FROM AUGUST 2015'S RECRUITER MAGAZINE

Key performance indicators [KPIs] have long been the scourge of the recruitment industry. I have lost count of the number of people I have interviewed who have cited the principal reason for leaving their current company as a “KPI culture”. 

Unequivocally there are always numbers that drive results. By and large, the more that you do the more that you get. Best intentions will always precede a KPI being set but so often these are legacy numbers that fail to be either attainable or based on any evidence around the individual’s market or capability.

Management set KPIs because they want people to achieve successful billings. They are set to help you get better return on investment [ROI] from your work. Why then do they have such a negative connotation and feature at the top of the list of reasons why people move on from recruitment companies?

After the 2012 Olympics I became fascinated about how British cycling coach Dave Brailsford, British rowing team chief coach for men Jürgen Grobler and Rob McCracken, performance director of the British Amateur Boxing Association, were seen as visionaries by using data (KPIs) to get Gold medal performance. These guys were changing the face of sport through numbers and had none of the negative connotations around how the numbers were being used as sticks.

I started to do some digging and met with the British Olympic Association and sports analytics businesses Prozone and Opta, and read all I could about data in business. The results showed a very clear difference between how data is used in recruitment and how it is used in sport and wider business.

KPIs should not be generalist. They should not be on legacy data. They should not be sticks.  

Case study: I was fortunate to discover recruitment analytics firm cube19 early in its life span, and met up with founder and chief executive Dan McGuire. These guys understood performance science; KPIs need to be tailored and individualised. They need to show the story of the person rather than that of the mean. With compelling data to back up advice and show where focus needs to be shined on quality, quantity or direction, you can genuinely help the individual to achieve their potential. 

We felt that a world-class data tool could be used to dramatically improve individual performance and worked hard to explain the benefits to the team.

And so cube19 became a tool that all of the consultants sought out rather than feared being judged by. The data has become a key part of how the consultants find answers. They are a force for the better rather than a stick to dodge, be wary of, or fake phone calls or interviews to avoid rebuke!

I’m a big fan of numbers. I believe firmly that they give the story to unlock performance. If you are doing well, the numbers will be able to tell you why. If you are doing badly, the same applies. If you want to do better, the numbers will tell you how. It’s time KPIs become Performance Science!