Know your numbers

Ian Featherstone is a business advisor and leadership coach, and the owner of Glass Half Full. He specialises in the construction industry, particularly the joinery & cabinetry sector.

For more information or to find out how you can move your team forward,please visit www.glasshalffull.co.nz

ItsFriday 14th August and this afternoon we will hear the governments decision on how they propose we handle the latest outbreak of Covid-19. We are again moving into uncertain times and are reminded to keep each other safe and look after our own mental and physical health. Easy to say and harder to do, I know. For many of us we are feeling frustrated, angry, and disappointed that we are back in this position, however, we must re-group and lead the way forward. By the time you read this, we will have accepted the situation, felt the emotions of decisions made for us and have made the necessary adjustments at home and at work.

This year we have all learnt to deal with unprecedented changes and have re-shaped our thinking and our businesses. I see many employees in our industry who are deeply grateful for the support they have had from their employers and to still have a job. Now is a good time to share more of what makes the business successful and enlist them to keep your boat shipshape and moving faster, rather than merely focusing on survival and keeping it afloat.

Business KPIs (Key Performance Indicators)

Key Performance Indicators are measurable values that demonstrates how effectively a company is achieving its key business objectives. Organisations can use KPIs at different levels to evaluate their success at reaching targets. High-level KPIs may focus on the overall performance of the business (revenue, gross margin, profit for example), while other KPIs may focus on processes in areas such as safety, sales, marketing, manufacturing, quality and process adherence.

Make some time to identify the key measurable things that if done well and often enough, will make your boat go faster. Decide on a frequency of measurement (daily, weekly, monthly) and decide on who is responsible for each KPI, then give them the responsibility and accountability so they can report it to the business, to the toolbox meeting or elsewhere as appropriate.

Then think about how often and how these will be communicated to feedback and motivate your team to think of ways to improve. You can then coach the responsible individuals to achieve their improvement activities.

Keep an eye out for more webinars hosted by Master Joiners on this subject and others over the coming months.