While it is easy implementing operations, sales or other measurable business targets related KPIs are fairly straightforward, there have been much arguements about KPIs for support functions which do not always have a qualtifiable target (I.e - How do we measure the success of a marketing campaign?  How about Effectiveness of Training?).  These may be some of the more challenging KPIs to set but not yet the most challenging among all performance management process.

I personally believe that the most challenging change that needs to be done within most performance management process is too add in an element of “managerial cabapilities” as part of the KPIs.  Such as:

• Have the manager developed their people well?
• Have the manager be successful in engaging its people?
• Is the manager a good motivator?
• How about the peace and harmony?
• Was the high attrition due to external factors or really it’s the manager?

Remember the saying “People join companies but leave their managers”?

The above statement may be true but many organizations still resist the need to include managerial KPIs as part of the performance management process.  Why is this so?

• Most people are promoted to the position of managers not because of their managerial capability, but for the fact that they did their job well (I.e: bring more sales)
• Managerial capability does not directly affect the business profitability instantly, the business results do!  Therefore, most organizations are not ready to suffer the sacrifice and setback of slower sales, operational hiccups or lower profitability as a result of reprimanding a poor manager who delivers superior results.
• Any policies needs approval from the management team; and implementing managerial KPIs would apply to the management team too.  Therefore, it does makes sense that anybody would do what it takes to oppose having an additional burden to carry for themselves.  Thus, the difficulty in finding a champion for such projects.

Those may be the truth, but what are the common smokescreens put up by the management teams who resist the implementation of managerial KPIs?

• Having 360 feedback as managerial KPIs will only create possibilities of employees mis-using it as a form of “revenge” against their supervisors.
• Managers may become too defensive and lose focus of business targets.
• If the communications is not done appropriately it will backfire.
• Managerial capability is subjective, not exactly quantifiable.

Think about some of these, and now tell me if those excuses are still valid:

• Doesn’t the usual Performance Management Processes create the possibilities of managers mis-using it as a form of “revenge” against their employees too?
• Isn’t employee engagement and retention part of “business targets”?
• All PMP will backfire if not communicated appropriately, don’t they?
• Besides sales targets or turnaround times, isn’t most KPIs hard to quantify too?  Don’t forget that customer service INDEX is not an accurate measurement too!

Managerial KPIs is a long term view of keeping employees engaged, business KPIs on the other hand helps drives present results.  As a good manager, both needs to be balanced and measured.

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Tags: Business Results, KPI, Leadership, Managerial, Performance Management, PMP, retention

This entry was posted by Clayton J.C Tan on Friday, June 26th, 2009 at 10:29 am and is filed under Human Resources, Leadership & Management. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.