61. The KPI's That Drive Employee Engagement Deeper

When you want engaged employees, but you only focus on metrics, you’re missing hundreds of opportunities through the course of the year to actually cause higher engagement. 

Hey, Team welcome back to Lead Thru Values.

This podcast exists to help you ensure that every person on your team has the skills, knowledge and confidence to do their job exceptionally well.

And today’s podcast is a new, short form version that I’m calling Lessons From The Training Room, where I share a powerful real-world leadership examples with you from my work with executives, business owners and managers.

Many of you are very familiar… intimately familiar… with the term KPI.

Key. Performance. Indicators.

KPI’s have been around for years and have been used to measure progress on a variety of business stats. 

Closing ratios.

Calls made.

Efficiencies of all types.

Revenue.

Here’s what I’ve found: Most managers focus only on the metrics.

I’d like to offer you a new perspective on the acronym, KPI.

In fact, I’d like to offer you 4 new variations that are focused on engagement.

#1. Keep people informed.

People want to know how they’re doing.  

James, you’re at 127% of your quota for outbound calls. Keep up the good work!James, your hourly production is steady at 96% of goal, but your QC is 13% below goal.

Be consistent and transparent with your reports and make sure the information is up to date and accurate.

#2. Keep people interested.

James, did you know that if you just close one more deal each week, you’ll hit your target? Let me show you something… 

The best leaders work with their team members to help them see where they need to improve. They’re comfortable and skilled with setting expectations, providing helpful feedback in a timely manner, and they provide guidance with HOW to improve.

#3. Keep people involved.

If you want to deepen employee engagement, then be open to ideas and suggestions. 

James, what are you seeing right now? What opportunities are we missing? 

Seek ideas and suggestions by asking specific questions. And listen to learn, not respond. 

#4. Keep people inspired.

Even great people can get into a slump.

James, you’ve missed your targets 3 of the last 4 weeks. How can I help you get back on track? 

You can go 1 of 2 ways. Treat the person with dignity… or treat them like a replaceable part of your machine.

Here are the 4 most powerful words you might ever say to another person: 

I. Believe. In. You.

Even the greatest athletes hit slumps. The best hitter in baseball goes 0 for 24. Or the basketball player with the 92% free throw percentage goes 2 for 7 in a pivotal loss. 

People don’t want to fail. They aren’t trying to miss targets. They may be doing everything right, but they’re just in a slump.

And slump’s have a way of ending in amazing ways.

In each of these examples, if the conversation doesn’t go past the first stage of keeping people informed, you’re not leading. 

Leading a team requires you to make time for teaching, encouraging, motivating and being a champion for when things are going well…

and when they’re not going well.

You can focus on the metrics and keep missing opportunities, or you can go beyond the metrics and get to the real KPI’s. 

The choice is yours. 

If you’re serious about building a competitive edge over your competition, you’ll need a system that ensures the right conversations are happening between managers and employees.

Because…

Conversations create...

When you want engaged employees, but you only focus on metrics, you’re missing hundreds of opportunities through the course of the year to actually cause higher engagement. 

Hey, Team welcome back to Lead Thru Values.

This podcast exists to help you ensure that every person on your team has the skills, knowledge and confidence to do their job exceptionally well.

And today’s podcast is a new, short form version that I’m calling Lessons From The Training Room, where I share a powerful real-world leadership examples with you from my work with executives, business owners and managers.

Many of you are very familiar… intimately familiar… with the term KPI.

Key. Performance. Indicators.

KPI’s have been around for years and have been used to measure progress on a variety of business stats. 

Closing ratios.

Calls made.

Efficiencies of all types.

Revenue.

Here’s what I’ve found: Most managers focus only on the metrics.

I’d like to offer you a new perspective on the acronym, KPI.

In fact, I’d like to offer you 4 new variations that are focused on engagement.

#1. Keep people informed.

People want to know how they’re doing.  

James, you’re at 127% of your quota for outbound calls. Keep up the good work!James, your hourly production is steady at 96% of goal, but your QC is 13% below goal.

Be consistent and transparent with your reports and make sure the information is up to date and accurate.

#2. Keep people interested.

James, did you know that if you just close one more deal each week, you’ll hit your target? Let me show you something… 

The best leaders work with their team members to help them see where they need to improve. They’re comfortable and skilled with setting expectations, providing helpful feedback in a timely manner, and they provide guidance with HOW to improve.

#3. Keep people involved.

If you want to deepen employee engagement, then be open to ideas and suggestions. 

James, what are you seeing right now? What opportunities are we missing? 

Seek ideas and suggestions by asking specific questions. And listen to learn, not respond. 

#4. Keep people inspired.

Even great people can get into a slump.

James, you’ve missed your targets 3 of the last 4 weeks. How can I help you get back on track? 

You can go 1 of 2 ways. Treat the person with dignity… or treat them like a replaceable part of your machine.

Here are the 4 most powerful words you might ever say to another person: 

I. Believe. In. You.

Even the greatest athletes hit slumps. The best hitter in baseball goes 0 for 24. Or the basketball player with the 92% free throw percentage goes 2 for 7 in a pivotal loss. 

People don’t want to fail. They aren’t trying to miss targets. They may be doing everything right, but they’re just in a slump.

And slump’s have a way of ending in amazing ways.

In each of these examples, if the conversation doesn’t go past the first stage of keeping people informed, you’re not leading. 

Leading a team requires you to make time for teaching, encouraging, motivating and being a champion for when things are going well…

and when they’re not going well.

You can focus on the metrics and keep missing opportunities, or you can go beyond the metrics and get to the real KPI’s. 

The choice is yours. 

If you’re serious about building a competitive edge over your competition, you’ll need a system that ensures the right conversations are happening between managers and employees.

Because…

Conversations create clarity. 

Clarity produces action. 

Action drives results. 

If you want to learn more about how to guarantee the right conversations are happening in your company, I invite you to pick up the phone and call me directly at 319-929-2604 for a free, no obligation conversation.

I’m James Mayhew and I’ll catch you next time on LTV.