75 KPIs to Help Your Business Grow!

Before diving deeper, developing and tracking KPIs are a part of every business success. If you can't track how your business is doing between financials, sales, operations, HR, etc., how can you fix something that doesn't get you close to your goals?

Below, we'll elaborate on multiple KPIs described by Bernard Marr in his book “Key Performance Indicators: The 75 Measures Every Manager Needs to Know”. It is a comprehensive list of 75 KPIs designed for business leaders and managers.

KEY CALLOUT:

You only need to track KPIs that make business sense for your operation.

So don't overwhelm yourself with indicators that won't bring value to your business.

These KPIs serve as critical tools across various roles—helping managers and executives monitor business performance, achieve strategic objectives, and drive results. Business analysts use them to evaluate core metrics, project managers track project milestones and outcomes, financial analysts assess fiscal health, and operations teams leverage them to enhance efficiency and productivity.

Five key advantages of implementing KPIs:

• Better Decision-Making: KPIs offer measurable insights that support informed, strategic choices.

• Performance Monitoring: They allow continuous tracking of progress toward goals, highlighting improvement opportunities.

• Alignment with Goals: KPIs help ensure that both individual and team efforts support the company’s broader objectives.

• Accountability: They set clear expectations and performance standards, promoting ownership and responsibility.

• Strategic Prioritization: KPIs direct focus and resources to the areas that most impact business growth and success.

Common challenges when working with KPIs:

• Information Overload: Handling excessive data can cause confusion and slow decision-making.

• Goal Misalignment: KPIs that don’t match strategic priorities may produce misleading insights.

• Data Quality Issues: Inaccurate or unreliable data undermines the value of KPIs.

• Lack of Context: Without the right context, KPI results can be easily misinterpreted.

• Resistance to Adoption: Teams may be hesitant to embrace new KPI processes, reducing their effectiveness.

Best practices for setting effective KPIs:

• Clarify Objectives: Clearly define business goals that align with the overall strategy.

• Select Meaningful KPIs: Choose indicators that truly reflect progress toward your objectives.

• Use SMART Criteria: Ensure KPIs are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.

• Establish Baselines: Collect current data to benchmark and track improvements.

• Set Clear Targets: Define practical, challenging goals for each KPI to drive performance.

• Communicate Transparently: Make sure all stakeholders understand the KPIs, their purpose, and their impact.

• Review Regularly: Continuously monitor performance and adjust KPIs as needed for ongoing improvement.

Now as we mentioned the above, here we go:

Financial Performance KPIs:

1. Net Profit – The total revenue minus total expenses.

2. Gross Profit – Revenue minus the cost of goods sold (COGS).

3. Operating Profit – Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT).

4. EBITDA – Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization.

5. Revenue Growth Rate – The rate at which revenue increases over a period.

6. Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) – The direct cost of producing goods sold by a company.

7. Operating Expense Ratio (OER) – Operating expenses divided by net sales.

8. Return on Investment (ROI) – Measures the profitability of an investment.

9. Economic Value Added (EVA) – The value created above the required return of the company’s investors.

10. Return on Equity (ROE) – Net income divided by shareholders’ equity.

11. Return on Assets (ROA) – Net income divided by total assets.

12. Cash Flow – The total amount of money being transferred into and out of a business.

13. Working Capital – The capital available for day-to-day operations.

14. Current Ratio – Current assets divided by current liabilities.

15. Quick Ratio – Measures the ability to meet short-term obligations.

16. Debt to Equity Ratio – The ratio of total liabilities to shareholders’ equity.

17. Gross Profit Margin – Gross profit divided by net sales.

18. Net Profit Margin – Net income divided by net sales.

19. Operating Profit Margin – Operating income divided by net sales.

20. Break-even Point – The sales level at which total revenue equals total expenses.

    
    

Customer KPIs:

21. Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) – Measures customer satisfaction with products or services.

22. Net Promoter Score (NPS) – Measures customer loyalty by asking how likely they are to recommend your business.

23. Customer Retention Rate – The percentage of customers that return to the company.

24. Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) – The projected revenue from a customer over the entire relationship.

25. Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) – The cost of acquiring a new customer.

26. Customer Churn Rate – The rate at which customers stop doing business with the company.

27. Customer Complaints – Number of complaints received from customers.

28. On-Time Delivery – The percentage of orders delivered on or before the promised date.

29. Lead Time – The amount of time taken to fulfill a customer order.

    
    

Operational KPIs:

30. Efficiency Ratio – A measure of how efficiently a company uses its resources.

31. Order Fulfillment Cycle Time – The time it takes from receiving an order to delivering it.

32. Inventory Turnover – The number of times inventory is sold and replaced over a period.

33. Capacity Utilization – The percentage of total capacity being used.

34. Process Downtime Level – The amount of time production is halted due to equipment failure or other reasons.

35. First-Pass Yield – The percentage of products manufactured correctly the first time without rework.

36. Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) – A measure of how well manufacturing operations are performing.

37. Scrap Rate – The percentage of products discarded due to defects.

38. Six Sigma Level – Measures defects per million opportunities.

    
    

Employee Performance KPIs:

39. Employee Satisfaction Index – Measures employee happiness and satisfaction.

40. Employee Turnover Rate – The rate at which employees leave a company.

41. Absenteeism Rate – The percentage of time employees are absent from work.

42. Training Return on Investment (ROI) – The financial return on employee training and development.

43. Employee Productivity – The output per employee over a period.

44. Salary Competitiveness Ratio (SCR) – Compares employee salaries to industry averages.

45. Time to Hire – The time taken to fill a job vacancy.

46. Cost per Hire – The cost involved in hiring a new employee.

47. Employee Engagement – The level of commitment and involvement an employee has towards their organization.

48. Revenue per Employee – Total revenue divided by the number of employees.

49. Human Capital Value Added (HCVA) – Measures the financial value an employee adds to the organization.

    
    

Marketing KPIs:

50. Conversion Rate – The percentage of website visitors who take a desired action, such as making a purchase.

51. Return on Marketing Investment (ROMI) – The return generated by marketing activities.

52. Cost per Lead – The average cost of acquiring a potential customer lead.

53. Social Media Engagement – Measures interactions such as likes, shares, and comments on social media.

54. Website Traffic – The number of visitors to the company’s website.

55. Bounce Rate – The percentage of visitors who leave the website after viewing only one page.

56. Search Engine Ranking – The position of the website in search engine results.

57. Brand Awareness – The level of consumer recognition of the brand.

    
    

Sales KPIs:

58. Sales Growth Rate – The percentage increase in sales over a period.

59. Sales Conversion Rate – The percentage of leads that are converted into customers.

60. Sales per Rep – The amount of revenue generated by each salesperson.

61. Average Transaction Value (ATV) – The average dollar amount of each transaction.

62. Sales per Region – Measures sales performance by geographical area.

63. Sales Target – The goal set for sales over a period.

    
    

Project Management KPIs:

64. Project Success Rate – The percentage of projects completed on time, within budget, and to the required quality.

65. Cost Variance (CV) – The difference between the actual and planned costs of a project.

66. Schedule Variance (SV) – The difference between the actual and planned project timeline.

67. Time to Market – The time it takes to develop a new product or service and bring it to market.

68. Resource Utilization – How efficiently resources are used in a project.

    
    

IT and Technology KPIs:

69. System Downtime – The amount of time a system or service is unavailable.

70. Number of Bugs – The number of software bugs or errors in the system.

71. IT ROI – The return on investment for IT projects and systems.

72. Average Resolution Time – The average time taken to resolve IT issues.

73. System Response Time – The time it takes for a system to respond to a user’s request.

    
    

Environmental and Social KPIs:

74. Carbon Footprint – The total amount of greenhouse gases produced to support business activities.

75. Energy Consumption – The amount of energy used by the organization.