective were your email campaigns, measured by email opens?
  • Blog post traffic . How much traffic did your blog attract during a certain period?
  • New contacts by source. Which sources drove the highest number of new contacts 
  • Visits and contacts by source. How did your sources compare by both sessions and new contacts in a certain period of time?

Now you can benefit from the experience of our Google Analytics and HubSpot Marketing experts, who have put together a plug-and-play Databox template that contains all the essential metrics for monitoring and analyzing your website traffic and its sources, lead generation, and more. It’s simple to implement and start using as a standalone dashboard or in marketing reports, and best of all, it’s free!

ga_hubspot_monthly_mkt_overview_preview

You can easily set it up in just a few clicks – no coding required.

To set up the dashboard, follow these 3 simple steps:

Step 1: Get the template 

Step 2: Connect your HubSpot and Google Analytics 4 accounts with Databox. 

Step 3: Watch your dashboard populate in seconds.

Next, let’s check out some real KPI examples for different departments that you’re likely to run into.

Finance KPI Examples

Sales kpi examples, marketing kpi examples, customer service kpi examples, operational kpi examples.

In the finance department, KPIs play a critical role in monitoring the financial health of an organization and ensuring fiscal responsibility.

Here, a good finance KPI would be: “reduce operating expenses by 10% in the next quarter”.

This KPI is specific and measurable. It defines the goal of reducing operating expenses by a precise amount (10%) and sets a clear time frame (the next quarter) for achieving this reduction.

A bad one would be something like “improve financial performance” because it’s too vague and doesn’t provide clear direction.

It doesn’t specify what aspects of financial performance need improvement or how the improvement will be measured.

To hit your KPIs, you’ll need to define which metrics you’ll track and analyze to make sure you’re on top of your performance.

Here’s one example of how you can track your financial performance metrics in Databox with our free Financial Performance Overview Dashboard .

Financial Performance Overview Dashboard

You can track all key financial metrics like pipeline revenue, revenue to goal, expenses, closed lost amount, and more – all in one place.

Sales KPIs are essential for evaluating the effectiveness of sales strategies and driving revenue growth.

Let’s start with an example of a bad Sales KPI: “increase sales revenue.”

This KPI is too general – there’s no clear information about which aspect of sales needs to be optimized.

A good sales KPI would be something along the lines of: “boost monthly sales conversion rate from 20% to 25% by the end of the quarter”.

This one defines a clear objective of increasing the monthly sales conversion rate from 20% to 25% within a specific time frame.

What’s more, the team can take targeted actions to achieve the goal, such as optimizing the sales process or training the sales reps to improve conversion rates.

In the Sales Overview Dashboard below, you can check out what it would be like to have a visual snapshot of your sales team’s monthly performance.

Sales Overview Dashboard

Here, we’re tracking new contacts, new deals, closed-won amount, the average time to close, and similar sales metrics (but you can add whichever ones you need to focus on).

Marketing KPIs are crucial for gauging the success of your campaigns and coming up with new ideas for future strategies.

A good marketing KPI example would be to “Increase Instagram followers from 10,000 to 20,000 within six months”.

It’s specific, measurable, and it’s time-bound. The marketing team can use it to come up with targeted strategies to make the goal happen.

A bad Marketing KPI: “Get more likes and followers on social media.”

This KPI is vague and doesn’t specify the social media platforms, the exact number of likes and followers desired, or the time frame. It lacks clear direction.

Here’s one HubSpot Marketing Dashboard example where we can monitor some key marketing metrics such as sessions, new visitors, average session duration, new contacts, blog views, and more.

HubSpot Marketing Dashboard

In the customer service department, KPIs are essential for measuring customer satisfaction and the efficiency of support operations.

What would be a bad customer service KPI? For example, “improve customer satisfaction”.

This KPI doesn’t define which aspects of customer satisfaction need improvement or how the team should track of it. Customer satisfaction is a multifaceted concept and it can encompass various factors like response times, issue resolution, or overall experience.

On the other hand, a good KPI would be to “reduce average response time to customer inquiries from 24 hours to 6 hours in the next quarter”.

If you want to track your customer service KPIs in one comprehensive place, here’s a free Customer Success Overview Dashboard that you can download.

Customer Success Overview Dashboard

You can customize it according to your specific needs and follow key customer success metrics like new customers, customers helped, churned MRR, refunds, and more.

Businesses typically use operational KPIs to monitor the efficiency of their day-to-day processes.

One example of a good operational KPI is “reduce manufacturing defects from 5% to 1% in the next six months”.

It’s clear, and you’re setting a specific goal of what needs to be done and in what time frame.

A bad Operational KPI would be “enhance operational efficiency”.

This KPI is too general. Operational efficiency can include a wide range of factors, such as cost reduction, cycle time, resource utilization, or error reduction.

Below, you’ll see an example of how a team can track its operational KPIs in one place with real-time data.

Time Report Dashboard

Hours tracked, billable amount, uninvoiced amount, team overview… these are just some of the operational metrics you can keep an eye on with the free Time Report Dashboard .

With so many unwritten rules about proper KPI tracking and development, how to know which ones to focus on?

These best practices should help:

Choose KPIs that are Directly Related to Your Goals

Tracking less is more, ensure the kpis selected meet the criteria for a good kpi, assign each kpi to a specific team or individual for accountability, monitor and report on your kpis on a weekly basis.

Start by establishing clear, specific goals for your organization. These could be revenue targets, market share objectives, or customer satisfaction goals.

Then, identify the critical factors that will help you achieve those goals. These could include metrics related to sales, marketing, customer service, or operational efficiency.

From that point, it comes down to regularly monitoring the KPIs and the most relevant metrics that help you stay on track.

If your goals evolve or priorities change, revisit the KPI and see how you can adjust it.

PRO TIP : Make sure you also have a healthy balance of qualitative and quantitative KPIs. While quantitative KPIs are numeric and easy to measure, qualitative KPIs can often provide more detailed insights. For example, customer satisfaction surveys or employee engagement scores can complement financial metrics.

When it comes to KPI monitoring, the saying “less is more” applies.

While it’s probably tempting to measure everything, it’s essential to understand that tracking too many KPIs can dilute focus. In reality, it’s much more effective to track a concise set of highly relevant KPIs.

This streamlined approach not only simplifies data analysis but also enables quicker, more informed decision-making later on.

Focusing on a smaller set of KPIs also makes it easier to identify cause-and-effect relationships, allowing you to pinpoint areas that require improvement.

PRO TIP : A good number to start with is between 5 and 8 KPIs . This is the sweet spot where you’re getting enough valuable information to understand the bigger picture, and you’re not risking any data overload. In general, anything over ten is considered too much and can bring confusion to the analysis.

Do your KPIs meet the criteria for being valuable?

First, a good KPI should provide a clear, quantifiable value that indicates performance.

Next, KPIs should be actionable. They should offer insights that can guide decision-making. Without actionable KPIs, you’re merely collecting data without a purpose.

And lastly, KPIs should be time-bound.

They should have a defined timeframe for measurement, whether it’s daily, weekly, monthly, or quarterly.

PRO TIP: If you’re frequently setting new KPIs for different departments, it would be a good idea to create a checklist of what qualifies as a valuable KPI. It helps speed up the pre-analysis process and helps other departments better understand your organization’s criteria.

Assigning each KPI to a specific team is one of the best ways to ensure responsibility, ownership, and a greater likelihood of them achieving the set objectives.

When KPIs have clear owners, it becomes evident who is responsible for driving improvements.

Furthermore, when an issue arises related to a particular KPI, the responsible party can take the necessary actions to address it promptly.

Just don’t forget to make sure that those responsible actually have the necessary resources and support to meet their KPI targets.

PRO TIP: Regularly reach out to your team to see if they need help better understand the KPIs and if they have all the required resources to achieve them. If possible, creating mini-educations in the form of video lessons or PDF guides on what they have to do can also go a long way.

Regular monitoring and reporting are essential for staying on top of your organization’s progress and making timely adjustments.

While the frequency of KPI tracking can vary, a weekly cadence is often recommended.

Weekly monitoring allows you to identify trends and emerging issues quickly, which then enables your team to take proactive measures to address them.

But this practice isn’t set in stone – some companies can track their KPIs on a monthly or quarterly basis, without sacrificing results.

PRO TIP: Consider using a balanced scorecard approach, which involves tracking KPIs across multiple perspectives such as financial, customer, internal processes, and learning/growth. This provides a holistic view of performance and helps ensure that improvements in one area do not come at the expense of another.

Say you developed the right KPIs, created a list of your most relevant metrics that you’ll need to track, and made sure that these indicators meet the overall objective of your business.

All of these efforts could go to waste if you don’t have a proper tracking and analysis strategy.

And let’s face it, tracking performance data nowadays is anything but simple, especially if you’re doing things manually.

But you don’t have to do it manually… not when you have Databox by your side.

With Databox, businesses can compile all of their most relevant metrics and KPIs in one place, where they can track their performance data as it changes in real-time.

You won’t believe how easy it is to create Databox Dashboards – all you have to do is connect your data source, add the metrics you want to track, and then create professional visuals to make the numbers more understandable.

This makes both tracking and analysis so much easier… but what reporting?

Well, you can put that on autopilot as well with Databox Reports . No more spending countless hours polishing your reports so you can impress managers and stakeholders, that’s taken care of for you.

And as if all of this isn’t enough, there’s one more (free) advantage to leveraging Databox – Benchmark Groups .

This tool helps you make sure your strategies are on point by providing you with real-time competitor data that you can benchmark your performance against.

Instead of doing it with unreliable and too general industry reports, now you can do it with similar-sized businesses in your exact niche.

So… if you’re looking to harness the full power of KPIs and squeeze every last bit of value from them, sign up for a free trial with Databox and let us help.

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The ABCs of KPIs: Defining Key Performance Indicators

Julia Martins contributor headshot

KPIs, or key performance indicators, are metrics that measure the progress of a specific project toward your defined goals. KPIs need to be quantifiable and relevant, and should provide concrete evidence to make project decisions going forward.

A key performance indicator (KPI) is a quantitative metric of how your team or organization is progressing toward important business objectives. Organizations use KPIs at multiple levels—you can set an organization-wide, team-specific, or even individual KPIs, depending on which metrics you want to track. A good KPI can give you a sense of whether you’re on track to achieve your strategic goals. 

If this is your first time choosing key performance indicators, this article will walk you through how KPIs differ from other goal-setting methodologies, how to identify key metrics for your KPIs, and how to choose great key performance indicators.

What are KPIs?

Every project will have a list of KPIs that you can track. A social media manager could measure impressions, shares, likes, follows, replies, mentions, and comments, but they shouldn’t try to track all of the KPIs available to them. Tracking every KPI available is like highlighting every sentence in a textbook—it defeats the purpose, since the important things get buried in the clutter of less useful information. After you’ve set your goal, you’ll want to select three to five KPIs that will be most effective in measuring progress.

Why are key performance indicators important?

Key performance indicators are important because they keep teams focused on what matters most to an organization's success. They act like a report card showing how well a team is doing in key areas, which helps everyone understand where they stand. If things are going well, you keep going. If not, you know it's time to change things up.

For example, a customer service team might use KPIs to track how fast they respond to support tickets. By setting a target response time and monitoring their actual performance, they might find that quick responses lead to happier customers. With this insight, they could focus on improving response times and, as a result, see better customer satisfaction scores. This kind of focus can really make a difference in how a team performs.

Types of KPIs

When it comes to measuring success, not all key performance indicators are the same. Each type of KPI plays a unique role in how it sheds light on performance and success. Understanding the differences will help any organization use key performance indicators effectively.

Quantitative indicators

Quantitative indicators are the hard numbers. They are measurable and can be expressed in figures. Think of them as numerical evidence of performance. For example, a common quantitative KPI is monthly sales revenue. It's a straightforward metric that shows exactly how much money was brought in from sales in a month. A sales team might use other similar indicators to help paint a more complete portrait of its operations.

Monthly sales growth: Measures the month-over-month percentage increase in sales.

Average profit margin: Calculates the average profit made from each sale.

Annual recurring revenue: The predictable revenue generated each year, which is especially relevant for businesses with subscription models.

Revenue per customer: Shows the average revenue earned from each customer, which can help in understanding customer value.

Qualitative indicators

Qualitative indicators are more about the quality of something and are often subjective. They're not always represented by numbers, and sometimes they're captured through observations, surveys, and feedback. 

A good example is customer satisfaction. This can be measured through customer surveys asking how happy people are with your service, giving you a qualitative view of how you're doing. Here are a few KPIs that also show how customers view a brand:

Brand reputation: Measures how likely customers are to recommend your brand, gained through customer reviews or social media sentiment analysis.

Customer satisfaction index: This can be derived from surveys that ask customers to rate their satisfaction with your products or services.

Customer complaints and resolution rates: Tracks the number of complaints received and how effectively they are resolved.

Customer loyalty and retention rates: Measure how often customers return to make additional purchases and how long they stay with the brand.

Leading indicators

Leading indicators are a bit like a weather forecast for your business—they give you a heads-up on future performance. They can predict changes and trends before they happen, allowing companies to adjust their strategies proactively.

For example, let’s say you’re choosing KPIs for a blog marketing project. Some leading KPIs you might consider include:

Number of relevant keywords per post

Number of hours logged per asset created

Number of links within each post to other content on your site

Number of links to each post from other content on your site

These are all metrics that can predict how each post will perform. Articles that hit your minimum number of relevant keywords and link to and from other content on the site are more likely to be successful. On the other hand, a design asset that only took half the normal amount of time to create is likely to be below average quality and not perform as well as a result. Leading KPIs provide guidance ahead of time that maximize the project's likelihood of success after it's published.

Lagging indicators

Lagging indicators confirm what has already happened. They’re like looking in the rearview mirror to understand past performance. They can be financial, such as quarterly profits, which tell you how much money was made after all sales are done and expenses are paid.

When choosing your KPIs, you should make sure you have a good balance between leading and lagging indicators. For that same blog marketing campaign above, some lagging KPIs you might consider include:

Search engine rankings

Traffic to each post

Value of traffic to each post

Bounce rate (how quickly readers leave your site)

Conversions (how many readers end up purchasing your product)

These KPIs measure metrics that come after the post is published—or, put another way, they “lag” behind the project’s launch. Whereas leading KPIs help predict likely success, lagging KPIs measure actual success. Comparing the data from each will give you information about how accurate your predictions were and why actual performance may have deviated from predicted performance.

[inline illustration] Leading indicators vs. lagging indicators (infographic)

What makes a good KPI?

There are a ton of KPI options for almost every project, but not every measurable metric is a high-quality KPI. For example, tracking the number of words per post in your blog campaign wouldn’t be very useful, since the “best” post length for an article changes from topic to topic.

Similarly, some KPIs are great in one context but not in another. For example, financial KPIs, like labor cost per design project, are very helpful to the accounting department, but not very useful for design managers.

A good KPI:

Is quantifiable

Provides evidence of progress (or lack thereof)

Tracks something that is responsive to changes

Offers useful data for decision-making

Tracks something you can control and influence

Is easy to understand and work with

Can be reliably verified

How to set up effective KPIs

Choosing the best KPIs for the job is a process with specific (but simple!) steps. Follow these four steps to get started.

1. Define your business objective

You can’t choose KPIs unless you know what you’re trying to measure. Start the process by defining your business objective . Make sure that your project is in alignment with the rest of your organization by consulting with company leaders and referring to other company-wide documents like your organization’s mission, overarching strategic plan , and department-wide goals.

Depending on what level you’re working from—team manager, department head, director, VP, or company leader—you may be in a position to set both short-term and long-term KPIs. When planning at the executive level, you can set KPIs by the month, quarter, or year.

2. Identify important business metrics

Once you’ve defined your business objective, you need to decide which metrics are relevant to that objective. The metrics you choose for your KPIs should be indicators that directly relate to whether or not you achieve your objective.

Remember: KPI stands for key performance indicators. There may be a variety of metrics or indicators that impact your ultimate goal. Creating the right KPI is about capturing the most important details and making sure you’re tracking those metrics. Not every task or project needs to have an associated KPI. 

If you’re not sure where to start, check out some relevant metrics for each department in your organization.

Example financial metrics

Annual recurring revenue (ARR)

Net revenue retention (NRR)

Net profit margin (NPM)

Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization (EBITDA)

Operating capital

Example customer metrics

Net promoter score (NPS)

Customer acquisition cost (CAC)

Customer satisfaction (CSAT)

Customer retention

Customer churn

Number of total paying customers

Number of new customers

Example process and operations metrics

Throughput time, or total lead time

Number of complaint or bug tickets filed

Supply chain metrics, like days sales outstanding (DSO)

Example people or human resources metrics

Employee retention rate

Employee satisfaction

Salary competitiveness ratio (SCR)

Example sales metrics

Revenue growth

Market penetration

Customer lifetime value

Gross profit margin

Example marketing metrics

Number of qualified leads

Lead conversion rate

Social media followers 

Content downloads

Email click-through rate (CTR)

3. Set up a tracking system

When you’re working on more than one project with more than one team, the number of KPIs you’re tracking can start to add up quickly. It’s important to have a tracking system in place that ensures your data is recorded consistently and at regular intervals. You won’t be able to draw accurate conclusions if you forgot to track some weeks or if you lost the data in a messy file folder.

A KPI dashboard is the best place to keep track of all of your KPIs. Having a central shared dashboard:

Ensures everyone is looking at the same information

Makes KPI data accessible to the entire team, no matter where they are

Eliminates the need to manually notify stakeholders every time something is updated

Can track metrics automatically, so there’s no chance of forgetting

Reduces the likelihood of human error

4. Track and share real-time progress

KPI data isn’t something you neglect until it’s time for your quarterly report. Rather, stakeholders should use KPI reports to make minor and major decisions throughout a project’s lifecycle. That’s why it’s important to keep your KPI data up to date and make it accessible to everyone at any time .

The best way to keep your data up to date is to use a dashboard that tracks and updates in real time. That way, stakeholders won’t need to wait until the next update to get the most recent information—they can just check the dashboard.

If you do track your KPIs manually, make sure you update at regular intervals that make sense for your project. For fast-moving projects, consider sharing updates weekly so everyone is tuned in to any changes. For longer-term, slower-moving projects, consider reporting biweekly or monthly to ensure each update includes enough information to be useful.

If possible, track and share progress in the same place you manage work so your team understands how their individual work contributes to the KPI and, as a result, to your broader company goals. At Asana, we use goal management software to connect our company goals to the work that supports them. With Goals, team members can prioritize projects to get their highest-impact work done.

Examples of KPIs

Key performance indicators are the compass that guides organizations towards their goals. Here are some typical examples of KPIs for different areas.

Financial KPI examples

When it comes to the financial health of a business, key performance indicators act as vital signs. For example, return on investment (ROI) is a common financial KPI. It measures the profitability of an initiative against its cost. To put it simply, if a company spends $1,000 on a marketing campaign and generates $5,000 in sales, the ROI KPI indicates a successful outcome.

When exploring financial metrics, you'll frequently find these examples of KPIs in use.

Net profit margin: Shows what percentage of your sales is actual profit.

Gross profit margin: Tells you how much you're making after covering the cost to make or buy your products.

Operating cash flow: Measures the cash your business makes from normal business operations.

Customer KPI examples

Customer-related KPIs show how well a company is performing from the standpoint of its clientele. Support tickets are a common key performance indicator here. They reflect the number of queries or issues customers report. If a new product launch sees a spike in support tickets within a short period of time, this KPI might signal the need for product improvements or better customer education.

It’s not uncommon for those working in the customer service industry to see the following examples of KPIs.

Customer satisfaction score: A quick way to see how happy people are with what you sell.

Net promoter score: Tells you if your customers like your product enough to tell their friends.

Customer retention rate: Measures how well you're keeping your customers over time.

Process KPI examples

To streamline operations, organizations can track process KPIs. An example is the employee turnover rate. This helps teams understand how often they have to replace staff. A high turnover rate over a six-month period of time could point to deeper issues within the work environment that need addressing.

Here are a few other common examples of KPIs you'll see in process tracking.

Efficiency ratio: Used to check if you're making good use of what you own to make money.

Cycle time: Measures how long it takes to get something done from start to finish.

First-time right: Shows how often you get things right the first time without any do-overs.

Marketing KPI examples

Marketing efforts can be gauged using website traffic as a key performance indicator. This metric helps businesses optimize their online presence. For example, if a new blog post aimed at explaining the different types of KPIs sees a 50% increase in visitors, the content can be considered effective in attracting more interest.

In the marketing department, it's common to come across the following examples of KPIs.

Cost per lead: Helps you figure out how much you're spending to get someone interested in what you're selling.

Conversion rate: Tells you what percentage of your website visitors are doing what you want them to do.

Click-through rate: Shows how often people click on a link you've given them.

Project management KPI examples

Project managers often use a "balanced scorecard," a strategic KPI framework that evaluates initiatives from various perspectives—financial, customer, process, and growth. 

Let's say a sales team is tasked with improving customer outreach. Their scorecard may reflect how well they're meeting this organizational goal across different performance measures, like sales KPIs, over a quarterly time frame.

For a closer look at project management metrics, consider these other examples of KPIs.

Return on investment: Measures whether the money you put into something is worth what you're getting out of it.

Earned value: Helps you see how much of your project you've gotten done at any point.

Critical path length: Measures the total time your project will take, based on the things you can't skip.

Keeping an eye on these key performance indicators helps you figure out how close you are to hitting your goals and what you might need to tweak to get there.

Pros and cons: Key performance indicators

Key performance indicators can be extremely useful, but they also have their drawbacks. Let's take a closer look at both sides.

Benefits of KPIs

They help managers see specific issues through clear data, which is great for making plans and improving an organization.

They use hard numbers to show how employees are doing, which keeps everyone on the same page and removes guesswork.

They can actually motivate employees to do better when they see their performance is being analyzed.

They link day-to-day work with the company's bigger targets and show if the company is really getting to where it wants to go.

Disadvantages of KPIs

It can take a lot of time to collect KPI data, especially if you're looking at how things change over several years.

You have to keep an eye on your indicators and update them to make sure they're still useful.

There's a risk that managers might just focus on hitting KPI numbers instead of truly improving the business.

If the specific goals aren't set right, they can be too tough to meet, which can stress out team members.

KPIs vs. OKRs

KPIs aren’t the only way to track project performance. OKRs , or objectives and key results, are another type of measurement tool that functions in a similar way to KPIs. In fact, in many cases, the KPIs and OKRs for a project could overlap.

[inline illustration] KPIs vs. OKRs (infographic)

Here are the differences and commonalities between KPIs and OKRs:

Key performance indicator (KPI): Designed to measure performance over time, a good KPI should track one measurable value that can indicate the rate of progress toward a goal.

Objectives and key results (OKRs): OKRs use the template “ I will [objective] as measured by [key result]. ”The objective is the goal you want to achieve and the key results are the metrics used to track progress toward that objective. You can have more than one key result for each objective.

KPIs often overlap with OKRs, but the difference is that OKRs don’t have to be quantifiable measures. For example, you could set an OKR to “Improve the workplace environment as measured by employee morale,” even though your OKR, employee morale, is intangible. If you wanted to set a KPI for the same objective, you’d have to find a way to quantify employee morale—say, number of HR complaints received or new hire turnover rate.

OKR vs KPI examples

Here’s another example of potential OKRs and KPIs for a customer experience team.

Example KPI: Increase net promoter score (NPS) by 2 points in FY21.

Example OKRs: 

Objective: Surprise and delight our customers to increase customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Key result: Generate positive buzz through social media and virtual events.

Key result: Reduce churn to less than 2% per month.

Key result: Increase net promoter score (NPS) by 2 points in FY21.

What does KPI stand for?

KPI is an acronym that stands for "key performance indicator." It's a term used widely across various industries to describe measurable values that organizations can track to gauge how effectively they are achieving key objectives.

What is the most important KPI?

The most important KPI often depends on the specific goals of an organization. For many, it could be related to financial performance, like net profit margin, which shows the amount of profit made as a percentage of revenue. However, what's most important is that the KPIs a team chooses should directly support their specific goals, ensuring that they are relevant and provide actionable insights.

What is a KPI in marketing?

A key performance indicator in marketing refers to a measurable metric that marketing teams use to assess the effectiveness of their campaigns and specific goals. For example, a marketing team may track the conversion rate of a campaign to determine how effectively it turns prospects into customers.

What is a KPI in business?

In a broader business context, a KPI serves as a numerical indicator that organizations use to measure their performance against their strategic goals. Teams can automate the collection and reporting of these metrics, thanks to integrations with business intelligence tools, which allows for real-time monitoring and more informed decision-making.

KPIs, OKRs, SMART goals, oh my!

KPIs are a great way to set quantifiable goals that connect to your strategic objectives. But if KPIs don’t feel right for you, th ere are a variety of other goal-setting methodologies you can try.

To get started, read our articles about how to set OKRs , write better SMART goals , or create great short-term goals .

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What is a KPI ?

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) is a measure of how your teams are performing to meet the overall business goals and objectives. KPIs can be used to track the performance of the different functions within an organization as well as individual team members. Do you like to know the difference between KPI vs Metrics, read here.

Other Definitions of KPI

Hubspot : “A KPI is a key performance indicator that measures how your company is performing at achieving a certain goal or objective. There are KPIs for every aspect of business, whether it's financial, marketing, sales, or operational”

Kpi.org : “Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are the critical (key) indicators of progress toward an intended result. KPIs provide a focus for strategic and operational improvement, create an analytical basis for decision making and help focus attention on what matters most.”

Clearpoint strategy : “Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are the subset of performance indicators most critical to your business at the highest level of your organization. KPIs are used to help you measure your progress toward achieving your strategic goals.”

Why are KPIs important to hit organizational goals?

For a really long time, organizations over indexed on just two components when it came to managing teams and achieving business goals:

   1. Creating a plan

   2. Executing the plan

Teams focused on the end goal, went about executing their tasks, and finally the big end of the quarter meetings was when the leaders discovered if they managed to hit the numbers - depending upon which the next set of action items were planned.

However, this process often left teams blindsided where a lot of effort is invested but without the desired result - by the time the leaders became aware of the situation, it was already too late to course correct.

Then in the early 90s, Peter Drucker came up with the concept of performance indicators which would give organizations a better way to understand the progress teams make on key business goals on a regular basis instead of learning it right at the end.

Importance of KPIs

Making key business decisions.

‍ One of the important reasons to define organizational KPIs is it gives you a crystal clear picture on how different functions within the company are performing and if they are aligned toward the overall company goal.

Having a clear grasp on the KPIs allows you to make important big picture decisions - whether it is creating product roadmaps, deciding on the marketing budget, making new hires that is reflective of the current state of the company.

For example, say your customer support KPIs show that it takes more time to close tickets than you’d like, perhaps it is the cue for you to add one more person to the CS team. ‍ Rewarding Team Members Defining KPIs sheds light on the team performance and in the process acknowledging significant individual contributions and even rewarding their performances.

It not only boosts employee morale but it also motivates the entire team to perform better.

How would it feel to be able to see how your SaaS business is performing in real-time? See how live KPI dashboards give you visual feedback on multiple metrics that helps you take data-driven decisions. Identifying outliers When it comes to defining KPIs, one of the lesser emphasized aspects is how KPIs allow you to surface business outliers and take the right course of action, which wouldn’t be possible if not for the regular tracking.

Seeing the right KPIs or sometimes a combination of different KPIs in a single dashboard gives you insights and patterns on organizational functions that you couldn’t have possibly found on their own.

For example, say your Marketing KPIs reveal a lot of lead conversations around a particular feature before they convert, yet your Product KPI suggests that the same customers are not actually using that feature - it is a sign of whether you want to consider working on that feature in the next product roadmap.

Likewise, if your Google Ads account is not performing at the level you want, it's time to take a deeper look at which KPI you should be measuring and optimizing.

Different types of KPIs

There are many types of KPIs that you can use in your business. Some KPIs are high level, others are low level within an organization. The common thread is that all of these are objectives and you should use the ones that make most sense for your business strategy, some of the most common categories are,

Qualitative KPI or Quantitative KPIs

A quantitative KPI is a measurable characteristic, really anything that involves numbers. This is the most common type of KPI and covers many things for instance like users , impressions , sessions and so on.

Qualitative KPI

Whereas qualitative KPI is a descriptive characteristic, something like employee satisfaction.

Operational KPI

Operational Key Performance Indicator (KPI) evaluates the efficiency of its day-to-day operations within an organization. These KPI helps management identify which strategies are effective. Examples for operational KPIs are cost per conversion , Lead conversion ratio, cost per acquisition etc.

Every SaaS growth team should measure these Sales KPIs to stay on top of the game. If you use Pipedrive, then these KPIs will be of great value to your sales team .

Strategic KPI

Strategic KPIs are more about monitoring progress or trends toward a stated destination, and focus on more long-term, big-picture goals within an organization like customer acquisition cost.

Leading KPI

A leading KPI measures performance before the business or process follows  a pattern or trend, this can be used for future prediction.

Lagging KPI

A lagging KPI measures performance after the business or process follows a pattern or trend, such as annual sales for the previous year.

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Kpis vs. metrics: what is the difference.

You know what KPIs are and why they are crucial to your organization’s overall growth -  but before starting to define KPIs, you wanted to do your research and noticed that there was one particular term that popped up more than anything anytime someone talked about KPIs - Metrics! The simplest difference between KPIs and Metrics is KPIs are a measure of your teams’ performance across functions at an organizational level while Metrics are a measure of smaller individual activities rolled out within functions.  Read More: The Complete KPI vs Metric Definitions and Measurement Guide.

meaning of kpi report

Defining KPIs for your company

1. Describe the actionable end result you want to achieve 2. Have a specific timeframe   3. Set Performance thresholds ‍ ‍

meaning of kpi report

Set a concrete goal

The first step in defining KPIs is setting a concrete goal you want to achieve at the end of the specified time frame. This goal is also known as the North Star Metric for your organization - the single number that every team and individual in the organization is working to improve. For example, in Facebook’s early days the company’s goal was as simple as getting users to add 7 friends in their Facebook account. Once they knew this was the number they were going after every activity they did across engineering, product, and marketing was closely tied to achieve that goal.

‍ North Star Metrics: Popular Examples If you are a product company, here are examples of North Star Metrics defined by some of the most popular SaaS companies:

meaning of kpi report

Note: When defining your North Star, ensure that it’s a tangible and specific number that is directly tied to what your product does instead of business goals like revenue or customers. ‍

Have a specific timeframe  

When setting KPIs it is crucial to have a specific time period during which you will track the performance of your teams. Without this you will not be able to accurately gauge how the numbers are improving . For example, if your KPIs are tied to say, the number of weekly active users which you’ve set as your North Star, you need to know how the timeframe it takes to move the needle on that number. Say, your weekly active users continue to rise steadily, but it takes twice the time than what you expected, would you consider that as a win? Definitely not! That is why it is important to always have a specific time frame when tracking KPIs. An ideal time period to track your KPIs can be somewhere between 3 and 6 months depending on your demographics.

Set Performance thresholds

Performance thresholds are organizational benchmarks you set when measuring KPIs -  it includes defining numbers for what is an ideal performance or what constitutes a good or bad performance. Talking about C-suite leaders, they spend much of their time on metrics to gauge how well their teams are faring. The question is: which key performance indicators will they prioritize while they have so much on thier plate? Having clear thresholds makes it easy for you to review the performance of the team as well as individual members and even set up incentives like rewards for crushing the numbers.

Mistakes to avoid when tracking KPIs

1. Measuring what you want to see One of the biggest blindspots teams fall in when it comes to KPIs is measuring what is easy and convenient - or worst, measuring numbers that they know will make for a good show in front of the team. Keep in mind that the purpose of KPIs is to measure the team’s performance holistically - sometimes that means talking about KPIs where the team didn’t hit its goals or ignoring KPIs where you flourished but it does not tie down to what you want to achieve. When it comes to KPIs, it is better to be ruthless than be sorry.

Are you making these mistakes when setting KPI, for your GTM teams? 2. Measuring Everything When tracking KPIs, teams often tend to err on the side of information overload, filling up the spreadsheets with lots and lots of KPIs just because they are to measure - this is where you should exercise great caution because sometimes even no information is better than irrelevant information. Make sure that you narrow down your objectives to a handful of KPIs that tell you how well you performed.

Read more about tracking basic KPIs in your GTM dashboard

‍ 3. Having KPIs that are not tied to your North Star Metric KPIs are a handful of numbers that exactly tell where your teams are with respect to your goals - and any number that does not directly help you in understanding where you stand have no business on your KPI dashboard. Having KPIs that don't impact your North Star is a big waste of time and resources which could be utilized working on the right KPIs instead. In order to be super organized, look for a good Data visualization tool that helps to represent data in an actionable way. There are a plethora of data visualization alternatives in the market today with the help of which you can take smart data-driven decisions. Ready to track and measure your KPIs? Check out how Dataflo supercharges your team when it comes to KPIs.

Do you struggle to measure your organic KPIs from different sources?

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KPI Reports explained, your complete guide

Whether kpi management is new to you, or you've been tracking, visualizing … , by stuart kinsey.

A KPI Report lying on a wooden table with a cup of coffee

Whether KPI management is new to you, or you've been tracking, visualizing, and reporting on your KPIs for some time. There are always new processes, strategies, or even just a couple of tips that can help you maximize all your hard work.

This guide will help you understand everything you need to know about delivering genuinely engaging and visually appealing KPI reports.

In this article...

What is a kpi report, what are kpis and metrics, how do kras fit into kpi reports.

  • What is the difference between KPI Dashboards and KPI Reports?

Different KPI Report Types

Creating a kpi report, distributing a kpi report, kpi reporting examples.

  • A Key Collaboration and Communication Tool
  • KPI Reporting Best Practise
  • More Resources

A KPI Report is a powerful business-performance analytics tool that helps companies recognize, measure, and visualize their Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to track progress against specific objectives. Through its fusion of graphical representations such as charts and graphs along with tabular data, the report serves as an indispensable resource for organizations aiming to enhance performance.

A KPI Report showing metrics and KPIs

What are KPI Reports used for?

In this data-driven world, organizations, more than ever, unwittingly produce enormous sums of data, from the basic number of visitors to a website to the microdata automatically produced by a manufacturing process. Some of this data is critical for a business to operate, but increasingly it has no real business benefit.

Reports allow us to slice through this constant deluge of data. They summarize the information to make it more manageable and ultimately more usable.

A KPI Report is not only a more refined way to collate this data; it visualizes KPIs and Metrics that specifically target performance against objectives. They are the pinnacle of a structured performance monitoring or improvement process.

To understand performance reporting it is essential to establish what a KPI is? And what makes them different from metrics?

What is a KPI?

A Key Performance Indicator (KPI) is a metric aligned to a 'Key' business objective. It tracks how effectively an organization is performing against that objective, including associated targets or goals.

Companies use KPIs to bring about performance improvements that drive growth.

For example, if your objective for the next six months is to increase leads by 50%, simple KPI criteria might look like this:

  • Objective: To Increase leads by 50%.
  • Measurement: A combined total leads KPI - calculated by taking all leads from all channels.
  • Activities: Increasing the number of lead generation channels.
  • Responsibility: Who will be responsible for making sure these activities are completed.
  • Time frame for success: 6 months.
  • Reviewed and communicated: At the End of each month.

KPIs help you keep focused on the overall business objective. They provide a structured and timely mechanism to see progress towards this objective - without the distraction of tracking too much or the wrong things.

And what about Metrics?

Metrics, on the other hand, are measures or numerical values. In the example above, the individual leads generated from different channels are individually classed as metrics. Metrics are not just limited to individual measures; they can be calculated from a series of Metrics.

Are Metrics important?

Metrics can be as equally important to an organization as KPIs. They offer a way to measure the health of business activities. For example, a metric that measures the defects in a production line can quickly alert the company when there is a problem. The same metric can also be used to analyze the performance of different production lines over time.

A Key Results Area (KRA) is the overall goal or objective that needs to be achieved. KPIs are specific measures of progress toward a KRA that allow you to determine if you're on track. KPI Reports are often used to track and measure KRA against KPI objectives.

An excellent example of a KRA would be to increase sales revenue by 10% over the next quarter. KPIs could include objective-based measures such as increasing website visits and conversions or tracking order conversions. KPI Reports can help you track progress towards a KRA and keep track of the KPIs and metrics needed to support the overall objective.

What is the difference between a KPI Dashboard and a KPI Report?

A Dashboard is primarily a visualization tool. They employ a blend of graphs and charts to provide real-time performance of KPIs and Metrics that can be viewed at-a-glance.

A KPI Report focuses on an analytical interpretation of the underlying measures, using trend graphs and tabular formats to support the decision-making process.

The confusion

Reports and dashboards are often confused. They both share similar functions and advantages when it comes to visualizing KPIs. Understanding how each one is applied in a business environment will help distinguish the variances

a dashboard with a report in the background

The KPI Dashboard

Dashboards lend themselves to operational or day to day performance monitoring better than reports. By nature, they are designed to be understood at a glance. For example, a sales team may create a Sales Dashboard; this would be accessible by the entire team who would 'dip' in and out of the dashboard to see their performance (usually in a league table format) against others. These metrics could be the number of wins, calls, or leads.

a report is the foreground with a dashboard behind

The KPI Report

In contrast, the Report is usually where the analysis takes place. What makes up those KPI numbers? Why are there fluctuations in the data points? What caused this to happen? These questions are addressed by digging into the historical data.

Reports are also delivered at specific points for review, such as monthly sales meetings - where they would provide tabular data, offer historical context with trends, and interpretations of the metrics.

Which should I choose?

There is no hard and fast rule for this. Use whichever comes more naturally to you. Generally, we see Reports for analysis and Dashboards for day to day monitoring. However, both can be interactive, both offer almost the same functionality - and there is no reason you can't employ both in your performance monitoring. After all, measuring something is better than measuring nothing at all.

As you've probably gathered by now, there are different types of KPI Reports, not just categorized by which business department but by their purpose.

The three types of KPI Reports are:

  • Analytical based.
  • Operational based.
  • Strategic based.

Analytical Reports provide detail behind the KPIs. They can be used across all areas of the business. These reports are designed to answer questions arising from peaks and troughs in the KPI data. A static version of this report will typically show historical values, while interactive reports allow users to investigate the data by breaking down the individual metrics dynamically.

Operational Reports are focused predominantly on the day to day activities of an organization. They provide information to those involved in those activities to help make decisions or take action. For example, in a finance department, a report covering the number of debtors may be used to keep debtor levels low.

Strategic Reports aim to provide a clear and meaningful picture of a business's health and in which direction it is heading. These reports show the owners and shareholders how the company is performing against goals and objectives.

Graphic showing the 5 steps to creating a KPI Report

5 simple steps for creating effective KPI Reports.

  • What is the objective/goal of the Report?
  • Who will the audience be?
  • How will the Report be used? – is it Strategic or Operational? Static or Interactive?
  • When will it be distributed?
  • Define the KPIs: Once you've established the overall objective, you will have a good idea about the KPIs and Metrics you need. KPIs need to answer questions such as, how well are sales performing against their goals? Or is company growth on target? Getting the data that fuels these KPIs can be the tricky part. Does it currently exist? Can it be automated? Is it reliable? are just some of the questions you'll need to answer.
  • Present your KPIs: Choose appropriate charts/graphs and tabular data to present the information in the simplest possible way. Keep the charts relevant, focused, and in context. Present your KPIs in a logical order to keep the flow of information or the 'story' from getting disjointed.
  • Build a prototype: Create the first draft, use dummy data (if none exists) and distribute this to colleges and stakeholders. Providing a single point of feedback, sometimes in the report itself, to help encourage consensus.
  • Refine and release: Finalize the report and distribute. Just like any business process, reports need to be adjusted and evolved to keep them efficient. Build-in regular reporting review and maintenance periods; this will help avoid report 'bloat' and keep information relevant and up to date.

A successful KPI Reporting strategy lies in not only the ability to create simple, informative, and insightful reports. Merely having an incredible report or dashboard means nothing without its audience.

Workplace communication is a recognized ‘success factor’ in employee motivation, satisfaction and productivity, and the distribution of reports to those who can use the information to take action is equally fundamental.

Project management is an excellent example of where reports distribution is a vital aspect of a business process. Project stakeholders, managers, and staff can see the effects (and consequences) of their actions. Also, they inform the rest of the organization as to the progress towards completing a project.

Distribution can either be through static reports, normally distributed via scheduled meetings. (Although, this type of distribution typically has outdated data, as collating and distribution are done manually.) And distribution can also be achieved using live reports.

Live reports can be either in a KPI dashboard format showing trends and graphs or a traditional report layout, where tables and used to display numeric data.

These reports are not distributed in the traditional sense but rather exist through links to web pages or apps. They can be accessed at any time and from any location.

Using live reports provides the audience with data they can rely on when making decisions. It also reduces the burden of collating the data, removing errors, and manually distributing.

The benchmark for a great KPI strategy is the combination of collection, visualization, and distribution.

We've put together some practical examples for you to take a look through.

The Operational Sales Reports

a screenshot example of an operational sales report

Good sales leadership understands that reporting is critical for determining if you're on course to hit monthly or weekly targets. Which of your sales teams are producing the most wins? And which are the big closers? See sales efficiency by tracking closing ratios of leads to sales. Presenting real-time sales information in league tables shows how each member is performing.

Strategic Organizational Reports

an example of a Strategic Organizational Report

Organizations often make annual objectives for the business. For example, increase growth by 20%, reduce our overheads, or increase market share. Having a report that shows how the company is performing against the objectives galvanizes the whole company to direct its efforts towards those goals.

Manufacturing Operational Reports

an example of a Manufacturing Operational Report

Accurate and timely manufacturing reports are vital in maximizing productivity. Managers are provided the information they need to make decisions that keep production lines running, such as machine productivity, the units produced or even lost, and the cause.

Marketing Strategic Reports

an example of a Marketing Strategic Report

A strategically focused marketing report can determine whether all your hard work is paying off. Are we growing market share? Are we reducing marketing spend and increasing customers? Are we increasing the number of leads, and what is our ROI? Or whether a change or shift in strategy is required.

These reports are also an excellent way to identify potential opportunities. Such as a hike in conversion rates for a specific lead generation channel that maybe worth allocating more budget.

A Key collaboration and Communication tool

Good organizational reporting and communication are essential to business success. Building an environment where everyone works towards common objectives and goals is crucial if you want to succeed.

A KPI Report provides a structured system for communicating these business objectives and progress. Using simple graphical elements when sharing factual data has two unique advantages.

For starters, it offers an objective view of performance that instils trust in the workforce with no opinion or interpretation involved. Secondly, any person connected to the goal can observe how they contribute to its success. Incorporating feedback into reports also provides the benefit of gathering ideas and perspectives.

Communicating performance is not limited to internal reporting; it is also an excellent way to keep shareholders and clients in the loop regarding your value and performance.

Keeping a single, factual perspective of the relationship, such as a shared KPI Report with your clients, will reduce those all-too-common frictions.

KPI Reporting Best Practice

Reporting brings about change. The very nature of reports challenges en-grained business processes and drive performance. But how to avoid getting tied up in the complexity? How to generate meaningful insights? And how to get the most out of your reporting? Here are six best practice tips to avoid pitfalls.

  • Set clear objectives. Create a clear brief for the report and stick to it. If it's a focused strategic report, keep it that way, don't be tempted to 'bolt-on' other metrics or KPIs just because it's convenient, build a separate report instead.
  • Keep it simple, really. Don't fall into the trap of having the data dictate what to measure. There's an almost infinite number of KPIs or Metrics that could be tracked. The secret is to focus on what is 'Key'. Restrict your initial report to a small number of KPIs and measure only what matters. The most common KPIs are not the most important – as a recent study from the Association of National Advertisers found .
  • Embrace technology and the cloud. It's time to ditch the spreadsheet and take your reporting to the next level. Cloud-based solutions designed for KPI Reporting are now more accessible than ever. They are a highly secure and cost-effective way to build and distribute your reports.
  • Ensure data consistency. To demonstrate integrity in your reports, data accuracy and data is crucial. Nothing will ensure the short shelf life of a report than one that is misleading and relying on data that is out of date. Spend time testing various data-sets for their accuracy before committing to them.
  • Coordinate with colleges. Creating reports in isolation to the people who will use them is a recipe for disaster. Invite colleagues whose very responsibilities will be determined by the report to provide input on what needs measuring, when and how this will improve their processes.
  • Review regularly. Businesses change, as do objectives and goals. What's important to track today might be obsolete tomorrow. Keeping regular maintenance and review points in the diary will help to keep your reports accurate, relevant, and beneficial to your business. In most organizations, it’s the IT department who are responsible for creating and generating KPI and Analytics reports to support the business. You can find an interesting article here at Tech republic offering 8 Best practises for helping IT get the right information to the right people.

More Resources...

Survey Sparrow Creating a KPI Report.

PWC Guide to Key Performance Indicators

Business Jargons Business Reporting.

Search Analytics Creating Key Performance Indicator Reports

Monday blog KPI reporting: what it is and how you could do it better

Also see...

KPI Reporting How to produce engaging KPI Reports

KPI Templates Find KPI templates covering manufacturing to Retail

Search for KPIs Search over 250 KPIs

From the blog...

August 2016 Update: New Reports and sharing KPI Reporting has received a boost

Notes and comments Integrate notes into you KPI reporting

Reporting updates New Reporting Update

Originally Published on 07 November 2017, this post was updated in July 2021, and has been updated once more to include an additional section on KRAs. Some outdated reference links were removed, and more relevant ones have been added.

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by Stuart Kinsey

Stuart Kinsey writes on Key Performance Indicators, Dashboards, Marketing, and Business Strategy. He is a co-founder of SimpleKPI and has worked in creative and analytical services for over 25 years. He believes embracing KPIs and visualizing performance is essential for any organization to strive and grow.

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What are KPIs? How to choose & track your success metrics

meaning of kpi report

You’re beyond ready to start growing your website traffic. You want to increase sales, complete projects on time, and more.

But… how will you know when you’ve met those goals?

There’s a simple answer. You need KPIs.

KPIs, or key performance indicators, give you an objective way to measure your goals. You can select or create KPIs for any kind of work you do, bringing a clear way of communicating your progress and success to your team and executives.

In the next few minutes, you’ll read all about the meaning of KPIs and how you can use them in your business. You’ll see clear examples of how to create and apply KPIs to any strategy and learn about a tool that can help you meet those goals, even as your team grows or shifts strategies.

What is a KPI?

The KPI acronym stands for key performance indicator – it’s a metric that measures how projects, individuals, departments or businesses preform in terms of strategic goals and objectives. KPIs are a way for stakeholders to see if they’re making progress or if the business is on track.

KPIs are always displayed as a value that shows progress toward a goal, shown in this KPI dashboard from monday.com.

monday project KPI dashboard

KPIs give you a clear, objective way not just to assess project progress, but also to communicate it to other teams or stakeholders. They also make sure all team members and stakeholders understand how to measure success for any given project.

Understanding how a project is progressing can be critical to its success or failure. 44% of executives say poor communication — like a lack of clear KPIs — leads to a delay or failure to complete projects.

A good KPI should be objective, measurable, and able to show a trend or comparison over time.

The goal is to communicate effectively with your team about your project status, helping things get done more efficiently and eliminating the stress that 80% of employees feel because of bad communication at work.

What are the benefits of using KPI?

KPIs are useful because they:

Keep employees accountable:  key performance indicators can track progress down to the individual level. If a sales team’s KPI is the number of monthly sales per person, team leads can easily understand how much each person contributes to the department’s success by whether or not they meet their goals.

Allow managers to adjust:  Once managers have KPIs in place, it’s easier to adjust the strategy if the team or individuals don’t reach their goals. This doesn’t need to mean firing the weakest performers; it could mean providing additional training and guidance to those who are struggling.

Make sure everyone is on the same page:  it’s likely individuals view success differently. For example, if an IT team member and an accountant work together on a project, they’ll probably measure success differently. KPIs set a standard and common goals for everyone to work towards, making expectations and priorities clear right from the beginning.

Assess a business’s health:  KPIs help businesses objectively see how the organization is performing. Financial KPIs for instance, show profitability, while employee retention rates can indicate the strength of a company culture.

Just as KPIs have many benefits, there are also many different ways to approach them. In other words, KPIs aren’t one-size fits all, but they do tend to fall into a few categories.

How do you choose effective KPIs?

It’s possible to Google a list of top KPI examples for your industry or department, and start tracking those right away.

But that approach isn’t going to help you track the right KPIs for your specific project or team goals.

Instead, it’s well worth the time and effort to sit down and come up with a custom list of KPIs that will tell you precisely what you need to know about your work.

Here’s how you figure out the most effective KPIs for your team, project, or business objectives:

  • Clarify your goal or objective. Figure out exactly what you hope to achieve and why it’s important to the project. Remember, you can track multiple KPIs for a single project.
  • Decide what metrics will best tell you when you reach your goal. Some goals might have multiple ways of tracking progress, but not all of them will be meaningful to you. For example, the number of transactions, number of new customers, or the increase in revenue could measure an increase in sales. You can track any or all of these, but you’ll need to figure out which metrics are most important.
  • Figure out what actions you’ll take to meet this goal. The work your team is doing should directly impact the KPIs you choose to track. If you can’t tie a metric to actions, it’s probably not a good KPI.
  • Outline what you must achieve to reach this goal. Now that you’ve selected the way you’ll track progress, translate your goals and objectives into the relevant KPIs. This can be an absolute value or a percentage increase — whatever makes the most sense for your needs.
  • Share the KPI with stakeholders and team members. Effective KPIs are a good communication tool, so make sure anyone involved in an initiative understands what the KPIs are, why they’re important, and what the final goal is.
  • Review KPIs regularly. Project goals and requirements can shift unexpectedly, so it’s important to review your KPIs on a regular basis to make sure they’re still tracking progress in a meaningful way. If you find they aren’t, repeat these steps to find new KPIs that more effectively help you communicate your goals.

Get SMART when it comes to creating strong KPIs

One common, effective way to create KPIs is through the SMART structure. The SMART acronym  applies to goal-setting. Teams often use it for measuring goals associated with employee performance, personal development, and project management. SMART stands for:

  • Specific:  does the KPI have enough details in order to accurately assess progress?
  • Measurable:  How will you measure progress?
  • Attainable : Is the KPI realistic?
  • Relevant : is this KPI useful for the organization?
  • Time-bound:  what is the time frame for achieving this KPI?

SMART is often an effective formula for developing impactful KPIs. Following the above bullet points, ‘increase sales’ doesn’t meet the SMART KPI requirements, but ‘increase sales by 10% by the end of the year’ is a measurable target that provides enough context to accurately assess performance and progress.

SMART KPI examples by department

There are plenty of KPIs that use the SMART method. If you’re in need of some inspiration, look no further.

  • Increase average order value by X% during Y timeframe
  • Develop X new qualified opportunities by Y timeframe
  • Capture X new inbound leads by Y timeframe using Z method
  • Increase conversion rates by X% by Y timeframe doing Z
  • Earn X sales qualified leads by Y timeframe, per person
  • Increase the lifetime value of customer by X in Y months using Z strategies
  • Improve the gross profit margin by X by Y timeframe
  • Reach an X net profit margin by end of quarter
  • Keep the operating expense ratio under X% for the rest of the year
  • Lower ticket resolution time to X in Y timeframe for A customers
  • Open X number of support tickets in Y hours
  • Decrease downtime by X minutes in Y weeks

Customer Service

  • Increase number of calls handled per hour from X to B
  • Raise customer satisfaction (improved with helpdesk software) by Y timeframe
  • Lower average call wait time and average handle time from X minutes to B minutes by end of Q1

By now, you may have some KPIs in mind you want to track. While you can do this manually, we have an even better solution for measuring your success.

Measure KPIs and more in monday.com

Key performance indicators measure whether your organization will meet its goals, gives team members extra motivation and direction, and easily allows top management to see the team’s impact. The SMART method can help you set better KPIs and ensure they’re specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound.

But for an extra powerful KPI strategy, you can get started planning goals with pre-built templates, understand insights at a glance with KPI dashboards and reports, mitigate repetitive work, and so much more—all on monday.com. For instance, marketing teams can use automations to set reminders and notifications to check the budget and to see if they’re overspending.

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What Is A KPI Report & How To Build One

Download our free KPI Reporting Template Download this template

Creating A KPI Report Overview

KPIs ( Key Performance Indicators ) form a critical part of any good strategy. Typically there are three major components you'll need to include in your strategic plan - Objectives ( what you want to achieve), Projects ( how you'll achieve those things), and finally, KPIs (how you'll measure your progress).

KPI reports are a key element in reporting against your business goals and priority metrics. But how do you actually go about creating KPI reports?

In this guide, we'll tackle a step-by-step process to creating a good KPI report, as well as provide you with KPI reporting templates that you can download for your own use.

Free Download Download our KPI Reporting Template Download this template

What Is A KPI Report?

A KPI report is a document that includes a number of KPIs presented in a fashion that gives the reader a summary of how the organization is progressing toward a certain strategic goal (or sometimes a set of goals). This report provides valuable insights and data-driven metrics that help decision-makers assess progress, identify areas for improvement, and make informed strategic decisions.

Typical inclusions in a KPI report are:

  • Multiple KPIs usually including both leading and lagging KPIs
  • Data visualization, such as graphs, tables, or other formats
  • Benchmarks, targets, or an element of historical comparison to measure progress
  • A commentary or explanation of key variances against KPI targets

Visually, KPI reports can take several different forms, which will vary depending on the stakeholders they’re addressed to and the specific data being displayed.

Why Are KPI Reports Important?

KPI reports are important because they allow you to track KPIs providing you with an up-to-date summary of how well an organization is delivering against its strategic goals. Depending on your role, there are a few reasons why you might want to consider preparing a KPI report, including:

  • To keep your team up-to-date with real-time information about progress against your business objectives
  • To give your investors/board members/superiors or other stakeholders a balanced view of your business' performance
  • To improve decision-making by knowing which parts of your strategic plan are completed, versus parts that need additional attention
  • To provide early warning signs about problems in your business strategy before they become full-blown emergencies

KPI Report Examples

Let’s explore some KPI report examples that are commonly used by organizations to assess performance and gain actionable insights across different functional areas. Each of the following focuses on specific metrics relevant to its area, giving valuable information for decision-making and continuous improvement.

Financial KPI Report

The Financial KPI Report is a valuable tool that centers around key financial performance indicators. Its primary purpose is to track the financial health of the organization, assess profitability, identify cost-saving opportunities, and provide crucial insights for informed financial decision-making.

Examples of financial KPIs in this report could be:

  • Cash Flow : Measures the net amount of cash flowing in and out of the organization during a specific period, providing insights into liquidity, cash management efficiency, and meeting financial obligations.
  • Net Profit Margin : Calculates the percentage of revenue remaining as net profit after deducting expenses, indicating profitability and efficiency in converting revenue into profit.
  • Revenue Growth : Tracks the percentage increase or decrease in revenue over a specific period, reflecting sales generation, market expansion, and effectiveness of sales strategies.
  • Conversion Rate : Evaluates the percentage of potential customers who complete desired actions, such as making a purchase or achieving specific goals, reflecting the efficiency of marketing and sales team efforts in converting leads into customers.

👉🏻 Discover other financial KPIs in our article : 15 Financial KPIs And Metrics Every Business Should Track (+Template)

Example of a Financial KPI Reporting Dashboard in Cascade strategy execution platform

Customer Service KPI Report

The Customer Service KPI Report focuses on effective kpis to deliver exceptional customer service. Its objective is to evaluate the organization's customer service performance, identify areas for improvement, and provide insights for enhancing overall customer interaction.

Specific customer service KPIs often included in this report are:

  • Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT) : Measures customer satisfaction through surveys or feedback, providing insights to enhance the customer experience. ‍
  • Customer Retention Rate : Evaluates the percentage of customers retained over time, reflecting overall satisfaction and loyalty. ‍
  • Customer Acquisition Cost : Measures the average cost to acquire a new customer, guiding optimization of marketing and sales efforts. ‍
  • Lifetime Value : Calculates projected revenue generated throughout the customer's relationship, informing retention and loyalty strategies. ‍
  • Churn Rate : Measures customer attrition, identifying reasons for churn and guiding efforts to improve retention.

👉🏻 Check our other customer service KPIs here : Customer Service KPI Examples - The 12 KPI Metrics You Need to Track!

Marketing KPI Report

The Marketing Report is a powerful tool that focuses on evaluating the effectiveness of marketing initiatives through Marketing KPIs. Its main goal is to assess the success of marketing campaigns, measure performance, and provide valuable insights to guide strategic marketing decisions.

Examples of Marketing KPIs that could be found in this report are:

  • Website Traffic : Measures the volume of visitors to the website, providing insights into the reach and visibility of marketing efforts. It helps evaluate the effectiveness of online campaigns, search engine optimization (SEO) strategies, and content marketing initiatives.
  • Social Media Engagement : Tracking metrics such as likes, comments, shares, and followers on social media platforms provides insights into audience engagement and the effectiveness of social media marketing efforts.
  • Return on Investment (ROI) : Assesses the profitability of marketing campaigns by comparing the cost of marketing activities to the revenue generated. It allows to optimize resource allocation, improve budgeting decisions, and identify the most effective marketing channels.

👉🏻Explore other Marketing KPIs in our article : Digital Marketing KPI Examples - 12 Digital Marketing Metrics to Track

Other KPI examples for your reports

There is a wide range of other key performance indicators (KPIs) that cater to different roles, departments, and functions within organizations. These KPIs offer valuable insights and help evaluate performance in specific areas of focus.

To dive deeper into specific KPI examples, check out these dedicated articles.

By business unit/department:

  • Sales KPIs ‍
  • Health & Safety KPIs ‍
  • Change Management KPIs ‍
  • Product Management KPIs ‍
  • Operational KPIs

Industry-specific:

  • Retail KPIs
  • Manufacturing KPIs
  • Higher Education KPIs
  • Healthcare KPIs
💡Don’t know where to start? Check out our FREE KPI Cheatsheets , a huge collection of KPI examples for almost any industry.

How Do I Build A KPI Report?

Now that we've established why KPI reports are valuable and explored the different types and examples, let's dive into how to actually create your own KPI report to fulfill the needs of your organization.

We've broken the process into a series of steps with examples. You can also go ahead and download our KPI Reporting Template to work on as you follow the process.

1. Determine the report’s scope

The first step in the process of creating a good KPI report is to be very specific about what you're trying to represent. Don't even think about starting to create a KPI report until you know what you're trying to accomplish!

The easiest way to think about the scope of your KPI report is to complete the following sentence:

I'm trying to show ___[ who ]___ how ___[ what ]___ is progressing for the purpose of ___[ why] ___.

For example:

  • ‍ I'm trying to show my investors how our revenue metrics are progressing for the purpose of securing additional investment.

This is an example of the scope of a very specific KPI report with a very specific purpose. Alternatively, you might have a broader purpose for your KPI report such as:

  • ‍ I'm trying to show my team how our overall business metrics are progressing for the purpose of keeping them in the loop about the performance of the business.

This is a much less specific scope but is equally valuable to specify. The reason we do this is that by knowing our audience , as well as our subject and our intended outcome, we can more effectively make decisions about the content of our KPI report.

💡 Pro tip : In this step, you can also determine a time frame for your report. Will you showcase the progress of your KPIs over the past month, or will you opt for a quarterly overview? Understanding the time frame will help you establish the frequency and cadence with which you'll create and share your reports.

2. Define the type of KPI report

There are several ways that you could go about presenting your KPI report. Here are two KPI reporting examples of the most popular formats:

KPI Dashboard

A KPI dashboard showcases important metrics and emphasizes visual impact over depth of data. In other words, KPI reporting dashboards look impressive, as they typically include lots of colorful graphs and charts.

But the amount of data that you can usually include in a KPI reporting dashboard is somewhat limited by the amount of space that these charts occupy on the page.

Since you'll want to keep your KPI report to only a few pages, this can cause an issue if you want to represent large volumes of KPI data in a dashboard style.

Here's an example of a typical KPI Reporting Dashboard:

Example of a Supply Chain KPI Reporting Dashboard in Cascade strategy execution platform

As you can see, this KPI reporting includes several charts as well as large printed numbers that draw attention to the KPIs in question.

KPI reporting dashboards are great for the following scenarios:

  • Presenting in-depth data for a very specific topic (such as demonstrating progress against a single strategic objective).
  • Presenting high-level data for a broader overview of your organization (such as a high level summary of the major KPIs for your entire business).
  • Creating a strong sense of 'polish' around your KPI reporting (such as to impress boards, investors, or for public presentations).

If you like the idea of creating a KPI dashboard, the good news is that we've written a dedicated article on how to create KPI dashboards (including loads of examples). So do check that out for a bit of inspiration for your own KPI dashboard!

KPI Snapshot

Another way of representing data for your KPI reports is to opt for a more tabular style of presentation (sometimes known as a 'Snapshot' ).

The table style of KPI reporting allows you to include a lot more data than the dashboard style - but at the expense of visuals such as charts.

The inclusion of historical data (such as progress over time) is also more limited in the table style since you're showing absolute values for data points rather than a visual representation of progress (such as a line on a graph).

Here's an example of a KPI report in a feature-style:

Example of a Customer Service KPI Reporting Snapshot in Cascade strategy execution platform

The table-style of KPI reporting is harder to digest at first glance, but on deeper inspection actually provides more data than the equivalent dashboard-style KPI report.

Times to opt for a table-style of KPI reporting might include:

  • When presenting to people who are already very familiar with the subject matter and value increased depth of data over visual polish.
  • When presenting deep drill-downs of data for a specific set of KPIs.
  • When KPIs have many different elements/indicators (rather than just a simple 'progress' number).

There is no right or wrong way to represent data on your KPI reports, so play around with a few different styles and even test them out on your audience to see which gets the better response.

👉How Cascade helps:

With Cascade, you can easily create powerful strategy dashboards & actionable reports that show the progress of your KPIs in real-time. This way, you can discover insights to make confident, informed decisions and build compelling narratives with visualized data.

If you're using strategy execution software like Cascade, it's going to be much easier to experiment with different data visualizations than if you're using more old-fashioned forms of reporting, such as Excel or PowerPoint.

3. Choose the different KPIs to include

The next part of the process of creating your KPI report requires selecting which KPIs you want to include.

Assuming you already have a set of KPIs in your strategic plan, choosing which KPIs to include is actually not all that difficult.

There is no 'right' number of KPIs to include in your report - but as a rule of thumb, if you're producing a KPI dashboard report, try to keep the total number to around 6 , and if you're producing a table-style KPI report, try to keep it to less than 20 .

Before selecting your KPIs, one critical step that you need to perform is to divide your KPIs into 'leading' and 'lagging' KPIs.

You'll want to include a mix of both types of KPIs on your dashboard. If you need a refresh on the differences between leading and lagging KPIs, check out this article . But as a quick summary:

  • Leading KPIs are KPIs that give you an indication of whether or not you're heading in the right direction.
  • Lagging KPIs are the actual results of your efforts.
An example of a leading KPI would be 'Number of website visitors'. Whereas a corresponding lagging KPI might be '$ value of sales'. Why ? Because the number of website visitors is not in of itself the desired outcome, but rather something that leads (hopefully) to the actual desired outcome, which is sales.

Structure your KPI report to tell a story, so that when you present it, you're not just running through a list of numbers, but actually painting a picture of what's happening and why.

Don't forget to refer back to your scope (step 1) when selecting your KPIs - you need to ask yourself:

‍ Do the KPIs I selected work to deliver against the scope of my KPI report?

4. Consider your data sources

During this important step, it's crucial to think about the data sources you'll tap into to gather the information for your KPI report. You want to make sure that your data is not only reliable but also up-to-date and directly relevant to the KPIs you have selected (in the previous step!) .

💡 Remember : accurate and trustworthy data forms the backbone of meaningful analysis and informed decision-making.

To ensure that your KPI report reflects the reality of the situation, keep these factors in mind:

  • Reliability : Choose data sources that are reliable and accurate. By relying on trustworthy sources, you can be confident that the information in your report is dependable.
  • Up-to-date information : Always use the most current and up-to-date data (or ideally real-time data) in your report. Regularly update your data sources to maintain the relevance and effectiveness.
  • Relevance to chosen KPIs : Select data sources that directly align with the specific KPIs you chose to measure, and that will provide meaningful insights into their performance.
  • Data integrity : Scrutinize the data from your sources to ensure its integrity. Look out for any anomalies, inconsistencies, or potential data quality issues that may compromise the reliability of your findings.

Tired of piecing together hundreds of pieces of information to create a report? Cascade allows you to collect all your data from throughout your organization and present it in clear, beautifully visualized reports. With Cascade’s +1,000 integrations , bring all your information together and get a single source of the progress of your KPIs in real-time.

5. Add commentary & be prepared

Often, people get super-excited about steps 1 to 4, and go off and create a beautiful KPI report - but then come unstuck when it comes to actually using it.

Remember, your KPI report is only as good as the underlying data. And furthermore, you need to have a clear idea of what you're going to change as a result of the KPI performance you're observing.

That's why we always recommend including a 'commentary' section on your KPI report.

Typically, the commentary section is where you'll include:

  • An explanation for any major exceptions in the performance of specific KPIs
  • Notes that relate to issues with data integrity or 'blips'
  • Action plan to address deficiencies on any of the KPIs you're reporting on

Not only are KPI commentaries useful for people reading your KPI report, they also force you to think about the data when you're creating the report - meaning that you'll be better prepared to answer questions when you come to actually presenting your KPIs.

In Cascade, you can collect qualitative, contextual updates on how initiatives are progressing from your teams. Record videos, write notes, and more to document the journey for stakeholders.

KPI Report Template

To help get you started, we've created a couple of different KPI report templates. You can download them here . One is a dashboard-style template, and the other is a table-style KPI report.

You can easily customize them to your organization’s needs, but they should be enough to get you started and provide a bit of inspiration.

More Resources For Creating KPI Reports

We know that we've glossed over some of the harder parts of actually writing KPIs themselves, so here is a list of resources that you might want to check out to help you out:

  • How to Write KPIs in 4 Steps + Free KPI Template
  • What is a KPI Meaning? How to Set KPIs + KPI Generator
💡 Pro Tip : Use the SMART methodology when writing your KPIs. This means making sure they’re specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound.  

Streamline Your KPI Reporting With Cascade 🚀

Cascade is not just another reporting tool... Cascade’s software platform helps businesses connect siloed metrics, initiatives, and investments with their realized performance for accelerated decision-making.

It acts as your Strategy Dashboard Reporting Software to help you:

  • Visualize KPIs on highly customizable dashboards, powered by automated goal tracking .
  • See your data in multiple formats : graph, table, gantt, and more.
  • Build the perfect strategy dashboard using highly customizable widgets .
  • Share your dashboards with anyone - both inside and outside the organization.
  • Simplify strategy reporting with real-time reports configured to run with a single click!

💪🏼Ready to experience the power of Cascade? Sign up today for a free forever plan or book a guided 1:1 tour with one of our Cascade in-house strategy execution experts.

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What is a Key Performance Indicator (KPI)?

Peter Drucker famously said, “What gets measured gets done.” Measurement is an essential management tool, as it helps us determine if our work is making an impact, demonstrate value, manage resources, and focus improvement efforts.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are the critical (key) quantifiable indicators of progress toward an intended result. KPIs provide a focus for strategic and operational improvement, create an analytical basis for decision making and help focus attention on what matters most.

Managing with the use of KPIs includes setting targets (the desired level of performance) and tracking progress against those targets.

Managing with KPIs often means working to improve performance using leading indicators , which are precursors of future success, that will later drive desired impacts indicated with lagging measures .

KPI Essentials

  • Provide objective evidence of progress towards achieving a desired result
  • Measure what is intended to be measured to help inform better decision making
  • Offer a comparison that gauges the degree of performance change over time
  • Can track efficiency, effectiveness, quality, timeliness, governance, compliance, behaviors, economics, project performance, personnel performance or resource utilization
  • Are balanced between leading and lagging indicators

performance measures

Terminology Examples

meaning of kpi report

Let’s say my business provides coffee for catered events. Some inputs include the coffee (suppliers, quality, storage, etc.), the water, and time (in hours or employee costs) that my business invests. My process measures could relate to coffee making procedure or equipment efficiency or consistency. Outputs would focus on the coffee itself (taste, temperature, strength, style, presentation, accessories, etc.). And desired outcomes would likely focus on customer satisfaction and sales. Project measures would focus on the deliverables from any major improvement projects or initiatives, such as a new marketing campaign.

meaning of kpi report

Let’s say someone wants to use KPIs to help them lose weight. Their actual weight is a lagging indicator, as it indicates past success, and the number of calories they eat per day is a leading indicator , as it predicts future success. If the person weighs 250 lbs / 113 kg (a historical trend is called a baseline ), and a person they would like to emulate is 185 lbs / 84 kg (comparison research is called benchmarking ), they might set an 1,700 calorie-per-day target (desired level of performance) for the leading KPI in order to reach their lagging KPI target of 185 lbs / 84 kg by the end of a year.

The Logic of Different Types of Measures

The relative business intelligence value of a set of measurements is greatly improved when the organization understands how various metrics are used and how different types of measures contribute to the picture of how the organization is doing. KPIs can be categorized into several different types:

  • Inputs   measure attributes (amount, type, quality) of resources consumed in processes that produce outputs
  • Process   or activity measures focus on how the efficiency, quality, or consistency of specific processes used to produce a specific output; they can also measure controls on that process, such as the tools/equipment used or process training
  • Outputs   are result measures that indicate how much work is done and define what is produced
  • Outcomes   focus on accomplishments or impacts, and are classified as Intermediate Outcomes, such as customer brand awareness (a direct result of, say, marketing or communications outputs), or End Outcomes, such as customer retention or sales (that are driven by the increased brand awareness)
  • Project   measures answer questions about the status of deliverables and milestone progress related to important projects or initiatives

Every organization needs both strategic and operational measures, and some typically already exist. An entire family of measures can be developed to help understand how effective strategy or operations is being executed, from various categories:

  • Strategic Measures   track progress toward strategic goals, focusing on intended/desired results of the End Outcome or Intermediate Outcome. When using a balanced scorecard, these strategic measures are used to evaluate the organization’s progress in achieving its Strategic Objectives depicted in each of the following four balanced scorecard perspectives:
  • Customer/Stakeholder
  • Internal Processes
  • Organizational Capacity
  • Operational Measures,   which are focused on operations and tactics, and designed to inform better decisions around day-to-day product / service delivery or other operational functions
  • Project Measures,   which are focused on project progress and effectiveness
  • Risk Measures,   which are focused on the risk factors that can threaten our success
  • Employee Measures , which are focused on the human behavior, skills, or performance needed to execute strategy

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Kpi meaning + 27 examples of key performance indicators.

As your organization begins to sketch out what your strategic plan might look like, it’s likely to come to your attention that you’ll need to gain consensus around what your key performance indicators will be and how they will impact your organization. If you haven’t thought much about your KPIs yet, that’s okay. We can help!

We’ve compiled a complete guide that includes an overview of what makes a good KPI, the benefits of good key performance indicators, and a list of KPI examples [organized by department and industry] for your reference as you develop your organization’s strategic plan and goals.

KPIs video

Video Transcript – How to Write KPIs

Hi, my name is Erica Olsen. Today’s whiteboard video is on key performance indicators, or KPIs for short. These are those things that are associated with either goals or objectives, whatever you’re calling them, those elements of your plan that are the expressions of what you want to achieve by when those quantifiable outcome-based statements.

So KPI’s answer the quantifiable piece of your goals and objectives. They come in three different flavors. So we’ll talk about that in just a minute. But before we do, putting great measures together and making sure they work well for you, you need to have these four attributes. And before I talk about those four attributes, so I just want to say the reason they need to work well for you is because KPIs are the heartbeat of your performance management process. They tell you whether you’re making progress, and ultimately, we want to make progress against our strategy. So KPIs are the thing that do that for us. So you’re going to live with them a lot. So let’s make sure they’re really good.

Okay, so the four things you need to have in order to make sure your these measures work for you.

Our number one is your measure. So the measure is the verbal expression very simply, in words, what are we measuring, which is fairly straightforward. The tricky thing is, is we need to be as expressive as we possibly can with our measures. So number of new customers, that’s fine. There’s nothing wrong with that. But a little bit advanced or a little bit more expressive, would be number of new customers this year, or number of new customers for a certain product or a certain service. So what is it is it? Yeah, so it is, so be really clear. And when it comes to measuring it on a monthly basis, you’re gonna want to be as clear as possible. So number of new customers, let’s say this year,

Number two, is our target, or target is the numeric value that we want to achieve. So a couple of things that are important about this is, the target needs to be apples to apples with when the goal date is set, or the due date is set. So we want to achieve 1000 new customers by the end of the year. So the due date in the target works hand in hand. The other thing is the measure and the target need to work hand in hand. So it’s a number. So this is a number, this is a percentage, this is a percentage, you get the idea.

Third thing, we actually run a report on this data. So where is it coming from? Be clear about what the source is. Most organizations have all sorts of data sources, fragmented systems. So making sure you identify where this data is coming from will save you a lot of time.

And then frequency. So how often are you going to be reporting on this KPI, ideally, you’re running monthly strategy reviews to report on the progress of your plan, at least monthly, in which case we’d like to see monthly KPIs. So you got to be able to pull the data monthly in order to make that happen. That’s not always possible. But let’s try to get there. Certainly some organizations are weekly and others are daily, monthly is a good place to start. So frequency. Great.

So now we know the components that we need to have in place in order to have our KPIs. Here are some different types of KPIs that you might think about as you’re putting your plan together.

So there are just straight up raw numbers, I call these widget counting, there’s nothing wrong with widget counting, they don’t necessarily tell a story. And I’ll talk about how to make this tell a story in a minute. But this is just simply widget counting number of things.

The second thing is progress. So this is really often used, it’s great. We use this, which is expressed as percent complete percent complete of the goal, percent completed a project, whatever it might be, it’s a project type measure. It’s a good measure, if if you don’t have quantifiable measures, or you can’t get the data, and you just want to track the performance of the goal as it relates to action items being completed under it.

The third type of indicator is a Change Type Indicator, like percent increase in sales, making this better would be percent increase in sales compared to last year. And the idea is 22%. So you can see how that starts to be more expressive, and work with the target. So this serves to tell a little bit more of a story than this one does, right? And if you want to actually make your widget counting measures tell more of a story like this one does, you might change something like this to read percentage of new customers acquired compared to same time last year. So that’s an example.

Okay, so now we know what we have to have in place and kind of different types of measures to get our ideas flowing. Let’s talk about one thing that you might take your measure writing to the next level and that is think about the fact that there are leading and lagging measures so are leading and lagging indicators. So percent increase in sales or sales is a lagging indicator it occurred as an outcome. If you want to make sure that you’re on track ACC, you might have a KPI in place, which is telling us whether we’re going to hit that increase such as your pipeline, maybe number of leads, or the size of your pipeline. So we don’t want to over rotate on this necessarily, but we do want to make sure we have a combination of leading and lagging measures when we’re looking at our performance on a monthly basis.

So with that, that’s all we have for today. Hopefully you have what you need to write great KPIs for your organization. Happy strategizing. And don’t forget, subscribe to our channel.

What is a Key Performance Indicator KPI — KPI Definition

Key performance indicators, also called KPIs, are the elements of your organization’s plan that express the quantitative outcomes you seek and how you will measure success. In other words, they tell you what you want to achieve and by when, and are crucial for evaluating the success of an organization. They are the qualitative, quantifiable, outcome-based statements you’ll use to measure progress and determine if you’re on track to meet your goals or objectives. Good plans use 5-7 KPIs to manage and track their progress against goals.

What is a KPI?

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KPI Meaning & Why do you need them?

Key performance indicators are intended to create a holistic picture of how your organization is performing against its intended targets, business goals, or objectives. A great key performance indicator should accomplish all the following:

  • Outline and measure your organization’s most important set of outputs.
  • Work as the heartbeat of your performance management process and confirm whether progress is being made against your strategy.
  • Represent the key elements of your strategic plan that express what you want to achieve by when.
  • Measure the quantifiable components of your goals and objectives.
  • Measure the most important leading and lagging measures in your organization.

The Five Elements of a KPI

These are the heartbeat of your performance management process and must work well! They tell you whether you’re making progress or how far you are from reaching your goals. Ultimately, you want to make progress against your strategy. You’ll live with these KPIs for at least the quarter (preferably the year), so make sure they’re valuable!

Great strategies track the progress of core elements of the plan. Each key performance indicator needs to include the following elements:

  • A Measure: Every KPI must have a measure. The best ones have more specific or expressive measures.
  • A Target: Every KPI needs to have a target that matches your measure and the period of your goal. These are generally a numeric values you’re seeking to achieve.
  • A Data Source: Each of these needs to have a clearly defined data source so there is no gray area in measuring and tracking each.
  • Reporting Frequency: Different measures may have different reporting needs, but a good rule to follow is to report on them at least monthly.
  • Owner: While this isn’t a mandatory aspect of your KPI statement, setting expectations of who will take care of tracking, reporting, and refining specific KPIs is helpful to your overall organizational plan.

Elements of a KPI

Indicators vs. Key Performance Indicators

An indicator is a general term that describes a business’s performance metrics.

There can be several types of indicators a company may track, but not all indicators are KPIs, especially if they don’t tie into an organization’s overall strategic plan or objectives, which is a MUST!

Key Performance Indicators

On the other hand, a key performance indicator is a very specific indicator that measures an organization’s progress toward a specific company-wide goal or objective. We typically recommend you narrow down the KPIs your organization tracks to no more than 7. When you track too many goals, it can get daunting and confusing.

Pro Tip : You should only track the best and most valuable indicators that tie to your organization’s long-term strategic goals and direction.

Benefits of Good Key Performance Indicators

What benefits do key performance indicators have on your strategic plan, and on your organization as a whole? A lot of benefits, actually! They are extremely important to the success of your strategic plan as they help you track progress of your goals. Implementing them correctly is critical to success.

  • Benefit #1: They provide clarity and focus to your strategic plan by measuring progress and aligning your team’s efforts to the organization’s objectives. They also show your measurable progress over time and create ways to track your organization’s continued improvement.
  • Benefit #2: Key performance indicators create a way to communicate a shared understanding of success. They give your team a shared understanding of what’s important to achieve your long-term vision and create a shared language to express your progress.
  • Benefit #3: They provide signposts and triggers to help you identify when to act. A good balance of leading and lagging key performance indicators allow you to see the early warning signs when things are going well, or when it’s time to act.

How to Develop KPIs

How to Develop KPIs

We’ve covered this extensively in our How to Identify Key Performance Indicators post. But, here’s a really quick recap:

Step 1: Identify Measures that Contribute Directly to Your Annual Organization-wide Objectives

Ensure you select measures that can be directly used to quantify your most important annual objectives.

Step 2: Evaluate the Quality of Your Core Performance Indicators

Select a balance of leading and lagging indicators (which we define later in the article) that are quantifiable and move your organization forward. Always ensure you have relevant KPIs. Having the right key performance indicators makes a world of difference!

Step 3: Assign Ownership

Every key performance indicator needs ownership! It’s just that simple.

Step 4: Monitor and Report with Consistency

Whatever you do, don’t just set and forget your goals. We see it occasionally that people will select measures and not track them, but what’s the point of that? Be consistent. We recommend selecting measures that can be reported upon at least monthly.

The 3 Common Types of KPIs to Reference as You Build Your Metrics

Key performance indicators answer the quantifiable piece of your goals and objectives . They come in three different flavors. Now that you know the components of great key performance indicators, here are some different ones that you might think about as you’re putting your plan together:

Broad Number Measures

The first type of KPI is what we like to call broad number measures. These are the ones that essentially count something. An example is counting the number of products sold or the number of visits to a webpage.

PRO TIP: There is nothing wrong with these, but they don’t tell a story. Great measures help you create a clear picture of what is going on in your organization. So, using only broad ones won’t help create a narrative.

Progress Measures

Progress key performance indicators are used to help measure the progress of outcomes . This is most commonly known as the “percent complete” KPI, which is helpful in measuring the progress of completing a goal or project. These are best when quantifiable outcomes are difficult to track, or you can’t get specific data.

PRO TIP: Progress KPIs are great, but your KPI stack needs to include some easily quantifiable measures. We recommend using a mixture of progress KPIs and other types that have clear targets and data sources.

Change Measures

The final type of KPI is a change indicator. These are used to measure the quantifiable change in a metric or measure. An example would be, “X% increase in sales.” It adds a change measure to a quantifiable target.

The more specific change measures are, the easier they are to understand. A better iteration of the example above would be “22% increase in sales over last year, which represents an xyz lift in net-new business.” More expressive measures are better.

PRO TIP: Change measures are good for helping create a clear narrative . It helps explain where you’re going instead of just a simple target.

Leading KPIs vs Lagging KPIs

Part of creating a holistic picture of your organization’s progress is looking at different types of measures, like a combination of leading and lagging indicators. Using a mixture of both allows you to monitor progress and early warning signs closely when your plan is under or over-performing (leading indicator) and you have a good hold on how that performance will impact your business down the road (lagging indicator). Here’s a deep dive on leading versus lagging indicators:

Leading Indicator

We often refer to these metrics as the measures that tell you how your business might/will perform in the future. They are the warning buoys you put out in the water to let you know when something is going well and when something isn’t.

For example, a leading KPI for an organization might be the cost to deliver a good/service. If the cost of labor increases, it will give you a leading indicator that you will see an impact on net profit or inventory cost.

Another example of a leading indicator might be how well your website is ranking or how well your advertising is performing. If your website is performing well, it might be a leading indicator that your sales team will have an increase in qualified leads and contracts signed.

Lagging Indicator

A lagging indicator refers to past developments and effects. This reflects the past outcomes of your measure. So, it lags behind the performance of your leading indicators.

An example of a lagging indicator is EBITA. It reflects your earnings for a past date. That lagging indicator may have been influenced by leading indicators like the cost of labor/materials.

Balancing Leading and Lagging Indicators

If you want to ensure that you’re on track, you might have a KPI in place telling you whether you will hit that increase, such as your lead pipeline. We don’t want to over-rotate on this, but as part of a holistic, agile plan, we recommend outlining 5-7 key performance metrics or indicators in your plan that show a mix of leading and lagging indicators. .

Having a mixture of both gives you both a look-back and a look-forward as you measure the success of your plan and business health. We also recommend identifying and committing to tracking and managing the same KPIs for about a year, with regular monthly or quarterly reporting cadence, to create consistency in data and reporting.

KPI Examples

27 KPI Examples

Sales key performance indicators.

  • Number of contracts signed per quarter
  • Dollar value for new contracts signed per period
  • Number of qualified leads per month
  • Number of engaged qualified leads in the sales funnel
  • Hours of resources spent on sales follow up
  • Average time for conversion

Increase the number of contracts signed by 10% each quarter.

  • Measure: Number of contracts signed per quarter
  • Target: Increase number of new contracts signed by 10% each quarter
  • Data Source: CRM system
  • Reporting Frequency: Weekly
  • *Owner: Sales Team
  • Due Date: Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4

Increase the value of new contracts by $300,000 per quarter this year.

  • Measure: Dollar value for new contracts signed per period
  • Data Source: Hubspot Sales Funnel
  • Reporting Frequency: Monthly
  • *Owner: VP of Sales

Increase the close rate to 30% from 20% by the end of the year.

  • Measure: Close rate – number of closed contracts/sales qualified leads
  • Target: Increase close rate from 20% to 30%
  • *Owner: Director of Sales
  • Due Date: December 31, 2023

Increase the number of weekly engaged qualified leads in the sales from 50 to 75 by the end of FY23.

  • Measure: Number of engaged qualified leads in sales funnel
  • Target: 50 to 75 by end of FY2023
  • Data Source: Marketing and Sales CRM
  • *Owner: Head of Sales

Decrease time to conversion from 60 to 45 days by Q3 2023.

  • Measure: Average time for conversion
  • Target: 60 days to 45 days
  • Due Date: Q3 2023

Increase number of closed contracts by 2 contracts/week in 2023.

  • Measure: Number of closed contracts
  • Target: Increase closed contracts a week from 4 to 6
  • Data Source: Sales Pipeline
  • *Owner: Sales and Marketing Team

Examples of KPIs for Financial

  • Growth in revenue
  • Net profit margin
  • Gross profit margin
  • Operational cash flow
  • Current accounts receivables

Financial KPIs as SMART Annual Goals

Grow top-line revenue by 10% by the end of 2023.

  • Measure: Revenue growth
  • Target: 10% growt
  • Data Source: Quickbooks
  • *Owner: Finance and Operations Team
  • Due Date: By the end 2023

Increase gross profit margin by 12% by the end of 2023.

  • Measure: Percentage growth of net profit margin
  • Target: 12% net profit margin increase
  • Data Source: Financial statements
  • *Owner: Accounting Department

Increase net profit margin from 32% to 40% by the end of 2023.

  • Measure: Gross profit margin in percentage
  • Target: Increase gross profit margin from 32% to 40% by the end of 2023
  • Data Source: CRM and Quickbooks
  • *Owner: CFO

Maintain $5M operating cash flow for FY2023.

  • Measure: Dollar amount of operational cash flow
  • Target: $5M average
  • Data Source: P&L
  • Due Date: By the end FY2023

Collect 95% of account receivables within 60 days in 2023.

  • Measure: Accounts collected within 60 days
  • Target: 95% in 2023
  • Data Source: Finance
  • Due Date: End of 2023

Examples of KPIs for Customers

  • Number of customers retained
  • Percentage of market share
  • Net promotor score
  • Average ticket/support resolution time

Customer KPIs as SMART Annual Goals

90% of current customer monthly subscriptions during FY2023.

  • Measure: Number of customers retained
  • Target: Retain 90% percent of monthly subscription customers in FY2023
  • Data Source: CRM software
  • *Owner: Director of Client Operations

Increase market share by 5% by the end of 2023.

  • Measure: Percentage of market share
  • Target: Increase market share from 25%-30% by the end of 2023
  • Data Source: Market research reports
  • Reporting Frequency: Quarterly
  • *Owner: Head of Marketing

Increase NPS score by 9 points in 2023.

  • Measure: Net Promoter Score
  • Target: Achieve a 9-point NPS increase over FY2023
  • Data Source: Customer surveys
  • *Owner: COO

Achieve a weekly ticket close rate of 85% by the end of FY2023.

  • Measure: Average ticket/support resolution time
  • Target: Achieve a weekly ticket close rate of 85%
  • Data Source: Customer support data
  • *Owner: Customer Support Team

Examples of KPIs for Operations

  • Order fulfillment time
  • Time to market
  • Employee satisfaction rating
  • Employee churn rate
  • Inventory turnover

Operational KPIs as SMART Annual Goals

Average 3 days maximum order fill time by the end of Q3 2023.

  • Measure: Order fulfilment time
  • Target: Average maximum of 3 days
  • Data Source: Order management software
  • *Owner: Shipping Manager

Achieve an average SaaS project time-to-market of 4 weeks per feature in 2023.

  • Measure: Average time to market
  • Target: 4 weeks per feature
  • Data Source: Product development and launch data
  • *Owner: Product Development Team

Earn a minimum score of 80% employee satisfaction survey over the next year.

  • Measure: Employee satisfaction rating
  • Target: Earn a minimum score of 80% employee
  • Data Source: Employee satisfaction survey and feedback

Maintain a maximum of 10% employee churn rate over the next year.

  • Measure: Employee churn rate
  • Target: Maintain a maximum of 10% employee churn rate over the next year
  • Data Source: Human resources and payroll data
  • *Owner: Human Resources

Achieve a minimum ratio of 5-6 inventory turnover in 2023.

  • Measure: Inventory turnover ratio
  • Target: Minimum ratio of 5-6
  • Data Source: Inventory management software
  • *Owner: perations Department

Marketing Key Performance

  • Monthly website traffic
  • Number of marketing qualified leads
  • Conversion rate for call-to-action content
  • Keywords in top 10 search engine results
  • Blog articles published this month
  • E-Books published this month

Marketing KPIs as SMART Annual Goals

Achieve a minimum of 10% increase in monthly website traffic over the next year.

  • Measure: Monthly website traffic
  • Target: 10% increase in monthly website
  • Data Source: Google analytics
  • *Owner: Marketing Manager

Generate a minimum of 200 qualified leads per month in 2023.

  • Measure: Number of marketing qualified leads
  • Target: 200 qualified leads per month
  • Data Source: Hubspot

Achieve a minimum of 10% conversion rate for on-page CTAs by end of Q3 2023.

  • Measure: Conversion rate on service pages
  • Target: 10%
  • Due Date: End of Q3, 2023

Achieve a minimum of 20 high-intent keywords in the top 10 search engine results over the next year.

  • Measure: Keywords in top 10 search engine results
  • Target: 20 keywords
  • Data Source: SEM Rush data
  • *Owner: SEO Manager

Publish a minimum of 4 blog articles per month to earn new leads in 2023.

  • Measure: Blog articles
  • Target: 4 per month
  • Data Source: CMS
  • *Owner: Content Marketing Manager
  • Due Date: December 2023

Publish at least 2 e-books per quarter in 2023 to create new marketing-qualified leads.

  • Measure: E-Books published
  • Target: 2 per quarter
  • Data Source: Content management system

Bonus: +40 Extra KPI Examples

Supply chain example key performance indicators.

  • Number of On-Time Deliveries
  • Inventory Carry Rate
  • Months of Supply on Hand
  • Inventory-to-Sales Ratio (ISR)
  • Carrying Cost of Inventory
  • Inventory Turnover Rate
  • Perfect Order Rate
  • Inventory Accuracy

Healthcare Example Key Performance Indicators

  • Bed or Room Turnover
  • Average Patient Wait Time
  • Average Treatment Charge
  • Average Insurance Claim Cost
  • Medical Error Rate
  • Patient-to-Staff Ratio
  • Medication Errors
  • Average Emergency Room Wait Times
  • Average Insurance Processing Time
  • Billing Code Error Rates
  • Average Hospital Stay
  • Patient Satisfaction Rate

Human Resource Example Key Performance Indicators

  • Organization Headcount
  • Average Number of Job Vacancies
  • Applications Received Per Job Vacancy
  • Job Offer Acceptance Rate
  • Cost Per New Hire
  • Average Salary
  • Average Employee Satisfaction
  • Employee Turnover Rate
  • New Hire Training Effectiveness

Social Media Example Key Performance Indicators

  • Average Engagement
  • % Growth in Following
  • Traffic Conversions
  • Social Interactions
  • Website Traffic from Social Media
  • Number of Post Shares
  • Social Visitor Conversion Rates
  • Issues Resolved Using Social Channel

Conclusion: Keeping a Pulse on Your Plan

With the foundational knowledge of the KPI anatomy and a few example starting points, it’s important you build out these metrics with detailed and specific data sources so you can truly evaluate if you’re achieving your goals. Remember, these will be the 5-7 core metrics you’ll live by for the next 12 months, so it’s crucial to develop effective KPIs that follow the SMART formula.

A combination of leading and lagging KPIs will paint a clear picture of your organization’s strategic performance and empower you to make agile decisions to impact your team’s success. KPI software allows your business to monitor and analyze performance trends over time by centralizing your data and using relevant data points and calculations. If you’d like more information on building better ones, check out the video above and click here to see why not all KPIs are created equal.

Our Other KPI Resources

We have several other great resources to consider as you build your organization’s Key Performance Indicators! Check out these other helpful posts and guides:

  • OKRs vs. KPIs: A Downloadable Guide to Explain the Difference
  • How to Identify KPIs in 4 Steps
  • KPIs vs Metrics: Tips and Tricks to Performance Measures
  • Guide to Establishing Weekly Health Metrics

FAQs on Key Performance Indicators

KPI stands for Key Performance Indicators. KPIs are the elements of your organization’s business or strategic plan that express what outcomes you are seeking and how you will measure their success. They express what you need to achieve by when. KPIs are always quantifiable, outcome-based statements to measure if you’re on track to meet your goals and objectives.

The 4 elements of key performance indicators are:

  • A Measure – The best KPIs have more expressive measures.
  • A Target – Every KPI needs to have a target that matches your measure and the time period of your goal.
  • A Data Source – Every KPI needs to have a clearly defined data source.
  • Reporting Frequency – A defined reporting frequency.

No, KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) are different from metrics. Metrics are quantitative measurements used to track and analyze various aspects of business performance, while KPIs are specific metrics chosen as indicators of success in achieving strategic goals.

16 Comments

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HI Erica hope your are doing well, Sometime Strategy doesn’t cover all the activities through the company, like maintenance for example may be quality control …. sure they have a contribution in the overall goals achievement but there is no specific new requirement for them unless doing their job, do u think its better to develop a specific KPIs for these department? waiting your recommendation

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Thanks for your strategic KPIs

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Hello Erica, Could you please clarify how to set KPIs for the Strategic Planning team?

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Hi Diana, check out the whitepaper above for more insight!

Hello Erica, Could you please clarify, how to set the KPIs for the Strategic PLanning team?

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exampels of empowerment kpis

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I found great information in this article. In any case, the characteristics that KPIs must have are: measurability, effectiveness, relevance, utility and feasibility

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How to write methodology guidelines for strategy implementation / a company’s review and tracking (process and workflow) for all a company’s divisions

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support on strategizing Learning & Development for Automobile dealership

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Could you please to clarify how to write the KPIs for the Secretary.

Check out our guide to creating KPIs for more help here: https://onstrategyhq.com/kpi-guide-download/

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That’s an amazing article.

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Could you please to clarify how to write the KPIs for the office boy supervisor

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Could you please clarify how to write KPIs for the editorial assistant in a start up publishing company.

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Kindly advice how I would set a kpi for a mattress factory

Comments Cancel

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KPI Examples and Templates

This resource provides visual KPI examples and templates for key departments such as Sales, Marketing, Accounting, Supply Chain, Call Centers and more

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KPI Examples and Templates

A Key Performance Indicator (KPI) is a measurable value that demonstrates how effectively a company is achieving key business objectives. Organizations use KPIs to evaluate their success at reaching targets. Selecting the right KPIs will depend on your industry and which part of the business you are looking to track

Once you’ve selected your key business metrics, you will want to track them in a real-time reporting tool. KPI management can be done using dashboard reporting software, giving your entire organization insights into your current performance. Learn more about how to track KPIs in a report or dashboard .

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Kpi dashboard templates & examples.

To be useful, key performance indicators need to be monitored and reported on; if they change in real-time, they should be monitored in real-time. KPI Dashboards are the perfect tool for your performance tracking reports as they can be used to visually depict the performance of an enterprise, a specific department, or a key business operation.

Here are some KPI examples to demonstrate how you can present key performance indicators to your team in dashboards and reports:

Executive Dashboard Examples

Executive Dashboards

Executive dashboards provide a powerful way to monitor your business performance. Discover why 12,000+ customers rely on us to make better decisions.

Marketing Dashboard Examples

Marketing Dashboards

How do you track your marketing performance? Browse countless dashboard examples for digital marketing, social media, content marketing, PPC, and SEO.

SaaS Dashboard Examples

SaaS Dashboards

SaaS (Software as a Service) businesses operate in a fiercely competitive market. A SaaS Dashboard organizes key SaaS metrics from sales, marketing, finance, support, and development teams to give executives a bird’s-eye view of the business.

Sales Dashboard Examples

Sales Dashboards

Sales teams operate in a fast-paced, target-oriented environment. Modern, data-driven sales teams closely monitor individual and team performance to adjust and improve strategies in real time.

Social Media Dashboard Examples

Social Media Dashboards

A social media monitoring dashboard displays all of your metrics in a single view. Use your social media metrics to shape your marketing strategy, engage with your audience, increase your conversion rates, and generate revenue.

Business Dashboard Examples

Business Dashboards

Monitor the health of your business in real-time.

Supply Chain Dashboard Examples

Supply Chain Dashboards

A Supply Chain Dashboard is a reporting tool used to track supply chain KPIs and metrics in a single display or interface. Supply chain dashboards track inventory levels, logistics management, and warehouse operations.

Call Center Dashboard Examples

Call Center Dashboards

A call center dashboard increases the visibility of real time, business-critical metrics providing you with the information needed to respond to challenges before they become crises.

Why Are KPIs Important?

Each department will use different KPI types to measure success based on specific business goals and targets. If you need more examples of the advantages of KPIs, here’s a quick look:

  • Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) gauge the success of a business, organization, or individual in reaching specific objectives.
  • The KPIs can differ based on industry, company, and personal objectives.
  • Popular KPI examples include customer satisfaction, employee retention, revenue growth, and cost reduction.
  • KPIs are often measured on a periodic basis, such as monthly, quarterly, or yearly.
  • KPIs should possess measurable, attainable, and relevant characteristics aligned with the organization's objectives.
  • Regular tracking of KPIs ensures the organization is on track to meet its goals.
  • In combination with other metrics, such as financial metrics, KPIs provide a comprehensive view of performance.
  • KPIs can be utilized to compare performance across different departments, teams, or individuals.
  • KPIs help identify areas for improvement and set future objectives.

How to Write and Develop Key Performance Indicators

When writing or developing a KPI, you need to consider how that key performance indicator relates to a specific business outcome or objective. Key performance indicators need to be customized to your business situation and should be developed to help you achieve your goals. Follow these steps when writing one:

Write a clear objective

When setting up your KPIs, the first step is to define a clear and specific objective for each metric. This objective should align with your overall business goals and provide a roadmap for what you're trying to achieve. For example, if your business goal is to increase customer retention, your KPI objective could be "to reduce churn rate by 10% in the next quarter."

Share objectives with stakeholders

Once you've established your KPI objectives, sharing them with all relevant stakeholders is crucial. This includes not just your team members but also executives, investors, and even key customers, where appropriate. Transparency ensures everyone is on the same page and working towards the same goals.

Conduct weekly or monthly reviews

Regular review of your KPIs is essential for tracking progress and making timely adjustments. Depending on the nature of the KPI and the business cycle, reviews can be conducted weekly or monthly. Use these review sessions to analyze data, discuss challenges, and celebrate wins.

Prioritize actionable KPIs

An actionable KPI is one that provides insights that you can act upon. For instance, instead of a vague KPI like "increase brand awareness," opt for something more actionable like "increase website traffic by 15% through targeted social media advertising." This gives you a clear action path to follow to achieve your objective.

Keep KPIs flexible to suit business needs

Business needs and environments are constantly changing. Your KPIs should be flexible enough to adapt to these changes. For example, if your business has recently entered a new market, you may need to adjust your KPIs to focus on customer acquisition rather than retention.

Set realistic targets but add stretch goals

While your KPIs should be challenging, they also need to be attainable to keep your team motivated. Always cross-reference your KPIs with historical data and current capabilities to ensure they are realistic. Additionally, consider adding a "stretch goal" that goes beyond the primary objective to encourage exceptional performance.

Update your objectives as needed

As you review your KPIs, there may be instances where objectives need to be updated. This could be due to a change in business strategy, market conditions, or internal capabilities. Regular updates ensure that your KPIs remain relevant and aligned with your current business goals.

Key Performance Indicators Best Practices

Measuring and monitoring business performance is critical, but focusing on the wrong key performance indicators can be detrimental. So can be poorly structured ones or ones that are too difficult, costly to obtain, or to monitor on a regular basis.

So what makes business performance indicators “key,” and how should a business owner, executive, or manager select them? There are six factors that separate effective, value-creating key performance indicators from detrimental, value-diminishing ones. Follow these six best practices:

  • Aligned: Make sure they align with the strategic goals and objectives of your organization
  • Attainable: The indicators you choose to measure should have data that can be easily obtained
  • Acute: They should keep everyone on the same page and moving in the same direction
  • Accurate: The data flowing into the performance indicators should be reliable and accurate
  • Actionable: Does each one give you insight into the business that is actionable?
  • Alive: Your business is always growing and changing. Your KPIs should evolve as well!

Learn more about KPI best practices .

Saa S Kpi Examples

Business Metrics vs KPIs

A Business Metric is a quantifiable measure that is used to track and assess the status of a specific business process. Every area of business has specific metrics that should be monitored – marketing metrics can include tracking campaign and program statistics, while sales metrics may look at the number of new opportunities and leads in your database, and executive metrics will focus more on big-picture financial metrics . Learn more: Business Metrics .

100+ KPI Examples & Templates

Depending on your industry and the specific department you are interested in tracking, there are a number of KPI types your business will want to monitor. Each department will want to measure success based on specific goals and targets. Take a look at the departmental KPI examples below to learn more about the one you should be measuring.

Below are the 100 important business KPI examples to track & measure.

  • Marketing Key Performance Indicators
  • Sales & Retail Key Performance Indicators
  • Key Performance Indicator Examples for Operations
  • Project Management Key Performance Indicators

Marketing Kpi Examples Dashboard

Marketing Key Performance Example (KPI) Examples

Marketing Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) help you evaluate the success of your marketing efforts and identify areas for improvement. These KPIs cover various aspects of marketing, from digital marketing channels and social media to email marketing and customer relationship management. Regularly monitoring these KPIs can help you refine your marketing strategy and optimize your campaigns for better results.

Return on Marketing Investment (ROMI)

ROMI measures the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns by comparing the revenue generated to the cost of the campaign. It helps you understand which marketing activities are most profitable, allowing you to allocate resources more efficiently.

Customer Acquisition Costs (CAC)

This KPI calculates the cost incurred to acquire a new customer. This KPI is crucial for understanding how much you're spending to grow your customer base and whether your marketing efforts are sustainable in the long run.

Conversion Rate (CVR)

Conversion rate is the percentage of visitors to your website or landing page who take a desired action, such as making a purchase or signing up for a newsletter. A higher CVR usually indicates a more effective marketing strategy.

Cost per Lead (CPL)

CPL measures the cost incurred for each lead generated through your marketing efforts. This KPI helps you understand the efficiency of your lead generation campaigns and whether they are worth the investment.

Cost per Acquisition (CPA)

This metric calculates the cost to acquire a customer through a specific marketing channel or campaign. It's a more specific version of CAC and helps you identify the most cost-effective acquisition methods.

Click-Through Rate (CTR)

CTR is the ratio of users who click on a specific link to the number of total users who view the ad or page. A higher CTR indicates that your ad or content is capturing attention effectively.

Net Promoter Score (NPS)

NPS measures customer loyalty and satisfaction by asking customers how likely they are to recommend your product or service. It's a key indicator of customer experience and potential for growth.

Average Time on Site (ATOS)

ATOS measures the average amount of time a visitor spends on your website. A longer average time usually indicates more engaging content and a higher likelihood of conversion.

Email Open Rate

With this KPI, you can measure the percentage of recipients who open your email. A higher open rate generally indicates a more effective email subject line and greater engagement with your audience.

Email Click-Through Rate (CTR)

This measures the percentage of email recipients who clicked on one or more links in an email. A higher email CTR suggests that your email content is relevant and compelling to the reader.

Email Conversion Rate

Email conversion rate shows you the percentage of email recipients who complete the desired action after clicking on a link in your email, such as making a purchase. It helps evaluate the effectiveness of your email marketing campaigns.

Social Media Engagement Rate

This measures the level of engagement your social media posts receive, including likes, shares, and comments. A higher engagement rate usually indicates more effective content and stronger audience connection.

Social Media Follower Growth

With this KPI, you can track the rate at which your social media following is growing. A steady increase in followers is a good indicator of the effectiveness of your social media strategy.

Social Media Reach

This measures the total number of people who have seen your social media posts. A larger reach increases the potential for engagement and conversion.

Net Profit Margin

This KPI measures the profitability of your marketing efforts by comparing net profit to revenue. A higher net profit margin indicates more effective marketing and greater financial health.

Marketing Qualified Leads (MQL)

MQLs are leads that have been deemed more likely to become customers compared to other leads based on lead intelligence. This KPI helps you focus your efforts on high-potential leads.

Website Traffic by Source

This KPI tracks the sources from which visitors are coming to your website, such as organic search, social media, or direct traffic. It helps you understand which channels are most effective in driving traffic.

Landing Page Conversion Rate

This measures the percentage of visitors to a landing page who take a desired action. A higher conversion rate indicates a more effective landing page design and offer.

Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)

CLV calculates the total value a customer is expected to bring to your business over their entire lifetime. This KPI helps you understand how much you can afford to spend on customer acquisition and retention.

Sales Kpi Examples Dashboard

Sales & Retail KPI Examples

The key performance indicator examples below encompass a diverse range of sales facets, including the generation of revenue, overall profitability, the management of customer relationships, and the efficacy of the sales team. By consistently evaluating these KPIs, it becomes possible to hone sales strategies and enhance the performance of the sales team, ultimately leading to more favorable outcomes.

Sales Revenue

This is the total income generated from sales of goods or services. It serves as the starting point for any sales analysis and is a critical indicator of business health and growth potential.

Gross Profit Margin

Gross profit margin is the percentage of revenue that exceeds the cost of goods sold. A higher margin indicates a more profitable business and provides room for growth and expansion.

Net profit margin measures the percentage of revenue remaining after all operating expenses are deducted. It provides insights into overall profitability and financial efficiency.

Sales Growth Rate

Sales growth rate is the percentage increase in sales over a specific period. It's crucial for understanding the scalability of your business and for setting future revenue goals.

Average Deal Size

Average deal size refers to the average value of each sales transaction. A higher average deal size often indicates a more effective sales process and higher-quality leads.

Sales Qualified Leads (SQL)

SQLs are leads that have been vetted and are considered ready for the sales team to engage. This KPI helps prioritize leads and focus sales efforts on high-potential prospects.

Lead Conversion Rate

Lead conversion rate measures the percentage of leads that convert into paying customers. A higher rate indicates a more effective sales funnel and better lead quality.

Sales Pipeline Value

Sales pipeline value is the total value of all opportunities in the sales pipeline. It provides an estimate of future revenue and helps in resource allocation.

Win Rate (Closing Ratio)

Win rate is the percentage of deals that are closed successfully. A higher win rate indicates a more effective sales process and team.

Average Sales Cycle Length

This KPI measures the average time it takes to close a deal, from initial contact to final sale. A shorter sales cycle is generally more efficient and cost-effective.

Customer Retention Rate

Customer retention rate refers to the percentage of customers who continue to buy from you over a specific time period. High retention rates are indicative of customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Customer Churn Rate

Customer churn rate is the percentage of customers who stop buying from you during a specific period. A lower churn rate is ideal and indicates strong customer relationships.

Upsell/Cross-sell Rate

This KPI measures the percentage of existing customers who purchase additional products or services. A higher rate indicates effective sales and marketing strategies for customer expansion.

Average Revenue per User (ARPU)

ARPU calculates the average revenue generated from each user or customer. It's a key metric for understanding the value each customer brings to your business.

Quota Attainment Rate

This KPI refers to the percentage of sales reps who meet or exceed their sales quotas. A higher rate indicates a well-performing sales team and effective sales strategies.

Customer Lifetime

As mentioned, customer lifetime measures the total time a customer continues to purchase from your business. A longer customer lifetime indicates strong customer loyalty and higher lifetime value.

CPA calculates the cost to acquire a customer through a specific marketing channel or campaign. It helps you identify the most cost-effective acquisition methods.

Sales Productivity

With this KPI, you can track the effectiveness of your sales team in generating revenue. It takes into account various factors like time spent on calls, meetings, and revenue generated.

Average Purchase Value (APV)

APV measures the average value of each transaction made by your customers. A higher APV indicates that customers are purchasing more expensive items or more items per transaction.

Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT)

CSAT measures customer satisfaction through surveys and feedback. A higher CSAT score indicates higher customer satisfaction, which often leads to higher retention rates.

Operations Kpi Examples Dashboard

KPI Examples for Operations

These KPIs look at different parts of operations, like making things efficiently, keeping track of stock, and how well the business is doing with the money. By keeping an eye on these key performance indicator examples, you can make your operations better and help your business do even better overall.

Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE)

OEE measures the efficiency and effectiveness of your equipment. It combines availability, performance, and quality metrics to show how well your machinery is operating.

First Pass Yield (FPY)

FPY measures the percentage of products manufactured correctly the first time without the need for rework or repair. A higher FPY indicates a more efficient and effective production process.

On-Time Delivery (OTD)

OTD measures the percentage of products or services delivered on time to customers. High OTD rates improve customer satisfaction and can lead to increased loyalty and sales.

Production Downtime

This KPI tracks the amount of time production is halted, usually due to machine failures or maintenance. Reducing downtime is crucial for increasing efficiency and profitability.

This is the maximum amount of time allowed to produce a product in order to meet customer demand. It helps in balancing workloads and identifying bottlenecks in the production process.

This KPI refers to the total time taken to complete a specific task or process from start to finish. Reducing cycle time can lead to increased throughput and operational efficiency.

Throughput Rate

Throughput rate measures the number of units produced per unit of time. Increasing throughput rate can lead to higher production volumes and potentially higher revenues.

Capacity Utilization

This KPI measures how effectively you're using your production capacity. Higher capacity utilization rates often indicate more efficient use of resources.

Labor Productivity

Labor productivity measures the output produced per hour of labor. Higher labor productivity can indicate more efficient work processes and can contribute to lower production costs.

Inventory Turnover

Inventory turnover measures how many times inventory is sold and replaced over a specific period. A higher turnover rate indicates better inventory management and stronger sales performance.

Operating Cashflow

Operating cashflow keeps track of the cash generated from core business operations. Positive operating cash flow is essential for covering operational expenses and for business growth.

Days in Inventory

This KPI measures the average number of days items stay in inventory before being sold. Lower days in inventory indicate faster inventory turnover and better cash flow.

Order Picking Accuracy

With this, you can measure the percentage of orders picked without errors. Higher accuracy rates improve customer satisfaction and reduce the costs associated with returns and corrections.

Return on Assets (ROA)

ROA measures the profitability of a company in relation to its total assets. A higher ROA indicates more effective use of assets to generate profits.

Return on Investment (ROI)

ROI measures the profitability of a particular investment relative to its cost. A higher ROI indicates a more successful investment.

Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)

TCO calculates the total cost of purchasing and operating a product over its lifetime. Understanding TCO helps in making more informed purchasing decisions.

Cost of Goods Sold (COGS)

COGS measures the direct costs involved in producing goods that have been sold. Lowering COGS can lead to higher gross profit margins.

Cost Variance

You should use the cost variance KPI to measure the difference between planned and actual costs. Understanding cost variance helps in better budget management and financial planning.

Waste Reduction Rate

This KPI measures the percentage reduction in waste materials in the production process. A higher waste reduction rate indicates more sustainable and cost-effective operations.

Employee Turnover Rate

Employee Turnover Rate measures the percentage of employees who leave the company in a given period. A lower turnover rate is generally indicative of higher employee satisfaction and lower recruiting costs.

Project Management Kpi Examples

Project Management KPIs

Paying attention to the below KPIs allows project managers to make better decisions, manage risks effectively, and ultimately deliver successful projects that meet or exceed stakeholder expectations.

Project Timeline (Schedule Variance)

This KPI measures the difference between the planned and actual project timelines. A negative variance indicates a delay, while a positive variance suggests the project is ahead of schedule. This KPI is crucial for assessing project efficiency and for stakeholder communication.

Budget Variance

It compares the estimated budget to the actual costs incurred. A positive variance indicates the project is under budget, while a negative variance means it's over budget. Monitoring this KPI helps in financial planning and risk mitigation.

Cost Performance Index (CPI)

CPI measures the cost efficiency of a project by comparing the budgeted costs to the actual costs. A CPI greater than 1 indicates a favorable cost performance, while a CPI less than 1 suggests cost overruns.

Schedule Performance Index (SPI)

SPI measures the schedule efficiency of a project by comparing the planned progress to the actual progress. An SPI greater than 1 indicates that the project is ahead of schedule, while an SPI less than 1 suggests a delay.

Scope Creep

Scope creep refers to uncontrolled changes or additions to a project's scope without corresponding increases in resources or timeline. This KPI is essential for maintaining project integrity and meeting original objectives.

Resource Utilization

To measure how efficiently project resources, such as manpower and materials, you should use this KPI. Higher utilization rates indicate more efficient resource management, which can lead to cost savings.

Earned Value (EV)

The earned value measures the value of the work completed up to a certain point against the original budget. It helps in assessing project performance and predicting future outcomes.

Actual Cost (AC)

This pertains to the total cost incurred for the project work performed during a specific period. Monitoring AC helps in budget control and future financial planning.

Planned Value (PV)

Planned value is the estimated cost for project activities planned to be completed by a specific time. It serves as a baseline for comparing actual performance and is crucial for budget management.

Estimate at Completion (EAC)

EAC provides a forecast of the total cost of the project at completion. It's vital for budget planning and for communicating with stakeholders about financial expectations.

Estimate to Complete (ETC)

ETC estimates the remaining costs needed to complete the project. This KPI helps in budget reallocation and in assessing whether additional resources are required.

As mentioned, ROI measures the profitability of the project by comparing the benefits gained against the costs incurred. A higher ROI indicates a more successful project in terms of financial returns.

Risk Exposure

Risk exposure quantifies the potential impact of identified project risks. It helps in prioritizing risks and in developing appropriate mitigation strategies.

Change Requests

This KPI tracks the number and nature of changes requested during the project. Monitoring change requests helps assess scope creep and its impact on the project.

Team Productivity

It measures the output per team member over a specific period. Higher productivity levels indicate effective team management and can lead to faster project completion.

Stakeholder Satisfaction

Stakeholder satisfaction measures the level of satisfaction among project stakeholders, including clients, team members, and investors. High satisfaction levels are often indicative of project success.

Quality Metrics

Quality metrics, like Defect Density and Rework, measure the quality of the project's deliverables. Lower defect density and less rework indicate higher quality and greater customer satisfaction.

On-Time Completion Rate

This KPI measures the percentage of project tasks completed on time. A higher rate indicates effective schedule management and a greater likelihood of overall project success.

Project Milestone Achievement

You can track the number of project milestones reached on time using this KPI. Achieving milestones as planned is crucial for maintaining project timelines and stakeholder confidence.

Project Health

Project health is a comprehensive KPI that combines schedule, budget, scope, and quality metrics. It provides a holistic view of project performance and is crucial for decision-making and stakeholder communication.

Your Guide to Informed Decision-Making

KPIs are more than just buzzwords; they are the lifeblood of effective business management. We hope our comprehensive guide has helped you understand the complex world of KPIs. Remember to tailor the KPIs you’re measuring to your business goals to ensure that you focus on what truly matters for your organization's success.

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What is a KPI Report? Guide for Beginners with Examples in 2023

John Ozuysal

Are you trying to figure out a way to impress your investors while your fundraising rounds? If yes, KPI reports can be your solution as they can save your investors’ time and make them come to a conclusion quickly.

KPI reports are a compilation of all crucial KPIs that your company tracks. It could help inventors, team members, and business leaders make calculated decisions based on the same.

In this article, we will tell you the basics of KPI reports, their benefits, types, KPI examples that make up a report, and much more.

So let’s dive straight into the guide.

What is a KPI Report?

A KPI report is a performance measurement tool that allows you to track, measure, and analyze crucial business KPIs and gauge the overall business performance with respect to set goals.

A typical KPI report consists of several data visualization elements such as graphs, charts, tables, and more to present complex data in an easy-to-read format. However, as said, modern-day KPI reports are dynamic in nature and surface an interactive interface. 

This means you can easily reorganize elements to display information in a way that is pleasant to the eyes. In addition, you can instantly access your report from anywhere around the world.

kpi report

What Are the Benefits of KPI Reports?

benefits of kpi reports

Benefit #1. Identify Strengths and Weaknesses

Not surprisingly, KPI reports are built to present data in an easy-to-understand format. This, in turn, helps managers and business owners easily identify trends over time.

They get a crystal-clear idea of what strategies or loopholes can make or break their business. Moreover, managers can use this information to grasp hidden opportunities within their business strategies.

In a similar way, with the help of KPI reports, leaders can identify the strengths and weaknesses of the organization based on factual, reliable data instead of guesswork.

For example, if the KPI reports show that a particular business strategy yields better results for the organization, leaders can repurpose or duplicate such strategies for multiple departments.

Benefit #2. Bridge the Learning Gaps

These reports (especially employee KPI reports) analyze employee performance over time. Thereby allowing you to better understand your workforce's capabilities and downsides.

Moreover, making KPI data available to employees can positively direct their behavior. You see, when they know what they are up to and what's expected from them, they tend to adjust their performance toward the measurement.

Benefit #3. Incentivize Performance

Data doesn't lie, and no matter how debatable a topic is, if it has data to prove itself, you can't simply disagree. 

The same goes for in-house teams and departments. You can't blame someone for being less productive without proving it, and without knowing their efforts, you can't give them a selfless raise.

A KPI report demonstrates employees' performance towards set goals. Adding incentives to these KPIs is a proven way to improve employees performance, boost morale, and drive record-breaking results.

KPI Reports vs. Metric Reports: What Are the Differences?

Although they sound alike, KPI and metric reports are two completely different aspects of measuring your business performance.

A metric is made up of raw data, while a KPI is made up of several metrics. 

Hence, metrics reports are used by companies to understand their KPIs, which in turn helps them discover if they're going to meet their goals within the set time frame or not.

Generally, professionals gather crucial business metrics into one comprehensive report, which different departments then use as a reference document to find information about organizational goals.

KPI reports, on the other hand, are laser-focused and tied to specific goals and objectives. Unlike metric reports, which provide a granular view of your business performance, KPI reports revolve around high-level metrics that directly impact your organizational goals.

kpi reports ve metric reports

Types of KPI Reports

4 types of kpi reports

KPI reports are categorized into four types, namely:

Type #1. Executive

executive kpi reports

An executive KPI report is reserved for long-term strategy building. It measures high-level KPIs and empowers the top management to forecast performance, identify trends, and make better data-driven decisions based on facts.

Type #2. Operational

operational kpi reports

Operational KPI reports comprise day-to-day activities that allow the smooth functioning of your business. The information derived from these reports can be used to make time-sensitive decisions, the ones that might impact the day's business.

Type #3. Tactical

tactical kpi reports

Tactical or strategic KPI reports are considered as a powerful tool for data-driven leaders. It provides in-depth insights into the organization's performance in key business areas. Furthermore, leaders can use this report to gauge the company's performance with respect to set goals.

Type #4. Analytical

analytical reports

Analytical reports provide a comprehensive overview of business KPIs. It provides in-depth details about each KPI and allows you to compare historical trends within the KPI data.

Key Performance Indicator Report Examples

Example #1. financial kpi report.

financial kpi report example

Financial KPI reports help to track and measure your organizational financial health. Besides revenue and profits, a financial KPI report conveys how afloat the organization is in monetary terms. It comprises all your financial data, such as expenses, sales, overheads, and more.

Who Is It For?

Financial admins and departments commonly use financial KPI reports to compare profitability, study cash flow, and determine other financial stats and compare them with their industry benchmarks.

KPIs That Go Into Financial Reports

#1. Total Income: Calculates the amount of money earned during the week; the KPI also shows % growth in income compared to the past weeks

#2. Total Expenses: Comprises of all the expenses (including miscellaneous) made during the week; also shows % ⬆⬇ in expenses compared to past weeks

#3. Account Balance: Shows the remaining balance after accounting for all kinds of expenses

#4. Income to Spending Ratio: A financial trajectory showing the amount of money earned and spent on a yearly basis 

#5. All Expenses: A somewhat granular metric that displays all expenses made over a period with the help of a pie chart highlighting the various categories of expenses

Example #2. Employee KPI Report

employee kpi report example

Employee KPI report tracks, monitors, and analyzes employees' performance over time. It comprises everything that comes under an HR job description, from individual employee overview to onboarding process and payroll updates.

HR professionals or recruitment firms generally use employee KPI reports to keep track of employee data and streamline recruitment processes.

KPIs That Go Into Employee Report

#1. Employee Count: Use of a stacked bar graph to display the increase and decrease in the number of employees on a monthly basis

#2. Average Tenure: Measures the time (in years) an employee stays with the organization; generally provides an excellent overview of your retention strategies and the company's working culture

#3. Average Employee Age: Not among popular KPIs but essential to measure when you have a product that’s age-specific or you want young talent in your company 

#4. Absenteeism Rate: Measure the rate at which employees take leave from work

#5. Onboarding Process Status: Allows HR executives to streamline the onboarding process 

Example #3. Customer Service KPI Report

customer service kpi report example

A customer service KPI report provides insights into the efficiency of your customer support department. In fact, in today's scenario, these reports play a crucial role in understanding the performance and efficiency of your customer support teams.

This report is typically used by SaaS (Software as a service) companies to monitor support executives because of the number of metrics they need to track. However, it's also popular among e-commerce companies aiming for impressive customer service.

KPIs That Go Into Customer Service Report

#1. Total Inquiries: Total number of tickets generated by customers via different platforms or devices; also allows to measures the variations in the number of tickets over time

#2. Escalation Rate: The percentage of support tickets escalated to a new support executive, generally on a senior level

#3. Avg. Resolution Time: Measures the average time a support executive takes to resolve a customer support inquiry

#4. Avg. Fulfillment Rate: Averaging the number of correctly served requests over the total number of requests

#5. New vs. Resolved Inquiries: A comparative KPI that displays the trajectory for new and resolved tickets over a given time.

#6. Unresolved Inquiries: Measures the total number of unresolved inquiries per day (typically measured in percentage)

#7. Inquiry Per Channel: Organizes the total number of inquiries via various channels and present insights in an organized manner via stacked bar graphs and colors

Example #4. Sales KPI Report

sales kpi report

Sales KPI reports are used to measure and evaluate the effectiveness of the sales department. It helps you monitor three crucial aspects of sales:

  • Total sales
  • Total profits
  • Customer Loyalty

Thereby providing you with a comprehensive outlook on your sales efforts.

Sales play a significant role in the success of a company. Hence, sales KPI reports are valuable for higher authorities and sales teams who constantly worry about sales figures.

KPIs That Go Into Sales Report

#1. Total Orders: Comprises the number of orders received via different sources during a given period

#2. Total Sales: Accounts for the total revenue generated from selling products or services over the period; can use this KPI to compare present and past sales results easily

#3. Sales Per Channel: Organizes and segment sales based on source (online/offline) and measures the number of returns from overall sales

#4. Customer Loyalty Rate: To track and analyze the ratio of loyal or existing customers to new customers

#5. Avg. Order Value: Tracks the average dollar amount a customer spends per transaction with your store 

Example #5. SaaS Executive KPI Report

saas executive kpi report

The SaaS Executive KPI Report visualizes important metrics related to the company's overall performance.

In particular, it covers data related to financial health, growth, customers, and other areas of strategic importance. Everything adds up to answer one question - How’s the company performing right now?’

This KPI report is beneficial for executives at SaaS companies and startups with a rather complex pricing model. Also, for those who want full-fledged reporting of their product success under one roof.

KPIs That Go Into SaaS Executive Report

#1. Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR): The predictable total revenue generated by your business from all the active subscriptions in a particular month

#2. Monthly Signups: Measures the total number of signup received for paid or unpaid marketing efforts during the month

#3. Daily Active Users (DAU): The total number of unique users who use or engage with your product on a daily basis

#4. Monthly Active Users (MAU): It's a relatively comprehensive metric to DAU that measures the total number of unique users active on your product within a month

#5. DAU to MAU Ratio: This KPI measures the stickiness of your product by telling you how often MAU uses your product on a daily basis

Example #6. Project Management KPI Report

project managenet kpi report example

Project management KPI reports are used to track, analyze, and visualize the business processes involved in completing a project. These reports help high-level executives and project managers monitor and streamline complex projects with easy-to-understand visuals.

Project management KPI reports are used by software development firms or managers handling several projects simultaneously. These reports help them share the project status with clients and stakeholders in real time. 

KPIs That Go Into Project Management Reports

#1. Budget Variance: Measure the difference between the estimated budget (earned value) and actual figures

#2. Workload: Determines the workload pertaining to each team member; also helps in resource allocation if needed

#3. Planned hours vs. Time Spent (overdue): Compares the planned time for completing the project to the actual time taken to complete the project

Example #7. E-commerce KPI Report

ecommerce kpi report example

The E-commerce KPI report helps you track, monitor, and analyze all fronts of your online store. It gives online store owners an at-a-glance overview of their business, thereby allowing quick and confident decision-making.

E-commerce KPI reports are generally used by business owners or marketing agencies who need to prepare attractive reports for clients.

KPIs That Go Into E-commerce Reports

#1. New vs. Returning Visitors: Used for tracking new and returning visitors to your eCommerce site; helps you to evaluate the success of your acquisition and retargeting campaigns

#2. Gross Profit Margin: The leftover revenue after accounting for all direct expenses or Cost of Goods Sold (COGS)

#3. Conversion Rate: It measures the percentage of website visitors who have completed your desired actions out of the total number of visitors

#4. Net Promoter Score (NPS): Measures the overall customer experience of your brand based on customers' feedback and reviews

#5. Bounce Rate: Measures the percentage of visitors that leave your store without taking an action

#6. Cart Abandon Rate: Tracks the percentage of people who add items to their cart but don’t go through the checkout process and buy anything

Example #8. Deliverability KPI Report

deliverability kpi report example

Deliverability or logistics KPI report allows you to gauge the performance of your logistics departments against set industry benchmarks. For example, it allows you to track the number of orders received and deliveries completed, average delivery time, pending delivery, and more.

This KPI report is essentially for E-commerce stores that need to focus on logistics and on-time delivery. Besides, the logistics KPI report is also popular among logistics companies like FedEx, DoorDash, and many more.

KPI That Go Into Deliverability KPI Report

#1. Number of Deliveries: Accounts for the total number of deliveries made during a given period

#2. Pending Packages: The number of packages that are packed for delivery but are not yet picked up from the warehouse

#3. Shipment to Delivery Ratio: Compares the amount of shipment and delivery made during a time frame to measure the efficiency of the logistics department

#4. Shipment Time: The time it takes for the delivery executive to pick up the package from the warehouse to the shipment yard for further movement

#5. Order Accuracy: The percentage of your orders that are fulfilled and delivered to their final destination without errors

#6. On-time Delivery Rate: The number of items that were delivered on or before time from the total number of orders received

Example #9. Marketing KPI Report

marketing kpi report example

The marketing KPI report offers a high-level overview of your company's marketing spending and performance.

Marketing KPI reports are used by CMOs, marketing managers, and marketing and advertising agencies to present ROI on marketing to clients and stakeholders.

KPIs That Go Into Marketing Reports

#1. Customer Lifetime Value: Predicts the total revenue that a business can generate from a single customer over his relationship with the business

#2. Customer Acquisition Cost: Measures the total cost incurred for acquiring a new customer

#3. Brand Mentions: Comprises of the number of times your brand name was mentioned or tagged across various social media platforms 

#4. Branded Search: Measures the number of time people initiate a search on the web that includes your brand name

#5. Advertising Spends: Accounts for all the marketing expenses, including display ads, PPC, CPC, sponsorships, and more

Example #10. Social Media KPI Report

social media kpi report example

As the name suggests, this KPI report is reserved for tracking and analyzing your social media performance. It helps you identify whether your social media marketing campaigns and strategies are yielding results or not.

The social media KPI report is for brands looking to grow their online presence. It can also be used by influencers and marketing professionals to grow a brand page on social media.

KPIs That Go Into Social Media Report

#1. Total Likes: Measures the number of likes your get on your posts under a given time-frame

#2. Post Impressions: To calculate the number of unique users who viewed your post or content over social media

#3. Audience Demographics: To segment visitors profile based on gender, location, or device used

#4. Ads Performance: Measures the effectiveness of paid ad campaigns on different social media platforms

How to Create a KPI Report?

Amused by the number of examples? Feeling like creating one of these KPI reports for your organization? 

We got you covered.

Datapad is a free mobile-first KPI dashboarding and reporting software that we built for both Android and iOS users. 

Let us show you how you can make a stunning KPI report with our software.

flow of creating a kpi report

Step #1. Understand the Purpose of the Report

Before getting started with report creation, make sure you're clear on one question: What's your intention behind creating the KPI report?

Every business, regardless of size or industry, has predetermined goals and objectives. And to understand which KPIs fit best with your business model, you must have a chat with key stakeholders and decision-makers to discuss your business aims, strategic goals, and objectives.

Whatever it is, ensure that your report comprises three things:

  • A long-term goal
  • Measurable results
  • Achievable Milestones

Doing this will lay down the foundation of your KPI report. In addition, you'll better understand where to aim your efforts and what metrics or KPIs can help you measure success toward your goals.

Step #2. Pick the Right Set of KPIs

Once you've set your goals right, it's time to choose the KPIs that will gauge your performance.

Fortunately, there's a treasure trove of KPIs pertaining to your business needs. Whether it's for finance, marketing, customer service, or employee satisfaction – you can measure everything relevant to your business.

It's up to you what KPIs you find helpful in measuring business success. However, ensure that your chosen KPIs align with your long-term business goals.

Step #3. Create a Live Dashboard Report With Datapad

After you have your KPIs ready, it's time to create your first KPI report.

To get started, download our free KPI reporting tool on your mobile device (available for Android and iOS users). 

Or, simply scan this QR code👇🏻to download our app.

meaning of kpi report

Once you're in the app, signup with your email address, mostly it takes a few seconds to confirm your email (necessary to prevent bots from creating reports).

While we check your email ID's authenticity, you'll be prompted to create a workspace on the Datapad app.

For those unaware, a workspace is an area where you can perform all your activities, build reports, and collaborate with your team.

You just need to enter a name to your workspace, let's say," Max’s KPI Report ."

create new workspace

Then, click on Create a dashboard .

create a dashboard

Here, you'll be asked to add a Title, description, and emoji (😇). Furnish the details and click on ' Create .' 

Step #4. Integrate All Your Data Points

Now that your dashboard is ready, you need to integrate it with the required data sources to inflow data into the dashboard.

Fortunately, with Datapad, you can import data both ways: Manually and Automatically.

choose your data source

To add KPIs manually, tap on 'Enter Manually.' Then, add a value, set comparative standards, and choose the type of graph you want your KPI to have - A bar graph, Pie chart, Line diagram, or a simple table.

The other way to import data is via our one-click integrations to Google Analytics, Shopify, Facebook Ads, and more. To do so,

  • Press the ' + ' sign to create a metric
  • Click on ' Use a data source '
  • Choose from a library of datapoints

Step #5. Add Visualizations

Now you have enough data on your report ready to be visualized. Choose from our gallery of data visualization elements, such as bar graphs, pie charts, tables, and more, to transform your data into beautiful easy-to-understand visuals.

Furthermore, use our drag-and-drop editor to try out multiple visual elements on a single metric. Once you are satisfied with the visuals, perform further customizations such as changing texts, formatting fonts, colors, and more to make your report soothing to the eyes.

And that's it! Your first-ever KPI report is ready to be reviewed by stakeholders and decision-makers.

However, there are a few things that you must avoid when setting up your KPI reports.

5 Things to Avoid When Setting Up Your KPI Reports

  • ❌ Don't over complicate your goals: Keeping it simple is the best way to achieve extraordinary things. As said earlier, decide on your goals and stick to them. Avoid adding new goals or improvising the set goals just to sound ambitious
  • ❌ Don't add too much to your reports: It's easy to get overwhelmed by the number of data sources available. But you can leave out some KPIs that you feel are irrelevant. The best idea is to focus on a small number of KPIs that align with your business objectives. 
  • ❌Don't choose a tool with a higher-learning curve: If you're using a reporting tool, make sure it's easy to use by you and your team. Some features like drag-and-drop customizations, no-code KPI reporting, and more allow anyone to track and monitor KPIs easily.
  • ❌ Don't leave your reports unchanged with time: Since the market is highly dynamic, you can't just create and forget about the KPI report. You must iterate or tweak your reporting KPIs or business strategies on a regular basis for accurate results and impactful decision-making.
  • ❌ Don't do it alone: And lastly, don't try being a one-man army. The proudy it sounds, the lamer it is. Since KPI reports play a significant role in making strategies and decisions, they should always be made in a collaborative environment. 

Creating KPI reports isn’t a tough job. All you need to do is download Datapad, bring your team onboard, and create KPI dashboards that serve as reports to all the decision-makers in your company.

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KPI Examples and Templates

Find the right KPIs for your business. This guide provides examples, templates and practical advice to help you define the key performance indicators that matter most for your organization and teams.

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KPI EXAMPLES GUIDE

What is a kpi.

Let’s start with the basics. A key performance indicator (KPI) is a quantifiable measure of performance over time for a specific strategic objective. Business leaders and senior executives use KPIs to judge the effectiveness of their efforts and make better informed decisions.

KPIs vs Metrics

What’s the difference between a KPI and a metric?

KPIs represent how you’re performing against strategic goals. And by goals, we mean specific business outcomes, such as targeted quarterly revenue or targeted new customers per month.

Metrics support KPIs by representing the tactical processes or actions necessary to achieve the KPIs. Metrics track and measure the success against targets for specific actions such as monthly brochure downloads or store visits.

More resources:

Dive deeper on the question, “ What is a KPI? ”

Design your own interactive KPI Dashboard

meaning of kpi report

Don’t just measure. Measure what matters.

Download the KPI Planning Guide to learn:

10 steps to strong KPIs

Which questions help you define your KPIs

170 KPI examples and templates

170 KPI Examples And Templates

In this guide, we’ve identified and prioritized the most impactful key performance indicators examples for each department. Use the table of contents below to find the KPI examples most relevant to your organization and teams.

Project Management

Customer Service

Human Resources

Social Media

Sales KPI Examples

Sales leaders and their teams need to track the key performance indicators that help them close more orders. Below are the 15 essential sales KPI examples:

New Inbound Leads

Lead Response Time

Lead Conversion %

New Qualified Opportunities

Total Pipeline Value

Lead-to-Opportunity %

Opportunity-to-Order %

Average Order Value

Average Sales Cycle Time

Cross-Sell %

Sales Volume by Location

Sales Change (YoY, QoQ. MoM)

Sales Target %

Learn more about Sales Dashboards

Executive sales dashboards share KPIs such as closed revenue, opportunity status and performance vs quota trends.

KPIs for Managers

Executives and managers need KPIs that reflect their organization’s strategic priorities. Below are the 15 key management KPI examples:

Customer Acquisition Cost

Customer Lifetime Value

Customer Satisfaction Score

Sales Target % (Actual/Forecast)

Sales by Product or Service

Revenue per FTE

Revenue per Customer

Operating Margin

Gross Margin

ROE (Return on Equity)

ROA (Return on Assets)

Current Ratio (Assets/Liabilities)

Debt to Equity Ratio

Working Capital

Employee Satisfaction Rating

Learn more about Executive Dashboards

meaning of kpi report

Project Management KPIs

Project managers need to keep projects on time and on budget while also ensuring a high quality outcome. That’s why the 15 key performance indicators examples below focus on timeliness, budget and quality.

On-Time Completion %

Milestones on Time %

Estimate to Project Completion

Adjustments To Schedule

Planned vs. Actual Hours

Resource Capacity %

Budget Variance (Planned vs Actual)

Budget Iterations

Planned Value

Net Promoter Score

Number of Errors

Customer Complaints

Change Requests

Billable Utilization

Return On Investment (ROI)

Explore dashboard demos

Screenshot of an Employee Analysis dashboard with utilization metrics for different employee roles

Inspire Action With Your KPIs

10 ways to take your data visualizations to the next level. Learn how to choose the right ones to highlight your KPIs and metrics.

Marketing KPIs

Marketing leaders need to track KPIs which enable them to measure their progress against clearly defined goals. The 15 marketing KPI examples below cover all phases of the customer funnel and can be accurately tracked using  modern marketing analytics .

Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs)

Sales Qualified Leads (SQLs)

Cost per Lead

New Customers

Cost per Acquisition

Upsell & Cross-Sell Rates

Conversion Rates (For Specific Goals)

Social Program ROI (By Platform)

Organic Traffic & Leads

Return on Ad Spend (ROAS)

Total Revenue

Revenue by Product or Service

Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)

Net Promoter Score (NPS)

Learn more about  Marketing KPIs and Marketing Dashboards

CMO Dashboards provide a real-time view of performance around KPIs across the entire marketing funnel.

Operations KPIs

Operations managers need to track KPIs around efficiency, effectiveness and quality as covered in the 15 key performance indicators examples below.

Labor Utilization

Employee Turnover Rate

Employee Absence Rate

Employee Training Rate

ROI of Outsourcing

Labor Materials

Operating Margins

Processes and Procedures Developed

Project Schedule Variance

Order Fulfilment Cycle Time

Delivery In Full On Time Rate

Rework Rate

Learn more about KPI Dashboards

Screenshot of a Shift Analysis dashboard showing data for shifts and orders by day of the week

Customer Service KPIs

Service and support teams should focus on KPIs that measure response times. But, like the 15 key performance indicators examples below, they should also have a clear view of the customer base and longer term, preventative KPIs such as employee engagement and knowledge base articles.

Number of Issues (By Type)

First Response Time (FRT)

First Contact Resolution Rate

Average Response Time

Average Resolution Time

Most Active Support Agents

Cost Per Conversation

Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT)

Positive Customer Reviews

Customer Effort Score

Customer Retention Rate

Support Costs / Revenue Ratio

Knowledge Base Articles

Employee Engagement

Explore more dashboard examples

Executive dashboards can help a CIO or CTO improve budget and forecasting to better manage lifecycle costs of IT or technology assets.

Finance KPIs

Financial teams have no shortage of ratios and metrics to track. Finance managers and CFO’s should use a  financial analytics  tool to focus on margin, expense, revenue and cash management as shown in the 15 key finance KPI examples below.

Gross Profit Margin (and %)

Operating Profit Margin (and %)

Net Profit Margin (and %)

Operating Expense Ratio

Working Capital Ratio

Debt-To-Equity Ratio

Quick Ratio (Acid Test)

Current Ratio

Berry Ratio

Return on Assets

Cash Conversion Cycle

Accounts Payable Turnover Ratio

Accounts Receivable Turnover Ratio

Budget Variance

Payroll Headcount Ratio

Learn more about Financial Dashboards

Diagram showing an Actual vs. Forecast Expense dashboard

Human Resources KPIs

HR managers are primarily concerned with 3 main areas: workforce management, compensation and recruitment. You can use a  people analytics  tool to track and analyze the 35 key performance indicators examples below:

Workforce Management KPIs:

Absenteeism rate

ROI of outsourcing

Succession planning rate

Open/closed grievances

Promotion rate

Time to productivity

Successor gap rate

Worker composition by gender, experience, and tenure

Internal mobility

Manager quality index

HR effectiveness

Employee satisfaction rates

Training ROI

Compensation KPIs:

HR functional operating expense rate

Labor cost per FTE

Labor cost revenue percent

Labor cost revenue expense percent

Total benefits as percentage of labor costs

Profit vs. compensation per FTE

Human capital ROI

HR functional cost per employee

Recruitment KPIs:

Quality of hire

Vacancy rate

Turnover rate

Resignation/retirement rate

External hire rate

Time-to-fill

Diversity, experience, and gender hire ratio

Recruiting funnel metrics

Talent import/export ratio

Voluntary turnover rate

Retention rate

Recruiting expense per new hire

Retirement rate forecast

Learn more about HR Dashboards

An employee performance HR dashboard shows the effectiveness, satisfaction and goal progress of the workforce.

IT managers should track the on-going stream of support tickets and downtime. They should also track the projects and the team that will proactively reduce the number of these tickets in the future as shown in the top-15 IT KPI examples below.

Total Support Tickets

Open Support Tickets

Ticket Resolution Time

Reopened Tickets

Average Time Between Failures

Average Time to Repair

Server Downtime

Security Related Downtime

Total Projects

Projects on Budget

Critical Bugs

IT Support Employees Per End Users

IT Costs vs Revenue

IT Team Turnover

Social Media KPIs

Social media managers should have KPIs that represent reach, engagement, and conversion to revenue. The 15 social media key performance indicators examples below should be applied both as totals and for each social media platform that your organization is active on.

Social Share of Voice (SSoV)

Total Reach

Total Impressions

Followers or Fans or Subscribers

Audience Growth Rate

Share Rate (Shares or ReTweets)

Interest Rate (Likes, Reactions, Favorites)

Response Rate (Comments, Replies)

Key Post or Hashtag Reach

Link Clicks

Site Traffic From Social (By Platform)

Conversions From Social

Conversion Rate From Social

Revenue From Social

Social Program ROI

Learn more about Marketing Dashboards

Social media dashboards show how each platform drives engagement, visits and influence across the sales funnel.

How to Define the Right KPIs

Who, what, how. Be clear about who the audience is, what they want, and how they’re going to use the KPIs. This means working with your stakeholders to identify the core KPIs that map directly to their goals and strategy.

Be SMART. This popular acronym stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-bound. This is a useful touchstone whenever you’re considering whether a metric should be a key performance indicator. SMART KPI examples are KPIs such as “revenue per region per month” or “new customers per quarter”.

Iterate and evolve. Over time, see how you or your audience are using the set of KPIs and if you find that certain ones aren’t relevant, remove or replace them.

See KPI Dashboards in Action

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  1. What is a KPI? Definition, Examples and the Ultimate Guide

    meaning of kpi report

  2. What is a KPI?

    meaning of kpi report

  3. KPI meaning, explanation, and examples

    meaning of kpi report

  4. 27 Examples of Key Performance Indicators

    meaning of kpi report

  5. What Is KPI Reporting? See Reports Examples & Templates

    meaning of kpi report

  6. Guide to KPI reports

    meaning of kpi report

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COMMENTS

  1. What Is A KPI? Definition & Examples

    A Key Performance Indicator (KPI) is a measurable target that indicates how individuals or businesses are performing in terms of meeting their goals. Reviewing and evaluating KPIs helps...

  2. What is a Key Performance Indicator (KPI)? Guide & Examples

    What is a Key Performance Indicator (KPI)? Guide & Examples While key performance indicators and metrics are related, they're not the same. Here's a quick explanation: KPIs are the key targets you should track to make the most impact on your strategic business outcomes. KPIs support your strategy and help your teams focus on what's important.

  3. KPIs: What Are Key Performance Indicators? Types and Examples

    Key performance indicators (KPIs) are quantifiable measurements used to gauge a company's overall long-term performance. KPIs specifically help determine a company's strategic, financial, and...

  4. What is a Key Performance Indicator (KPI)?

    Frequently Asked Questions What is a KPI? A KPI stands for a key performance indicator, a measurable and quantifiable metric used to track progress towards a specific goal or objective. KPIs help organizations identify strengths and weaknesses, make data-driven decisions, and optimize performance.

  5. What Is KPI Reporting? KPI Report Examples, Tips, and Best ...

    A KPI report is a performance tracking tool that allows you to quickly analyze key performance indicators and understand how your organization is doing with respect to specific goals. They include data visualization, consisting of charts, tables, and graphs. Modern KPI reports are interactive, and all the underlying data can be accessed quickly.

  6. What Is KPI Reporting? See Reports Examples & Templates

    A KPI report is a management tool that allows companies to monitor and analyze their most important key performance indicators (KPIs) in real-time. Professional KPI reporting helps businesses reach their goals by identifying strengths, weaknesses, and trends in the data.

  7. What Is a KPI? Definition, Types, Examples and Best Practices

    A Key Performance Indicator (KPI) is a measurable target that's used to quantify progress toward important business objectives and evaluate the success of an organization, specific department, project, or individual.

  8. What Is A KPI Report, & How Do I Create One?

    January 16, 2024 Business Reporting Key performance indicators (KPIs) play a role in nearly every organization. Any successful company wants to be able to meet their organizational objectives successfully—but that can be easier said than done.

  9. What is a KPI Report? Examples & Best Practices Guide

    A KPI report is a critical business performance tool because they provide a clear and accurate picture of organizational performance, well-being, and potential for growth. These reports help authors communicate to specific audiences about how well parts of the business or initiatives are meeting objectives. They inspire action and investment.

  10. What are Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)?

    Key performance indicators (KPIs) are business metrics used by corporate executives and other managers to track and analyze factors deemed crucial to the success of an organization. Effective KPIs focus on the business processes and functions that senior management sees as most important for measuring progress toward meeting strategic goals ...

  11. The ABCs of KPIs: Defining Key Performance Indicators

    KPIs, or key performance indicators, are metrics that measure the progress of a specific project toward your defined goals. KPIs need to be quantifiable and relevant, and should provide concrete evidence to make project decisions going forward. A key performance indicator (KPI) is a quantitative metric of how your team or organization is ...

  12. What is a KPI? Definition, Examples and the Ultimate Guide

    Hubspot: "A KPI is a key performance indicator that measures how your company is performing at achieving a certain goal or objective. There are KPIs for every aspect of business, whether it's financial, marketing, sales, or operational". Kpi.org: "Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are the critical (key) indicators of progress toward an ...

  13. KPI Reports explained, your complete guide (2023 Update)

    This guide will help you understand everything you need to know about delivering genuinely engaging and visually appealing KPI reports. Stuart Kinsey writes on Key Performance Indicators, Dashboards, Marketing, and Business Strategy. He is a co-founder of SimpleKPI and has worked in creative and analytical services for over 25 years.

  14. What Are Key Performance Indicators (KPI)?

    The KPI acronym stands for key performance indicator—it's a metric that measures how projects, individuals, departments or businesses preform in terms of strategic goals and objectives. KPIs are a way for stakeholders to see if they're making progress or if the business is on track.

  15. What Is A KPI Report & How To Build One

    The Financial KPI Report is a valuable tool that centers around key financial performance indicators. Its primary purpose is to track the financial health of the organization, assess profitability, identify cost-saving opportunities, and provide crucial insights for informed financial decision-making.

  16. KPI Reports 101: A Beginner's Guide to Business Metrics

    KPI reporting is an essential tool for performance tracking that allows businesses to quantitatively assess their progress over time. (We'll talk about specific kinds of KPI reports later.) KPI reports usually include different types of data visualization—think charts, graphs, and tables.

  17. What is a KPI Report & How to Create One

    There are three leading elements of a good KPI report: 1. It's easy to read. This is key. In fact, it's what we started this guide with — if your data and content isn't easy to read, it won't get as many reads as it deserves. And it stands true even if you have a lot of interesting, progressive data to share.

  18. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs): Definition and Examples

    Key performance indicators (KPIs) are measurable values that determine how effectively an individual, team or organization is achieving a business objective. Organizations use KPIs to help individuals at all levels focus their work toward achieving a common goal.

  19. What is a Key Performance Indicator (KPI)?

    Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are the critical (key) quantifiable indicators of progress toward an intended result. KPIs provide a focus for strategic and operational improvement, create an analytical basis for decision making and help focus attention on what matters most.

  20. KPI Meaning + 27 Examples of Key Performance Indicators

    We've compiled a complete guide that includes an overview of what makes a good KPI, the benefits of good key performance indicators, and a list of KPI examples [organized by department and industry] for your reference as you develop your organization's strategic plan and goals. Video Transcript - How to Write KPIs Hi, my name is Erica Olsen.

  21. KPI Examples and Templates: 100+ Key Performance Indicators

    Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) gauge the success of a business, organization, or individual in reaching specific objectives. The KPIs can differ based on industry, company, and personal objectives. Popular KPI examples include customer satisfaction, employee retention, revenue growth, and cost reduction. KPIs are often measured on a periodic ...

  22. What is a KPI Report? Guide for Beginners with Examples in 2023

    KPI reports are categorized into four types, namely: Type #1. Executive. An executive KPI report is reserved for long-term strategy building. It measures high-level KPIs and empowers the top management to forecast performance, identify trends, and make better data-driven decisions based on facts. Type #2.

  23. 170 Key Performance Indicator (KPI) Examples & Templates

    Project managers need to keep projects on time and on budget while also ensuring a high quality outcome. That's why the 15 key performance indicators examples below focus on timeliness, budget and quality. Get the top KPIs for each department: Sales, Marketing, Operations, & more. KPI examples, templates and practical advice to help you ...