Setting KPIs for Technology Implementation

1. The Technology

A new technology can be great but is often underutilized when people don’t know about the features or how to use them. So, the first step in building out KPIs is to understand the features of the technology, identify which will be used and how you intend to use and apply the them to make sure you are achieving an ROI in the most basic form – on your purchase of the system or application. As an example: if there are seven features, you could have one KPI per feature to accurately measure your use of each feature. If based on your KPIs, you find that only three features are being utilized, you are underutilizing the technology and may need to do some training and/or find out why the others aren’t being used. Measuring the utilization of a feature is very much dependent on your unique use case. It may be specific actions performed, number of log-ins to the system during a defined timeframe, or other.

2. The People

Pay close attention to the people factor. While measuring the features is necessary and will tell you if the technology is being utilized or underutilized, the people, your end-users, will make or break a new technology. They can shed light on whether the technology is working with their systems and processes and for your business overall and provide valuable insights to get everything back on track if it is not. While this can be daunting, it is imperative that you spend some time establishing these KPIs with buy-in from the top-down. To gather data, I suggest sending a simple survey to the end-users with a rating system and area for additional feedback. For example, Rate the following on a scale of 1 (low) to 5 (high).

1) User satisfaction. Does the user believe the tool is delivering on the features and functionality that are being measured? This can reveal whether the user is getting anything out of the technology.

2) How much has the technology improved their work/role? Is it making their life easier or harder? Why? From simple questions such as these, you can then troubleshoot what may be needed in order to course correct. An alternative to a survey is having focus group meetings. While getting everyone to participate may be its own challenge, you will have people that “raise their hands” to provide feedback. Be positive and receptive.

3. Outcome and Performance

The outcome and performance are the reasons you implemented the technology in the first place. Depending on the technology, here are a few basic KPIs but you may want to include others based on your use cases.

• How much time is being saved? And what is the calculated value of those hours? If you are saving hours, you are getting a return.
  • This can be broken down into a more detailed analysis such as:
    • Are tasks getting handled faster or more efficiently?
    • Are your people more productive?
    • Are you more productive?
• Is the technology reducing and/or eliminating [fill in the blank]? Perhaps the technology is designed to save you from having to repeat an order or rent something you don’t need.