I’ve mentioned KPIs in a number of previous posts, and promised to do so again. Some libraries not only use them but publish them: here for example is a publically-accessible report on performance against KPIs at Monash University in the USA.

It is important to remember that there are two parts to a KPI:

• What you are going to measure (e.g. “percentage of items returned from loan re-shelved within 24 hours Monday to Friday”).
• A target value or measure (maximum or minimum value (e.g. 90%).

The first (what you are going to measure) tends to have a longer lifespan  than the actual target number which can change – typically from year to year. An annual operating budget is a good example of a KPI: “what” is the same from year to year i.e. “how much money you are going to spend”. The actual budget value changes from year to year (unfortunately, often downwards!)

KPI’s are useful only as marketing collateral unless they can lead to action: action to improve a KPI that is falling short of target. Use of KPIs then becomes a five step process:

1. Decide what you are going to measure (e.g. “percentage of items returned from loan re-shelved within 24 hours Monday to Friday”).
2. Agree a target value (e.g. 90%)
3. Collect actual real world performance data
4. Compare target and actual
5. Decide what action to take if they are not in line (e.g. reassign staff, buy an RFID sorter etc etc.)

Do you use KPIs in your library? If so please do add some examples via the comments option. If not have you tried them but not been able to make them work for you? And what has been the sticking point – deciding what, agreeing values or following through to action?