In every organization, things can slip through the cracks when no one is measuring what matters. In my book, Achieve Connectivity Now!, I talk about one of the most powerful ways to achieve true connectivity across your business is to develop Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) — metrics that track how well your departments and processes are performing against your company’s goals.

KPIs give you visibility, help teams stay accountable, and create a clear link between day-to-day work and strategic success. Let’s explore how to build them effectively.

Why Metrics Matter for Connectivity

You might be asking, “What do metrics have to do with achieving connectivity?” Glad you asked! When you connect metrics to specific departments and the processes within those departments, you create feedback loops that show whether things are running smoothly.

For example, if your company’s goal is to improve customer satisfaction, a relevant KPI could be:

Average Time to Process Customer Orders — Goal: within 1 business day of order receipt.

By aligning this KPI to the Order Processing department, you create a measurable link between customer satisfaction and operational performance. This turns abstract goals into actionable targets.

Step 1: Start With Strategic Goals

To decide what to measure, begin by identifying your company’s strategic objectives. Ask yourself:

• What do we want to improve, increase, or reduce?

• How do these goals support the company’s long-term vision?

For example, let’s say you run an e-commerce business and face complaints about late deliveries and incorrect products. Your strategic goals might look like this:

• Improve customer satisfaction ratings by 20%.

• Increase on-time deliveries to 85%.

• Decrease company-caused product returns by 50%.

Right there, you’ve started defining your KPIs and metric goals.

Step 2: Map Departments to the Goals

Once you know your goals, determine which departments directly affect them.

For the e-commerce scenario above, likely candidates include:

• Order Processing

• Order Fulfillment

• Shipping

Each department has a role to play in delivering the desired outcome.

Step 3: Identify Key Processes

Within each department, ask: Which processes impact this goal?

• Order Processing → Processing new orders from the website.

• Order Fulfillment → Item picking accuracy.

• Shipping → Packing and labeling correctly and on time.

Mapping processes helps you see exactly where performance must be measured.

Step 4: Define Departmental KPIs & Metric Goals

Now translate those processes into clear, measurable KPIs:

• Order Processing: Average time to process new online orders — Goal: within 1 hour of receipt.

• Order Fulfillment: Pick accuracy rate — Goal: 99%.

• Shipping: Average time to ship orders — Goal: within 2 business days.

Notice how each KPI is specific, time-bound, and tied to the company’s overall goals.

Step 5: Apply the Same Thinking to Growth & Retention

If your business provides services — especially recurring or annual ones — you’ll have growth and retention goals. For example:

• Growth Goal: Increase sales by 20%.

• Retention Goal: Increase customer retention by 30%.

Map these to departments:

• Marketing:

  • KPI: Average number of quality leads per month — Goal: 100.

• Sales:

  • KPI: Average time to respond to new inbound leads — Goal: within 1 hour.

  • KPI: New lead-to-appointment conversion rate — Goal: 30%.

  • KPI: Appointment-to-new-client conversion rate — Goal: 40%.

• Customer Service:

  • KPI: Average time to respond to email inquiries — Goal: same day.

  • KPI: Associate training score — Goal: 95%.

• Field Service:

  • KPI: Associate skills training score — Goal: 95%.

  • KPI: Field service survey rating — Goal: 10/10.

This approach ensures every department — from marketing to field service — is aligned with your bigger picture.

Step 6: Track & Review Regularly

Creating KPIs is just the beginning. You need to track them consistently:

• Is the data already available in your software systems?

• Do you need new reports or dashboards?

• Will you need to build your own tracking mechanism?

Next, decide how often to review the data — weekly, monthly, or quarterly. I recommend weekly reviews. Frequent check-ins allow you to spot issues early and avoid long-term negative patterns.

When reviewing, always get the story behind the numbers. If a KPI dips:

• Is it a blip — a one-time anomaly that quickly returns to normal?

• Or is it a pattern change that signals a deeper issue?

Ask questions until you understand what’s driving the trend.

Step 7: Use Patterns to Drive Action

Over time, you’ll see patterns: good, bad, or changing. Compare data week over week, month over month, and year over year.

• If the pattern turns negative, investigate: What changed?

• If it turns positive, celebrate and sustain it.

Always dig for the “why” behind the trend. Data tells a story — your job is to uncover it.

The Payoff: Visibility, Accountability & Alignment

When you connect strategic goals → departments → processes → KPIs, you create a line of sight from leadership’s vision to front-line execution. Employees at all levels understand how their work contributes to success.

That alignment leads to:

• Visibility: Everyone sees how the company is performing.

• Accountability: Teams own their numbers.

• Connectivity: Departments understand how their actions affect the whole.

And that’s how you stop things from falling through the cracks.

🚀 Next Step: Achieve Connectivity Now

If your organization struggles with missed handoffs, unclear priorities, or disconnected teams, start by developing KPIs.

When the right metrics guide your operations, you gain clarity, control, and confidence.

Need help creating the right KPIs for your business? Schedule a consultation with Errol Allen Consulting. 

Operations – The Dance of Who Does What, When, Where, How, and Why

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