The highly competitive automotive industry represents the perfect framework for continuous innovation and development. The ever increasing customer demands for qualitative and customized products and the tight competition have increased the need for a more efficient and effective production cycle.
Spas were initially an area of service provided by expensive hotels, but they have now separated into independent businesses, growing into an entire industry. Companies in this field are aware of the benefits of performance management and they have implemented Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to measure their results and achieve their goals.
In performance management, leading and lagging KPIs are commonly used terms. But is their meaning completely understood?
Leading KPIs usually measure things that address what can create future value (e.g. % Employee engagement, # Innovation ideas, # Service lead time), while lagging KPIs look back at past performance (e.g. $ Sales revenue, $ Profits).
The KPI documentation form is a template that structures the most relevant information regarding a given indicator. Important fields of the form include: the KPI definition, Calculation formula and Target. In addition, other relevant fields can be used, such as: Subordinate measures, Limitations and Notes.
Targets provide a reference point against which performance is measured. If targets are high or low, they can significantly affect the analysis of KPI’s results. Some analysts consider that stretch targets are the way to success, while others believe is better not to set targets at all.