16 High-Level Metrics Every Business Should Track

Every business needs to track certain metrics to ensure a profitable and successful venture. While it’s natural that many of these metrics are finance-related, there are other areas of a business that are just as important—if not more so—to keep track of. For example, a business can’t operate without its employees, so their satisfaction and retention are keys to your success.

There are many tools available to record metrics like retention rate, KPIs or revenue, and great leaders should be implementing them to ensure success and satisfaction across the board. Below, 16 Forbes Business Council members share the most important high-level metrics businesses should be tracking during a pivotal point and why.

1. Customer Satisfaction

When going through a pivotal point in your business, it is essential to track how the end user perceives the quality of the product or service that you are producing. Keeping a close eye on customer satisfaction can be a saving grace at such a crucial time. When customer satisfaction is down, it’s time to make a shift and look at the product from their perspective. – Thomas Fields, YES Contracting Services

2. Revenue

Tracking metrics always comes down to revenues and cash flow. Without cash, we would be out of business. We have to have the funds necessary to maintain a sustainable operation. Anyone who is in a business knows that revenue is the most important KPI, and everyone has to be accountable for it. – Arijana Koskarova, Creative Hub

3. Added Customer Value

Everyone uses standard KPIs to measure the success and growth of an organization. My team measures customer and client retention. In my organization, the metric that is most commonly used is to identify the value we are adding to our clients. Far too often, we are following up with consulting firms that promised the world, underdelivered in all aspects and passed the blame onto others. – Brandon Glenn, Safirst

4. KPIs

This metric needs to be the leading and core driver of what you want to accomplish and be highly visible to the entire organization. I am a proponent of key performance indicators over financial metrics as they tell you where you are going as opposed to what has happened. To ensure alignment cross-functionally, this metric should be a key component in every employee’s bonus or incentive plan. – Greg Cohen, Fortis

5. Retention Through A Diversity Lens

Retention when viewed through a diversity lens is a critical metric for any business to track. It’s not enough to just look at voluntary turnover. You have to apply a diversity lens to understand if you have an issue with one particular demographic group, which could be a symptom of an exclusionary workplace. This can lead to a heap of problems. – Michael Bach, CCDI Consulting

6. An Understanding Of Objectives

Does everyone understand why we are doing this thing? Do they understand the positive impact it will have on the customers, the business and themselves? If there isn’t an understanding as to why this new work or effort is being undertaken, most will put their own subjective thoughts into it, thereby impeding the success of what is to be done. Everyone must understand the end goal and purpose. – Jeff Giagnocavo, Gardner’s Mattress & More

7. Profit Percentage

Revenue is a great bragging tool, but profit will make or break a company. Tracking profit percentage is vital to know how much of every dollar you bring gets invested back into the business and how much you get to keep. If you don’t know your profitability, you will not be able to track cash flow nor track how much cash is needed to keep growing. – Barbara Schreihans, Your Tax Coach LLC

8. Sales And Gross Margin Growth

Every company should be a sales-driven organization that empowers all employees and stakeholders to take actions to achieve the common goal of growth. A company cannot grow without increasing sales, and ideally, gross margins. Sales and gross margin growth is a metric that directly measures the health of a company, and can be influenced by management decisions. – Jack Chang, DGP Capital LLC

9. Retention Rates

Employees are the key to every company’s success, hence why it is important to keep an eye on their satisfaction level as well as retention rates. We saw this especially during the pandemic and the large shift to working from home when many employees felt lost and overwhelmed. This goes to show how important it is to stay in close contact with them, especially during changing times. – Patrick Scherzinger, Scherzinger Holding GmbH

10. Employee Satisfaction Level

Companies can make it through difficult pivots much easier when they’re not also having to deal with high turnover rates. Employees are now able to be much more selective about where they work given the current economic environment. If you’re not keeping a regular pulse on your team using a tool like Officevibe or something similar, then you should start doing that today. – Jake Hare, Launchpeer

11. Business Pivots

Tracking business pivots is different for each company based on vision, thus why every business should have a North Star KPI. This should be a snapshot measuring stick of long-term success. The chosen metric should drive revenue, improve customer experience and track improvements. From that bird’s eye view, additional metrics should be easily drilled down to identify bottlenecks or wins. – Amiee Ball, JAB Consulting Group

12. Core Values

Is your staff invested in your company pillars and living them every day? If so, you’ll have a more aligned and happier staff that creates a better work environment for everyone. This also trickles down into how everyone treats your customers. – Jessica Dennehy, Pivot & Slay

13. Lives Saved

For us, it was people coming into our program. This showed that even in the toughest of times, people need help more than ever and this is when we should double down and do more. I am lucky with my business because lives saved is the most critical and important KPI you can have. – Angie Manson, Elevate Addiction Services

14. Churn Rate

At any pivotal point, the company and team have to remember that the company’s primary value should be customer satisfaction. Accordingly, the key indicator, which contains all possible changes in processes, technologies and so on, will undoubtedly be reflected in customer satisfaction with the company’s products and services. The easiest way to measure this is by the churn rate indicator. – Andrey Kovalev, BusinessInvitee Consulting Group

15. Team-Building Initiatives

I believe in tracking culture. The metric to track is how often your leaders are planning team-building events that are congruent with your company’s core values. Education and community are two of our four core values. We budget for training sessions, conferences and coaching for our team. We also budget to donate free roofs for deserving families and host charity collections throughout the year. – John Hogan, Blue Nail Roofing & Siding

16. Employee Morale

At a pivotal point, it’s important that leadership is fully bought in and this passes down to the remainder of the organization. Morale will signify how effective your message is. High morale will increase efficiencies, time management, creativity and key employee retention. It will also reduce negative water cooler talk, sick days and poor performance. – Robert Barboni, Evershore Financial Group

By Forbes | https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinesscouncil/2022/05/17/16-high-level-metrics-every-business-should-track/?sh=61351c54c460