Why so many KPIs change nothing
Most organizations have KPIs. Fewer have KPIs that change what people do on a Monday morning. The usual reason is not a lack of measures but a lack of ownership. A KPI that sits with "the department" belongs to no one in particular. A KPI that depends mostly on decisions made elsewhere, such as company revenue for a payroll officer, is something the person watches rather than drives. And a list of fifteen indicators per role tells people that everything matters equally, which means nothing does.
An owned KPI is different. The person named against it can clearly influence the result, understands how it is measured, and knows what good looks like before the year starts.
Start with key result areas, not with measures
Before choosing any indicator, agree what the role exists to deliver: its key result areas (KRAs), the three to six areas where the role must produce results for the organization to succeed. For an HR operations role they might be accurate and timely payroll, a smooth joining process, reliable employee records and compliant documentation. For a procurement role they might be supplier performance, cost of purchased goods and contract compliance.
KRAs come straight from a good job description. If the job description is a list of tasks, rewrite it around purpose and outcomes first. Once the KRAs are clear, each one gets one or two KPIs that show whether it is being delivered.
A five-question test for every KPI
- Can this person influence it? Not control it completely, but move it meaningfully through their own work and decisions.
- Is it defined precisely? Write down the formula, what is included and excluded, and the period it covers. "Customer satisfaction" is a topic; "percentage of survey responses rating service 4 or 5 out of 5, per quarter" is a KPI.
- Where does the data come from? Name the system or report, and who produces it. If nobody can produce the number reliably, it will be argued over at review time.
- Is there a baseline and a target? A target without a baseline is a guess. Where there is no history, use the first period to establish one and say so openly.
- Would anyone miss it if it were removed? If the answer is no, remove it. Most roles are well served by four to seven KPIs in total.
Cascading from strategy without copying it down
A good set of KPIs connects each person to the organization's objectives. The common mistake is to copy corporate indicators down the structure unchanged, so that a team leader and an executive carry the same measure. Instead, ask at each level: what does this unit or role contribute to that objective, and how would we see it? A corporate goal to improve customer experience might become response time for the service desk, first-time resolution for the support team and the accuracy of information on the website for the communications team.
Some results really are shared, such as a project delivered by several departments. Shared KPIs are fine, as long as each contributor also has a measure of their own part, and one person is clearly accountable for the overall result. This depends on a clear organization structure: if two units believe they own the same outcome, the KPIs will expose the overlap rather than solve it.
Use the right mix of measures
- Outcome and lead measures. Outcome measures show the result after the fact; lead measures, such as the share of contracts renewed on time, show whether the result is on track. A balance of both gives people something to act on during the year.
- Quantity, quality, time and cost. Measuring only volume encourages speed at the expense of quality. Pairing measures keeps the incentive honest.
- Support and specialist roles. Not every role has a natural number. For these, well-defined service standards, project milestones or internal customer feedback can work better than an invented metric.
Steps to follow
- Confirm the organization's objectives for the year and who owns each one.
- Define the KRAs for each role, starting from its job description.
- Draft one or two KPIs per KRA and run each through the five-question test.
- Agree definitions, data sources, baselines and targets, in writing, before the cycle starts.
- Discuss them with the person who will own them. KPIs set without a conversation are rarely owned.
- Review progress regularly, at least quarterly, and adjust a KPI openly if circumstances change, rather than letting it quietly lose meaning.
Common mistakes
- Measuring activity instead of results. "Number of meetings held" says little about what was achieved.
- Targets nobody believes. Targets set far beyond reach are ignored; targets set too low are met without effort. Both undermine the system.
- Changing the rules at year end. Redefining a KPI after the results are in destroys trust quickly.
- Linking pay before the measures are reliable. Tying bonuses to KPIs whose data is disputed turns every review into a negotiation.
Points that matter in a Qatar setting
Many organizations in Qatar link their objectives to wider strategies, including national ones in the case of government and semi-government entities. That makes the cascade especially important, so that people can see how their own work connects to those goals. Teams are often multinational and bilingual, so KPI definitions should be written clearly in both Arabic and English and checked to mean the same thing in each. Where performance ratings feed into bonuses, increments or promotions, the rules should be consistent with your grade structure, your pay policies and your obligations under Qatari labour law. We do not give legal advice, so check any legal question with your counsel.
From KPIs to scorecards
Once KPIs are owned, they need to be visible: progress tracked, evidence attached and results reviewed on a regular rhythm. That is the role of scorecards and dashboards, which a later article in this series covers. Brilyanz develops KRAs and KPIs as part of its performance management work, and our Qstrata platform brings objectives, KPIs and evidence together in one place.
See our HR services or book a consultation to talk through your situation.