What are good measuring instruments for target achievement?

We are constantly measuring in everyday life. How many kilometers we have driven, how much money we have spent, how many degrees the heating is set to, how high our pulse is, how many minutes late we are and how many hours we have spent “screen time”.

If we place these measurements in the context of strategic goals, they become much more meaningful for us. Take, for example, the strategic goal of “more quality of life”. For example, if it means commuting less, consuming less, using fewer resources, keeping our bodies in better shape and spending less time in the Digital World (“digital detox”), then it is worth setting performance goals for these things. And then the measurements listed also make much more sense to us.

When companies plan for the future, they set strategic goals for the next big steps. They then translate each strategic goal into individual performance targets. These serve as specifications for the services in the processes. Suitable measurement tools are needed to ensure that these goals are achieved.

In the case of strategic objectives, the measurement instrument depends on the type and nature of the strategic objective.

• If, for example, a certain market share is to be achieved with a product, an external market analysis or market survey is required.
• If a certain turnover is to be achieved, the instrument is simply internal accounting.
• If employee satisfaction is to be increased, it makes sense to conduct an employee survey.

In the case of performance targets, the measurement instruments must match the process whose target achievement is being measured. If, for example, scrap is to be reduced in a production process, the proportion of faulty parts per unit of time should be measured on the production machine.

Overall, a “bouquet of flowers” of measurement instruments is often needed, as all of them individually only cover partial aspects and do not reveal important dependencies.

Today, digitalization makes these measurements considerably easier. If a modern production facility is equipped with Industry 4.0, for example, the measurement takes place directly in the digital production system.