I am not a big believer in KPIs. If you are lucky enough to work in an organisation that doesn’t require you to meet any, your should feel grateful and thank your lucky stars. Some organisations seem to think that measuring things is one of the mandatory aspects of a successful business.

Employers have even been known to track keystrokes and the length of phone calls and visits to the bathroom. This does not create a culture of trust and mutual respect, but rather one of fear. Treating people like machines or robots is counter-productive. Employers need to remember that humans are much more capable than machines are.

Effective management is all about employees believing in the company vision or mission. You want people interested in working as a team towards a common goal  because they want to, not following rules because they have to. If people are constantly monitored and measured, they stop caring. At the same time, any kind of synergy through collaboration is lost.

Employees who are expected to always focus on daily or weekly goals will never see the big picture. They become selfish – ‘I must meet my goals, so only my goals are important’.

Why do KPIs exist at all?

Because of  a lack of trust. How then can an employee have any concern for a company’s success? Simple – they can’t.

What makes company’s successful?

Employees seeing themselves as a team, working as a team, succeeding as a team. Companies can only build momentum in the marketplace and make customers truly satisfied in a consistent way if the staff work as a team.

Teamwork is based on communication. You can’t build good communicative relationships if you are constantly worried about your personal KPIs. Good communication needs honesty and frank discussions. Then trust can be built. Then the big picture can be addressed – the big picture is too big to be handled by a fractured system of self-absorbed individuals.