As part of this series on strategic planning we have discussed setting the strategic objectives, establishing the actions and setting the timelines.  The next step relates to key performance indicators (KPI’s) as these are important to measure the achievement of the strategic objectives.

The use of KPIs is important so you can measure any form of performance and they are critical in relation to the strategic plan.

The main reason is that they measure the achievement against the key objectives and help to identify how successful or otherwise the organisation has been in attempting to reach the objectives.  You have probably heard of the SMART principle that relates to goals and objectives.  It stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time and this also applies to KPIs.

A mistake that can occur is that you have a KPI that sounds good but in reality it is hard to ascertain what value it provides.  For example, KPIs such as “Increase sales”, “prepare a report to be considered by the board” or “submit funding applications” are not very useful or effective as they don’t provide any form of measurement.

Using these examples they could be written as “Over the next 12 months, increase sales revenue by 10% compared to last year”, “prepare a report for the board that lists 5 strategies to increase membership of our club” or “identify funding opportunities and prepare submission to obtain capital grants to extend the club rooms”.

What these before and after examples are trying to highlight is the difference between poorly written KPIs that are too general and vague compared to better written KPIs that are more specific and easier to manage.  As such, when establishing the KPIs write them in a way such that they are clear, relevant and adds value to the organisation.

If yours is a small club or NFP you will still need KPIs because that is how you will measure your progress towards your objective.

What areas of your club or organisation’s performance is it important for you to measure? What are the factors which are critical to your success?  It won’t always come down to money. Think about volunteers, staff, the successes that you do with your work.  

Finally, work out how you are going to measure your results.  Do you do count members?  Do you measure income from donations vs events?  Do you measure followers on social media?  How will you do that and who will do it?

Once your key performance indicators have been chosen and agreed to, keep watching them.  The environment you are working in is not static so neither should your KPIs be.  Review them regularly.

In our next post we will look at how to promote your strategic plan now that it’s created.