Creating KPIs
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) have long been the mantra and focus of managers across the globe. Countless hours have been spent in devising KPIs and delivering them into work environments. However, without the context of goals, objectives and Key Result Areas (KRAs), they get lost in a sea of confusion and misalignment.
As a Certified Club Manager, you will be responsible for goals, objectives, KRAs and KPIs. Understanding their meaning, recognising the relationship between them and appreciating the cascading nature of their connection is instrumental to your club’s success. By starting with the ‘big picture’ and drilling down, you will end up with meaningful and relevant KPIs.
Goals
A business definition of a goal is “what a business expects to accomplish by the end of a specified period”. Therefore, it is where your club hopes to be at a future date and is its big-picture aim.
Examples of club goals for an upcoming period might be:
“To be the most frequented club in the region.”
“To be a club of choice for hospitality employees.”
“To maximise profitability.”
For a club, each of these goals provides a different way of looking at itself and a different way of seeking and achieving success.
Clubs can have more than one goal, but to maintain focus the number of goals should not exceed three.
Goals are visionary. They are overarching statements that have positive intent and make us feel good. However, for them to be more than dreams, they need strategies on how they are to be achieved.
Objectives
A business definition for an objective is “a specific result that a business aims to achieve within a timeframe and with available resources.”
Therefore, for your club, objectives are the specifics that together, achieve the goals. The overall strategy by which your club intends to achieve its goals.
And, because they are specific, they are easier to measure than goals
Examples of club objectives based on the above goals are:
“To increase member and guest numbers by 7.5% by the end of the year” (7.5% being the key figure required to be the most frequented club in the region)
“Reduce overall team member turnover by 12.5% by the end of the year and retain 90% of the senior management team”. (Maintaining both general staff and key personnel would indicate a club of choice for employees)
“Increase Earnings Before Interest and Taxes (EBIT) by 6% by the end of the year-end and maintain member quality service rating”. (6% sets the required profit target, whilst the member quality objective recognises the importance of service standards for future profitability)
Therefore, objectives are the measurable pieces or chunks broken down from the goals. For them to be measurable, they need to be defined by quantity, time and other parameters that determine their achievement.
Again, there may be multiple objectives for each goal. However, they should be limited to two or three to ensure they are managed and appropriately resourced.
Key Result Areas (KRA)
KRAs refer to the general areas of input and focus that a role or team within a club is responsible. These are the areas within the club where a person or group, is accountable for achieving the objectives that have been determined. They always link back to goals and the objectives.
Identifying KRAs assist teams and the individuals in the club in:
Clarifying roles
Aligning roles to the club’s goals
Focusing on results, not tasks
Communicating the purpose of individual roles
Establishing specific individual and team goals and objectives
Prioritising tasks and improving time management and workflow
Making considered and appropriate decisions
It is typical to target three to five KRAs.
Example of Club KRAs would be:
Member experience
Customer relations
Reputation management
Branding and marketing
Management support
Strategic management
IT and Technology Innovation
Budgeting and product control
There are many ways KRAs can be determined and documented in a club environment.
A strong set of KRAs will cover the range of skills and outcomes that are the focal points for club efficiency and success.
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
For each KRA a set of KPIs is then established.
KPIs are specific, measurable outcomes that link back to the achievement of the club’s goals and objectives. The important points are that they are specific and measurable.
They are clear targets that can be seen to have been accomplished or not. There will be multiple KPIs in a club at any given time, and they will be at various stages of completion. When they have been done, or if they are deemed no longer appropriate, they are replaced by new KPIs.
An example
Using one of our previous goals, objectives and KRAs, the cascading effect might look like this and produce the following club KPI.
Goal: “To be the most frequented club in the region.”
Objective: “To increase member and guest numbers by 7.5% by the end of the year.”
KRA: Branding and marketing
KPI: “Run a Facebook marketing campaign, with a budget of $5,000 between now and the end of the calendar year that generates 500 website membership enquiries.”
As you can see, the KPI is very specific and tailored to the context of a particular club.
You can also see that multiple KPIs can be created from the same combinations of goal, objective and KRA. Likewise, other KPIs will be the result of other combinations.
Consider a KPI that might be created using the same goal and objective above, but focusing on Member Experience as the KRA?
The Club Managers Association of Australia (CMAA) has been supporting and developing club managers to achieve high levels of leadership and management ability for many years. The training and development of knowledgeable and motivated leaders that are capable of achieving greatness on behalf of their clubs is a passion of the CMAA. To this end, they offer the professional certification - the Active Certified Club Managers Award (ACCM).
Individuals who hold the ACCM, have demonstrated that they possess the skills, have the range of knowledge and can model behaviours that drive premium results for their club.
The foundation stone of the ACCM is the Club Managers Leadership and Management program, an online, training course, delivered by elevateB (a specialist training company) and independently endorsed by Australis College (a Registered Training Organisation)
The Club Managers Leadership and Management program has been modelled on the Diploma of Leadership and Management, ensuring it covers a full gambit of management and leadership topics. Importantly, it has been tailored and contextualised for club environments and day to day club management situations. To successfully complete the program, participants are required to demonstrate required knowledge, skills and abilities through application and activity submissions.
For more information on the Club Managers Leadership and Management program, click here.