16/06/2026
HR Advice - This week we're taking a closer look at how Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) can truly drive your business forward.
While sales results and revenue figures often grab the spotlight, the reality is, if you want to change the outcome, you need to change the inputs, and that is all about soft competencies.
🎥 We have a free webinar, which shows how diving deeper into KPI’s will drive your business forward.
What do KPI’s Really Tell Us?
Traditional KPI’s like sales results, completed projects, and financial returns are great at showing us what has happened. But they reflect the end results of our efforts, not the story behind how we got there.
If we want to influence our results, we need to look closer at the inputs that drive these outcomes. Soft competencies such as quality, accuracy, and client focus are critical levers for success. When we pay attention to these factors, we’re not just improving our work; we are fundamentally changing the way our business operates.
✨ Quality: Delivering solutions and products that meet (or exceed!) expectations ensures customers return, refer others, and trust our brand.
✨ Accuracy: Getting things right the first time saves time, reduces costs, and builds confidence both internally and externally.
✨ Client Focus: Understanding our clients’ needs and tailoring our services to meet them sets us apart from competitors and fosters lasting relationships.
When we prioritise these softer skills, we’re proactively shaping our outputs. Think of it like tending a garden: sales results are the harvest, but quality, accuracy, and client focus are the soil, water, and sunlight that nurture growth. By improving these inputs, we set ourselves up for bigger, better, and more sustainable results.
But how do we do that?
Here are a few simple ways to bring soft competencies into focus in your daily work:
1. Set Clear Standards: Define what ‘quality’ means in your team and make it a shared goal.
2. Double-Check Your Work: Develop habits that promote accuracy, such as checklists and peer reviews.
3. Listen to Your Clients: Regularly seek feedback and use it to improve your products and services.
This free webinar takes you through how to measure these soft competencies, and one of the key documents I will be referencing is the Assessment Criteria Matrix which defines over 20 different soft competences ranging from Customer focus and New Business development to H&S and Quality and accuracy.
Visit HRtoolkit to access a full range of HR resources, including templates and all the HR documents you will need, and you can watch our free video training, including "Setting KPI's To Truly Drive Your Business"
www.hrtoolkit.co.nz
