Top Tools to Track Metrics and Give Feedback
Updated: Aug 28, 2019
There is a wide array of tracking tools which are used to track metrics. The questions to ask are which are the right tools to use, when to use them and how can they be used as important management tools?
Quarterly Priorities Manager
The most powerful tool to use once a quarter in the Quarterly Priority Manager or QPM. There is no other tool that effectively aligns your team and allocates scarce resources; time, energy and money, better than the QPM. With the QPM, you and each of your direct reports each set five quarterly priorities. Most often these priorities are tied into your company vision, strategy, and goals. The quarterly focus helps link the day-to-day to the longer-term, big picture. Remember, every quarter is a 13-week race. We only have 13 weeks to accomplish the quarterly goals and objectives that drive our annual results.
Review the Quarterly Priorities Manager (QPM) monthly and share “report cards” with the team to broaden teamwork, better allocate scarce resources, and facilitate success toward your vision.
Monthly Key Performance Indicators
Each month track progress on annual goals and quarterly objectives with Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) Identify your Top 5 daily, weekly, and monthly Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). Five daily, five weekly, and five monthly measures will give you insights into what’s happening in your business because each on measures something in a slightly different way.
These KPIs are the metrics that drive the performance of your business. They can serve as an early warning system to catch slowing growth by monitoring the actions that cause it. Know the most meaningful measures for your business and watch them like a hawk.
Most KPIs are monthly and they are financial. Take a fresh look at your KPIs and consider frequency, what can we measure daily, weekly and monthly. Then expand your thinking to include KPIs other than financial like, operational, people, customer and other outside KPIs.
Key Leading Indicators
Key leading indicators (KLIs) are a special type of key performance indicator. KLIs are indicators with an orientation to future trends and outcomes. These are metrics that not only report your results, they can predict your results.
Weekly Update – Review KPIs
Use a 30-minute weekly meeting to update progress on KPIs and spot any problem areas early. This meeting is just for reporting status of KPIs. Each attendee is assigned a KPI to be responsible for reporting. The report is on-track or off-track. If off-track, determine if we are concerned about it right now. If yes, add it to a chart titled Tiger Teams and move on with no further discussion. At the end of the meeting go back to any KPIs of concern and ask who should be in the meeting to solve this issue. Assign those Tiger Teams and watch issues move from topics of discussion to resolved issues very quickly.
Daily Reports to Consider
The Daily Cash Report - Determine the cash needs of your company by measuring expected outflows with best and worst case inflows of cash to determine when you might need external sources of financing.
Walk the 4 Corners - Get out of your office and engage a few people to ask how you could improve, do things better, make them more productive and better allocate scarce resources.
Assess your daily leadership - What kind of leader was I today? Use the Lead, Manage Do exercise assigning a percentage to the time you spent Leading (Setting direction and others decide what to do to achieve it), Managing (Setting direction and telling people what to do to achieve it) and Doing (Doing what it takes to achieve it).
A Winning Formula
Almost everything we experience can be counted or measured, either objectively or subjectively. Although the latter may not always be accurate, a subjective measurement or counting is better than no information at all.
When you focus on numbers in key areas, any business is bound to perform better. Everyone wants to be part of a winning team. What gets measured and communicated repeatedly is what gets done.