Thirty-seven percent of ecommerce marketers worldwide use artificial intelligence (AI) for customer service and assistance, according to Qualtrics and Klaviyo’s February 2024 data. Meanwhile, Fortune reported that Amazon has recently laid off 100 customer service agents. In the US, a new Forrester study revealed that customer service performance declined across all three dimensions of customer service quality–effectiveness, ease, and emotion, and only 3% of companies are currently categorized as customer-obsessed, defined as prioritizing customers’ needs.

Collectively, these narratives suggest that there is a pressing need to reevaluate the customer service sector. However, customer service excellence requires more than simply embracing cutting-edge technologies and trends. Businesses must methodically examine and optimize their customer service operations and performance in order to identify and address true areas of need. This is where The KPI Institute (TKI) can help. 

Providing leaders, professionals, and the broader business community with essential knowledge and resources, TKI curates a collection of diverse learning materials and opportunities in strategy and performance management and adjacent fields every month. Some of these resources, while released years ago, remain highly relevant due to their timeless principles and adaptability to changing business dynamics as well as their enduring value and insights for today’s challenges.

This month, TKI is pleased to present comprehensive, research-based resources focusing on customer service.

Top 10 Customer Service Key Performance Indicators (FREE): Part of the Top 10 KPIs Series, this collection of posters provides an overview of how key performance indicators (KPIs) are measured in practice today, specifically in customer service. Some of the KPIs profiled in this poster are # Frequency of customer complaints, # Speed of answer, and % First contact resolution rate.

KPI of April: $ Customer Lifetime Value (FREE): Each KPI of the Month Infographic sheds light on a specific KPI by clarifying its terminology and addressing the most challenging aspects of using it in terms of profile, calculation, balanced scorecard focus, data profile, targets, and in-practice recommendations.

Webinar: “Tools and techniques for measuring customer satisfaction:” In order to discover what customers think about your company and what can be improved, you can now deploy a series of tools and techniques for measuring customer satisfaction. This webinar presents key techniques and guidelines to support you in assessing your customers’ satisfaction.

The Top 25 Customer Service KPIs – 2020 Extended Edition: The Top 25 Customer Service KPIs – 2020 Extended Edition report compiles the most popular 25 KPIs used by Customer Service divisions throughout 2016 and 2020. This report contains not only two pages of detailed documentation for each KPI, but also interesting articles on best practices in terms of KPI selection and documentation.

The Sales and Customer Service KPI Dictionary: This dictionary enlists the names and arithmetic rules for more than 220 KPIs and covers all major components of the sales and customer service departments. This material can be used in the early stages of implementing a performance management framework, in selecting and documenting KPIs, and improving an existing performance measurement system.

Customer Service Call Center Dashboard: This is a ready-to-use instrument for managing and measuring the performance of inbound call centers. It also contains a repository of the most relevant and widely spread KPIs in the call center industry.

Customer Service Performance Consulting Services: If your organization needs support in the implementation phase– for either a performance management system in customer service or other customer service processes or instruments– TKI’s specialists can provide you with consultation and references. We will make sure that the framework, which proves its efficiency in multiple organizations, is adjusted to the specific needs of your industry or area of expertise and will overcome the expected change rejection reactions of employees that are commonly experienced by most organizations.

While key performance indicators (KPIs) have been around for a long time and are vital for tracking corporate, operational, and employee performance, some organizations still struggle to use them effectively up to these days. 

According to The KPI Institute’s State of Strategy Management Practice Global Report – 2023, 25% of the 346 respondents from private, government, and non-profit organizations expressed that aligning KPIs and targets across the organization continues to be their primary challenge. Moreover, 24% struggle with KPI selection, reflecting a 4% increase compared to results from 2022. When assessing their organizations’ proficiency in documenting KPIs, 47% of respondents rate their capabilities as high or better, but it is still important to note that 26% rate their documentation capabilities as low or lowest. Hence, 16% of them encounter difficulties in documenting KPIs.

To offer insights into the practical application of KPIs, The KPI Institute introduced a series of free infographics called KPI of the Month. Each infographic focuses on a particular KPI that provides explanations of terminology and addresses key challenges related to its use. The monthly infographics include profile, calculation, balanced scorecard focus, data profile, targets, and practical recommendations.

In case you missed the KPI of the Month from the first quarter of 2024, we’ve compiled the highlights to keep you informed and up-to-date:

KPI of January: $ Free cash flow (FCF) – This indicator “measures the amount of cash a company generates from its operations, after covering operating expenses and capital expenditures.” It aims to offer insights into a company’s financial well-being and ensure efficient cash management. One of its benefits is that it offers a focused evaluation of liquidity and solvency through exclusive attention to cash flow. To learn more about $ FCF, download the poster on the TKI Marketplace.

KPI of February: # Greenhouse gas emissions – This indicator’s purpose is to evaluate environmental pressures from greenhouse gas emissions. Specifically, it “measures the quantity of greenhouse gas emissions of country, industry,  or company expressed in metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2e).” The greenhouse gas emissions have become a pressing issue that even the United Nations set ambitious net-zero goals, aiming for a 45% reduction in global greenhouse gas emissions by 2023 and achieving net-zero emissions worldwide by 2050. Learn how to utilize this indicator to align with your strategy for reducing emissions. Get the free infographic via TKI Marketplace.

KPI of March: % Critical positions filled – This indicator “measures the percentage of critical job positions that have been filled out of all available positions identified as critical within an organization.” The objective being measured by this indicator is the improvement of workforce planning for key positions. The % Critical positions filled helps organizations assess their capability to attract and retain suitable talent for critical job positions. But to utilize this KPI, identifying the critical positions within the organizations is important. To find out more about how you can apply this indicator in practice, grab a copy of the free poster from the TKI Marketplace. 

To amplify your KPI toolkit with a wealth of documented KPIs from various industries and functional areas, visit smartKPIs.com— the leading online platform for performance measurement knowledge integration and the world’s largest database featuring over 21,000 documented KPIs. 

Success in today’s ever-evolving world hinges upon the commitment to ongoing learning. The KPI Institute (TKI) is dedicated to ensuring that leaders, professionals, and the rest of the business community are equipped with the right knowledge and tools.

Every month, TKI curates a collection of diverse learning materials and opportunities in strategy and performance management. Some of these resources, while released years ago, remain highly relevant due to their timeless principles and adaptability to changing business dynamics, providing enduring value and insights for today’s challenges.

This month, TKI is pleased to present comprehensive, research-based resources focusing on human resources (HR).

Top 10 Human Resources Key Performance Indicators (FREE): Part of the Top 10 KPIs Series, this collection of posters provides an overview of how key performance indicators (KPIs) are measured in practice today, specifically in HR. It combines insights from the smartKPIs.com community with research and analysis from TKI’s Publications team.

Articles (FREE): Find practical insights related to HR and employee performance management from a variety of articles published on Performance Magazine, written by subject matter experts and research analysts.

• The human element: employees, fears and working with KPIs
• How to measure the performance of your human resources department
• Humane technology: the future of employee performance management
• Beyond remote work: insights and strategies for enhancing employee productivity and performance

The Human Resources KPI Dictionary: Get access to valuable information on over 370 KPIs with calculation formulas for every one of them. It is an innovative tool, essential for assessing and optimizing your performance in eight main functions of the Human Resources division within an organization, including compensation and benefits, talent development, and working environment.

The Top 25 Human Resources KPIs – 2020 Extended Edition: Browse the most popular 25 KPIs used by Human Resources divisions throughout 2016 and 2020. It provides a complete hands-on experience in working with KPIs as it contains not only two pages of detailed documentation for each KPI, but also interesting articles on best practices in terms of KPI selection and documentation.

HR Performance Management System Toolkit: Explore a ready-to-use collection of pre-populated templates for managing the performance of the HR department and monitoring its contribution to the overall organizational performance. Customers can customize the templates in the toolkit for internal use within their organization.

HR Scorecard: Monitor the alignment of departmental objectives with KPIs and the application of the Balanced Scorecard concept at the operational level with this ready-to-use tool. This is pre-populated with KPIs grouped by objectives and Balanced Scorecard perspectives and developed through the review of hundreds of best practice performance reports and the documentation of thousands of KPIs.

HR Dashboard: Manage and measure the contribution of the Human Resources function to the overall organizational performance by using this tool. Discover a repository of the most relevant and widely spread HR KPIs used to track the HR services’ effectiveness and performance at the organizational level.

Certified Employee Performance Professional – Online Course: Grab this opportunity to access the best practices in the field of employees’ performance. Gain the knowledge, skills, and confidence to create an environment where employees can thrive and successfully contribute to organizational performance by linking their activities to strategic objectives and reflecting their contribution against the company’s strategy.

Employee Performance Management System Implementation – Consulting: Find and build the essential bridge to link performance efforts across all organizational levels. By adopting a structured and robust employee performance framework, we emphasize on objectivity in measuring the results against expectations with the help of individual KPIs. This intervention relies on the analysis of key internal documents, delivery of awareness sessions with primary stakeholders, KPIs selection workshops, and post-implementation support.

Key performance indicators (KPIs) are used to understand and improve performance across a diverse range of industries, departments, and teams. For companies that produce goods and commodities, KPIs are absolutely essential as they offer a detailed view of their performance—for both individual employees and the organization as a whole. Production capacity and adherence to production schedules are just a few examples of areas in such an industry where KPIs can be used.

The importance of KPIs is even more prominent nowadays, as production has slowed considerably across the globe, caused by various compounding issues such as semiconductor, iron ore, and chemical shortages just to name a few. Such problems must be dealt with, and a reliable way to determine if the implemented solutions are working is through the use of KPIs. 

On top of the production slowdown, many companies that produce goods and commodities are also dealing with the changes brought about by Industry 4.0 —chief of which is the issue of proper integration. New technology and old processes typically don’t mix, a maladjustment that is exacerbated by skills gaps. Fortunately, there are ways to close these gaps, namely through reskilling and upskilling. Reskilling and upskilling are both training-centric methodologies, requiring employees to learn new skills or update their existing skill sets to match the new technology they will be using. This is not enough, however, as the effectiveness of training must be measured, which is where the use of KPIs comes into play. 

Due to the importance of KPIs in production, The KPI Institute (TKI) has diligently collated the 10 most widely used production KPIs. This information comes from smartkpis.com, TKI’s comprehensive database comprising 21,334 KPIs, covering 16 functional areas and 25 industries. The top 10 production KPIs are as follows:

1. % Production schedule attainment – Measures the rate at which the production target for a given time period has been attained.
2. # Units per man-hour – Measures the number of completed units of a product realized per man-hour of work.
3. % Production schedule adherence – Measures the deviation between the actual production units and the planned production units for the same period.
4. % Production uptime – Measures the percentage of utilized operation time from the planned available production time.
5. # Production plants – Measures the number of manufacturing plants (e.g. assemble lines) available and functional for the production process.
6. % Recovery yield rate of returned products – Measures the percentage of product returns that were valued again from overall returned products.
7. % Production capacity utilization – Measures the percentage of the production volume actually realized from the total production capacity.
8. # Ideal run rate – Measures the theoretical ideal production rate expected to be achieved in optimal circumstances.
9. # Production capacity – Measures the volume of products that one plant or company can produce with its actual resources in a specific timeframe.
10. $ Penalties cost due to unsatisfied demand – Measures the penalty values generated by the inability to satisfy demand.

Keeping track of these metrics can prove pivotal to the survival and success of any production business. For a detailed breakdown of these KPIs, including how to calculate them and when to measure them, download the free poster on the TKI marketplace.

In response to increased participant demand, The KPI Institute held two simultaneous versions of Certified KPI Professional Live Online on July 24 – 28, 2023. 

Tailored to meet the challenges faced by professionals in key performance indicator (KPI) selection and usage, the Certified KPI Professional course applies a robust KPI Measurement Framework that is built upon two decades of research and industry best practices. This course covers various aspects of working with KPIs,  from selection to result centralization in performance reports. 

The Certified KPI Professional course has consistently ranked among the top most popular courses offered by The KPI Institute. This program attracts professionals across all management levels and industries from different parts of the world. The lessons are delivered in different languages, such as English, Arabic and Spanish.

Throughout the training session, participants are equipped with the skills needed to manage KPIs and improve their current processes and systems. Moreover, this learning opportunity enables them to apply the learned concepts immediately within their organizations.

At the end of the course, participants are expected to distinguish between objectives, KPIs, and initiatives, document KPIs using a standardized template, understand the appropriate use of benchmarking for target-setting, and optimize the KPI activation and data-gathering process.

The benefits of enrolling in this course include access to relevant performance data, pre-populated tools for KPI implementation, an innovative three-stage learning process; the opportunity to join the Certified KPI Professionals Community; and 40 CPD credits.

Do not miss this opportunity and register now for Certified KPI Professional Live Online! For additional information and the course schedule, visit https://kpiinstitute.org/kpi-certification-presentation/

Testimonials for the Certified KPI Professional program

“This certification is not only for seniors and businesses. It’s also about how you can think in a constructive way to set some measurements for your performance on a daily basis even in normal life. It’s a must.” – Senior Organization Excellence Specialist, ADES-Advanced Energy Systems, Egypt

“One of the best knowledge-filled courses I have ever attended. Don’t ever let anything or anyone take away your focus or attention from the sharing because the presenter is the best in the field.” – Deputy Director, Institute Aminuddin Baki, Malaysia

“Slot Thailand The contents were well-organized and supported with guidance and schedule that helps me to navigate easily with the certification process.” – Quality Assurance Auditor, GDCME, Saudi Arabia

Reports featuring the most popular KPIs of 2022 are now all available at The KPI Institute’s Marketplace platform. This series covers different contexts in which KPIs can be used by professionals and offers up-to-date information and resources on selecting and using KPIs.

The most popular KPIs were processed based on the data from smartKPIs.com, the world’s largest database of documented KPIs. In every report, users will find a KPI profile, analysis, notes on KPI reporting, and other details pertaining to performance measurement.

Explore the most popular KPIs in their respective industries or areas through the KPI of the Month poster collection, which can be downloaded for free:

KPI of January: # Days on market – measures the number of days a property stays on the market on average, between the listing for sale and the contract signing

KPI of February: # Berry ratio – measures the ratio of an organization’s gross profits to operating expenses

KPI of March: % Production First Time Yield (FTY) – measures the percentage of good units produced as per specifications from the first run of the process, out of the units going into the process

KPI of April: % Hospital bed occupancy rate – measures the percentage of beds in the hospital that are occupied by patients on a daily basis, out of the overall number of hospital beds

KPI of May: # Pick-to-ship cycle time for customer orders – measures the average time (in hours or days) from the moment of picking the order to the moment of shipping the product to the client

KPI of June: # Liquidity ratio – measures the available cash or other assets easily convertible into cash that could cover short term payables

KPI of July: % On time departures – measures the percentage of flights that are departing within 15 minutes from the initially scheduled take-off time out of the total number of flights scheduled for departing

KPI of August: % Project schedule variance – measures the variance in terms of schedule, revealing the alteration between the planned project timeframe and the actual project phase

KPI of September: % Production uptime – measures the percentage of the utilized operation time, from the planned available production time

KPI of October: % Employee turnover – measures the rate at which employees leave the organization in a given period

KPI of November: # Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate (LTIFR) – measures the number of work-related incidents generating time loss that are occurring per one million hours worked

KPI of December: $ Revenue Per Available Seat Hour (RevPASH) – measures the restaurant’s revenue on a per available seat hour basis.

We will be entering the last month of 2022. A new month that offers an ideal mood in setting objectives and new beginnings and starting strong foreshadows a powerful finish.

The KPI Institute (TKI) had an exceptional year, delivering live online and face-to-face courses to a much larger audience in different countries. TKI has officially launched strategy and performance management courses in Vietnam with a specialized module dedicated to Vietnamese. 

Moreover, TKI also released its four micro-certification courses: Certificate in Employee Performance Management Maturity Assessment, Certificate in Performance Measurement Maturity Assessment, Certificate in Performance Improvement Maturity Assessment, and Certificate in Strategy Planning Maturity Assessment. The maturity assessment model presented in these courses is TKI and Global Performance Audit Unit’s proprietary knowledge, compiled over +10 years of research and practical experience in the field of performance improvement.

TKI has also opened more face-to-face classes this year after conducting strictly online and live webinars to adhere to COVID-19 health precautions in 2021. In the first four months of 2022, TKI has already held over 55 days of face-to-face classes in different countries and cities, such as Saudi Arabia: Al Khobar, Riyadh, Jubail, and Dhahran; UAE: Dubai and Ras AL-Khaimah; Mauritius: Le Morne Brabant, Quatre Bornes, and Ebene; Karachi in Pakistan, Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia, and Cairo in Egypt.

To successfully end this year, TKI is continuously delivering quality content for online and face-to-face courses up until the 29th of December, covering everything from KPIs, OKRs, and strategy and business planning. So, if you do not have a plan yet on how to spend the year-end productively, TKI invites you to sign up and join any courses that fit your interests. For more information about the programs, you can check them HERE.

Furthermore, it is highly suggested that you keep an eye on TKI’s social media channels – Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn – for updates on courses that are coming up in the last four weeks of 2022 and how to sign up for them.

Editor’s Note: “Innovation Highlights: Advancing Performance with State-of-the-Art Solutions” is an article written by The KPI Institute’s Jr. Management Consultant Andreana Dumitrescu and former Business Research Analyst Agnes Ilyes. This piece was first published in the latest edition of Performance Magazine. 

Embracing innovation is part of upgrading your organization’s performance. It requires building your innovation capability, culture, and management as well as getting inspiration from your environment. Here are some ideas to get you started.

Become a Citizen-Developer

Low-code development platforms have a revolutionary role, increasing the performance of software developers, accelerating application delivery, and simplifying complex tasks. At the same time, low-code and no-code tools for programming allow anyone without experience in the domain to create applications or systems, and these users are called citizen-developers. 

Low-code development platforms can automate time-consuming processes, allow employees to use visual and templated workflows, and make technology products reach the market faster. This leads to efficiency, new levels of growth, and great business value. However, those who need customized solutions may still need to use high-code platforms. While users may no longer need to learn coding, no-code platforms are expensive and may not appeal to small businesses. 

Using Drones in Performance Management

In the construction industry, drones are used to monitor employee productivity, collecting real-time data for organizations and giving them a competitive edge. The system gives them the ability to monitor people and activities and gather information fast. This information can be about whether a project is completed on time and on budget, spotting unauthorized use of or damage to the employer’s property, employee safety, human error, and labor costs. Drones can record photos and videos, and the footage can be easily shared with any device. With real-time access to the progress of a project, managers can determine potential causes of delays and the contribution of employees to the overall business strategy and project success. 

Microlearning as the Future of Workplace Learning

The global microlearning market is expected to reach $3. 8 billion by 2027, according to the report “Global Microlearning Industry” by Reportlinker.com. Microlearning refers to learning delivered in short-form, independent units and typically features personalized videos, tutorials, quizzes, or games. 

The topics of microlearning are the simplified versions of those taught in complex and widely structured learning environments. The shift to remote work and the demand for new skills accelerated the popularity of microlearning. The benefits of microlearning include accessibility, flexibility, and reduced development costs. It attracts workers, especially millennials, who prefer faster and engaging learning sessions, customized, and relaxed to avoid cognitive overload. 

Uber’s T3 B3 Process

When Uber’s employees complained that the company’s traditional performance review was subjective and dwelled too much on employees’ past behavior, the transport company devised a strategy called the T3 B3 Process. T3 B3, which means “top three bottom three,” asks employees to identify their top three qualities and bottom three areas for improvement. Their answers will generate new goals, which are entered into a system accessible to all members of the organization. 

Uber’s new review process highlights development based on job performance. The regular feedback that employees receive are categorized into positive reinforcement or constructive advice. Every week, managers monitor their feedback ratios and balance the two categories.

The Military Adopts the 360-degree Appraisal System to Get Rid of Toxic Leaders

Used by companies like Amazon, IBM, and Netflix, the 360-degree appraisal system will now be integrated into the selection board and assignments processes of the U.S. Marine Corps. It will conduct a pilot program first in 2022 and implement it fully in 2024. This means moving away from solely depending on their fitness reports, which are performance notes from two supervisors. 

The U.S. Marine Corps believes that a 360-degree performance review will help them avoid promoting senior leaders who may not be fit for the positions. By getting the feedback of Marine’s senior officials and subordinates, the organization can detect traits of toxic leadership as well as potential strengths and unidentified weaknesses. 

The 360-degree feedback offers employees regular confidential feedback from multiple viewpoints. This feedback system involves personalized questions and workflows, qualitative feedback, and agile pulse surveys. Moreover, the 360-degree review process emphasizes social reinforcement, encouraging workers to be more open to feedback and adjust their behavior. 

According to Harvard Business Review, initiatives to innovate usually fail and even successful innovators struggle to maintain their performance due to “the lack of an innovation strategy.”

For more than 10 years, The KPI Institute has established a standard in every facet of performance management through tailored KPI-based solutions. Join the Certified Innovation Performance Professional Live Online course on 18-22 July 2022 to learn how to link innovation to your organization’s strategy and goals in achieving excellence in performance, or get certified in IP Professional. For further details, visit our website. 

Online ordering, digital payments, the rising demand for plant-based items and sustainable packaging, and preference for alcohol-to-go and outdoor dining are just some of the trends that restaurants are adjusting to. 

While consumer behavior and dining preferences have changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the restaurant industry sees a glimmer of hope. Sales are expected to increase from $864 billion in 2019 to $898 billions this year, according to the National Restaurant Association’s 2022 State of the Restaurant Industry Report. Meanwhile, the foodservice industry is predicted to generate 400,000 jobs, for total industry employment of 14.9M before the year ends.

However, Hudson Riehle, senior vice president of the Research and Knowledge Group at the National Restaurant Association, emphasized that the restaurant industry may never completely return to its pre-pandemic state. 

Over half of restaurant operators believe that the return to normalcy would take a year or more. Restaurants are still grappling with employee retention and recruitment, food, labor, and occupancy costs, and supply delays or shortages of key food or beverage products.

“We still have work to do to ensure that those operators struggling the most can survive.  The Association will continue to champion the necessary government support needed at the federal and local levels to help keep these businesses — cornerstones of our communities — on a path to better days,” said Marvin Irby, Interim President & CEO of the National Restaurant Association.

What Can Restaurants Do

Use data to adapt to changes. The NPD Group recommends studying restaurant visits each daypart–morning meal, lunch, dinner, and P.M. Snack–and adjusting operations according to the behavior and motivations of diners. “The ability for restaurants, particularly full-service restaurants, to operate at total capacity, consumer comfort with dining in, and more business and recreational travel will aid recovery at the dinner daypart,” NPD states.

Exceed expectations to retain customers. Heleri Rande, a partner at Think Hospitality, a Florida-based real estate development and hospitality company, believes that restaurants should go beyond their usual services. They can add special touches like recipe boxes and contactless drop-off. She also suggests upselling “sides, bottles of wine, and desserts” and encouraging customers to buy gift vouchers. 

Track performance using KPIs. During uncertain times, every business decision is critical. Understanding where a restaurant has potential or needs improvement can help owners develop and implement a customer-focused strategy. This is only possible when they have the data to support their decisions.

The KPI Institute released The Top 25 Restaurant KPIs – 2020 Extended Edition, which compiles the most popular 25 KPIs used by food and beverage units worldwide throughout 2016 and 2020. The 25 restaurant KPIs identified are categorized into six divisions:

• Restaurant Financials – Incorporate the sales generated by the business from different perspectives and the investments made for its functionality
• Service Quality – Refers to issues that influence customer’s satisfaction, such as unavailability of menu items or service diversity
• Customer Feedback – Offers information regarding the customers’ assessment of the restaurant as an indicator of their satisfaction and loyalty
• Restaurant Occupancy – Represents the attraction of customers and the capacity at which the restaurant operates
• Restaurant Workload – Reflects on the intensity of the restaurant’s activity and the impact of peak periods on employees
• Restaurant Governance – Indicates the principles and practices that guide the decisions of the restaurant’s management

Discover the 25 most popular restaurant KPIs today and read each of their profiles, all packed with exclusive in-practice recommendations. Download The Top 25 Restaurant KPIs – 2020 Extended Edition now!

Finance KPIs help companies monitor their progress, determine where there are more financial benefits, identify areas in the organization that need more attention, and establish growth targets.

The KPI Institute’s The Top 25 Finance KPIs report unveils the most popular 25 KPIs used by global finance divisions throughout 2012 and 2020. Here is an excerpt from the report:

A strategically focused organization ensures that financial indicators track not only performance, but they also reveal trends, raise awareness to risk, and highlight business opportunities. Most of traditional financial metrics such as $ Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIDT), % Return on equity (ROE) and % Net profit margin are lagging KPIs and provide little leverage for a proactive management.

… The methodology used to advance this report consisted of ranking the KPI examples documented and published on smartKPIs.com, based on the number of views acquired in the period mentioned. The hundreds of thousands of visits to smartKPIs.com and the thousands
of KPIs visited, bookmarked and rated by members of the online community provided a rich data set, which combined with further analysis from The KPI Institute’s editorial team, formed a basis for the hereby presented research reports.

One of the most important benefits that this report brings is an international perspective on the most popular finance KPIs. They provide quantifiable measurement of the main components that lead to a successful finance strategy implementation. The documentation of KPIs compiles both academic insights and practitioner experience in working with these performance management tools.

Furthermore, Top 25 Finance KPIs – 2020 Edition provides a complete hands-on experience in working with KPIs as it contains not only 2 pages of detailed documentation for each KPI, but also interesting articles on best practices in terms of KPI selection and documentation.”

Based on the report, below are the Top 25 finance KPIs according to five subdivisions:

Asset / Portfolio Management KPIs

• $ Loans and investments
• % Management expense ratio (MER)

Financial Stability KPIs

• % Capital acquisition ratio
• % Bad debt write-offs from gross revenue
• $ Debt-adjusted cash flow (DACF)
• # Defensive interval ratio (DIR)
• # Altman Z-Score (for privately held non-manufacturing companies)
• # Altman Z-Score

Forecast and Valuation KPIs

• $ Shareholders funds per employee
• $ Economic value added (EVA)
• % Capital reinvestment ratio
• % Accurate forecasts of planned expenditure
• % Cash flow return on investment (CFROI)

Liquidity KPIs

• # Cash flow adequacy ratio
• # Debt-service coverage ratio (DSCR)

Profitability KPIs

• # Basic earning power ratio (BEP)
• # Labor multiplier
• % Return on funds employed (ROFE)
• # Capital expenditure to sales ratio
• % Return on net assets (RONA)
• % Return on capital employed (ROCE)
• $ Contribution margin
• % Return on fixed assets
• $ Net present value (NPV)
• % Net profit margin

You can access the comprehensive profile of each KPI as well as exclusive in-practice recommendations by downloading the report here.