Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and Key Performance Actions (KPAs) are two commonly used terms in business. KPIs are essentially numbers that are related to a team member’s job, which help measure their success in performing their duties. On the other hand, KPAs are about finding out if enough activity took place to get the desired result. While KPIs are more well-known and commonly used, KPAs are equally important.
As your business grows and you have a team, it becomes increasingly difficult to micromanage everyone. This is where KPIs come in handy. They provide a simple way for managers to keep track of how successful their team members have been in carrying out their job responsibilities. For instance, a salesperson might be asked to track the number of sales meetings they book or the number of proposals they send out. Similarly, an accountant might be asked to keep track of how long it takes to get a set of accounts done on average, or what the waiting list for these accounts is.
The idea behind KPIs is to have enough of them so that you have a good understanding of what’s happening in your business, but not so many that they become burdensome for team members to prepare. KPIs should be simple, with just one or two numbers per team member reflecting how well they’re doing their job. By tracking KPIs, managers can gain insight into the performance of their team members and take corrective actions if necessary.
KPAs, on the other hand, focus on the actions that lead to achieving a particular result. They help to ensure that enough activity is taking place to achieve the desired outcome. For example, if a salesperson’s KPI is the number of leads they generate, their KPA might be the number of phone calls they make. Similarly, for a marketing person, their KPI might be the number of new Facebook friends or LinkedIn connections they make, while their KPA might be the number of connection requests they send out.
Both KPIs and KPAs are important for businesses, especially those with teams. KPIs help managers to track the success of their team members, while KPAs help to ensure that enough activity is taking place to achieve the desired outcome. However, it’s important to strike a balance between having enough KPIs and KPAs to get a good handle on what’s happening in your business, without burdening your team members with excessive tracking and reporting.
In summary, while KPIs and KPAs are similar concepts, there are some important differences. KPIs focus on the outcome, while KPAs focus on the actions that lead to achieving the desired result. By using both KPIs and KPAs, businesses can gain valuable insights into the performance of their team members and take corrective actions if necessary.
