The Importance of a Strong KPI Dashboard

First, a business must understand the purpose of KPIs, as well as the importance of having a good KPI dashboard. They must also know which metrics to use and when and how to consistently track progress in different areas. A failure in even one area can do significant harm to the entire organisation.

In this blog post, we'll take a look into the importance of tracking KPIs.

• What should you be tracking?
• Why do you need to use KPIs to track your metrics?
• What do you need to do once you've got all of this in place?

We'll look into all of this and more, to help you gain a deeper understanding of KPIs and how to use them.

What are KPIs?

Key Performance Indicators are things measured within a business to track performance and assess how well the business is doing against their objectives. These KPIs can be anything that a business would like to measure, which we will discuss in further detail.

A KPI dashboard is simply where all of the KPIs can be brought together, in once place. This allows for side-by-side comparisons, assuring nothing is forgotten or left out. The dashboard can be set up however you wish. It's all about making it as easy as possible for you to view and measure your individual KPIs, with the east of implementing the changes suggested.

The Importance of Metrics: Why use KPIs?

Firstly, we'll take a look at why you and your business should definitely be tracking your KPIs. Key performance indicators show employees where they currently stand, where they are doing well and where improvements need to be made. Improving business performance means keeping employees happy, and KPIs are a way to do so.

A person cannot make changes if they don't know where they are needed. This can be discouraging for everyone in the business, no matter if they're a brand new employee or long-standing CEO. The use of metrics provides employees with quantifiable data they can use to make adjustments. This makes it far more likely they will actually hit and exceed those targets.

Furthermore, the company receives the same information and can plan for the future. Tracking the right KPIs will allow the company a good insight into what is working and what needs improvement. This definitely helps to save time and money in the long run.

Which Metrics to Use On Your KPI Dashboard?

The benefits of clear KPIs are easy to see. But what exactly should your KPIs be?

This is different for every single business. To determine which metrics to use, a company must understand what they need to measure.

• Would it be beneficial to know how many people sign up for the newsletter when visiting the site?
• Does the company need information on the bounce rate and where the visitor typically leaves the site?

There are countless things you can add to your KPI dashboard, making it overwhelming to consider. Only choose the ones that are genuinely going to be of use to you. This keeps everything clear, streamlined and easy to use. And, the easier KPIs are to use and measure, the more likely it is you will actually use them and benefit your business as a result.

Here is a list of some of the KPIs that you might consider tracking. It is by no means exhaustive, therefore it's also important to do your own thinking and research about the sort of things that you want to track.

• Growth in business revenue
• Your net profit margin
• Your gross profit margin
• Cash flow
• The number of new customers you have gained
• The number of customers you have retained
• Your percentage of market share
• Time it takes to fulfil an order
• Employee Satisfaction
• Your employee turnover rate
• How much traffic your website receives
• The bounce rate on your website
• The click-through rate of key calls-to-action on your website
• Number of new blogs (or other pieces of content) published
• Tracking your SEO results
• Number of new leads
• How many leads have converted into customers
• How many hours of resources or money is spent on a particular task
  

As you can see, the number of KPIs available are almost endless. If you are new to tracking KPIs, just pick the core ones that are most important to you and your business, instead of trying to track everything. There is no right or wrong answer when it comes to tracking KPIs. It's all about what's right for your business, and each business is different.

A KPI dashboard is a great help in reviewing the current KPIs that your business uses and the metrics that are employed to analyse them. If a company is struggling to choose the right KPIs or needs help in establishing a performance dashboard, an outside provider can be contacted to support them. With the amount of data pouring into companies today, one needs help in analysing the information. The provider can help in achieving this goal and ensure that your business is on the right track.