From KPIs to Meaningful Impact
KPIs — Key Performance Indicators — are everywhere. They’re meant to give leaders clarity, measure success, and hold teams accountable. But too often, KPIs become tick-box exercises that drive the wrong behaviours. Instead of inspiring improvement, they reduce complex goals to numbers on a dashboard.
So how can leaders ensure that performance measures create real impact? The key is shifting focus from outputs to outcomes, from metrics to meaning.
The Problem with Traditional KPIs
When KPIs are poorly designed, they can:
Encourage short-termism (“hitting the number” instead of long-term improvement).
Overlook human factors such as wellbeing or customer experience.
Create perverse incentives (e.g. achieving targets while undermining quality).
Leave teams disengaged, unsure of the bigger picture.
For example: measuring “calls answered per hour” in a customer service team may boost speed, but if callers feel rushed or uncared for, the KPI hides failure rather than success.
Redefining Success
Meaningful KPIs should answer: “Are we making the difference we set out to make?”
That means shifting from activity-based measures (what we did) to impact-based measures (what changed as a result).
Activity KPI: “We delivered 50 training sessions.”
Impact KPI: “95% of participants reported improved skills and confidence.”
Impact KPIs are harder to design, but they’re worth it — they capture whether you’re achieving your true purpose.
Principles for Meaningful KPIs
1. Align with Purpose
KPIs should reflect organisational mission, not just easy-to-count outputs. Ask: Does this measure show we’re living up to our purpose?
Example: Instead of “% of projects completed on time,” consider “% of projects meeting client-defined outcomes.”
2. Balance Quantitative and Qualitative Data
Numbers tell part of the story. Qualitative measures — feedback, case studies, lived experience — provide context and meaning.
Example: Alongside attendance figures for a programme, collect participant stories that illustrate real-life impact.
3. Keep It Simple and Relevant
Too many KPIs overwhelm teams. Choose a small set of clear, relevant measures that everyone understands.
Tip: If staff can’t explain how their work contributes to a KPI, it’s not meaningful.
4. Focus on Learning, Not Blame
KPIs should drive improvement, not fear. Use them to ask: What are we learning? What can we do differently? This encourages transparency and innovation.
Example: A rise in customer complaints should spark curiosity and action, not defensiveness.
5. Review and Adapt
KPIs aren’t set in stone. Organisations evolve, and so should measures of success. Leaders should review KPIs regularly to ensure they remain relevant and meaningful.
Practical Examples
Education: Instead of tracking only exam results, schools can measure student wellbeing and engagement.
Business: Beyond profit margins, organisations can track staff retention, customer loyalty, and social impact.
Public services: Rather than measuring service throughput, measure whether people’s lives are improving.
Linking KPIs to Organisational Culture
KPIs shape behaviour. If you measure only numbers, people will chase numbers. If you measure outcomes and values, people will prioritise impact.
Leaders must model the shift by asking questions like:
What difference are we making?
How are people experiencing our service?
What do these numbers really tell us?
When KPIs are tied to meaning, staff feel more motivated and connected to the bigger picture.
Final Thought
KPIs are not the enemy — but meaningless KPIs are. The challenge for leaders is to design measures that reflect purpose, balance numbers with stories, and focus on outcomes, not just activity.
When we move from KPIs to meaningful impact, performance measurement stops being a tick-box exercise and becomes what it should be: a tool for learning, growth, and positive change.
🔗 Useful resource: McKinsey – How to Design Meaningful KPIs