It’s easy to hide behind numbers. KPIs that look good on paper but don't actually reflect the reality of what's going on in the trenches. Too often, leadership leans on these metrics as a shield, allowing them to feel comfortable while the real work gets done by those on the ground.
But here’s the thing: When you consistently fail to show up with functioning processes, when you let your team flounder with outdated knowledge, you can’t keep blaming the ones at the bottom who are scrambling to make it work. The KPIs are a band-aid. They’re a crutch, not a solution.
The disconnect is real. The people at the top are too far removed from the daily grind to understand the struggle. And those at the bottom, the ones keeping things together with duct tape and sheer willpower, are expected to just keep pushing through.
It’s time for a reality check. If the metrics are misaligned and the systems are broken, it’s not the "little men" who need to be cleaned out. It’s the leadership. Leadership that isn’t in touch with reality, that doesn’t recognize when they’re out of their depth, and that refuses to take responsibility for the company’s actual performance.
When the people doing the heavy lifting are ignored or undervalued, you’re just setting everyone up to fail. KPIs should guide you to success, not allow you to point fingers while the real work gets buried under more red tape.
Leadership: Your KPIs are broken. Fix the process or risk losing the people who are still trying to make it work.
#Leadership #KPIs #WorkplaceCulture #Accountability
3 replies (most recent on top)
Thank you for hitting this right on the head. I left a few months ago after being told the KPIs were a guide line but the managers could tweak them when they felt they needed to. My manager told me that even if I hit the weekly kpi I still had to connect and talk to a set number of people. Those that said no thanks I couldn't count. I had to try to find out why. Lol we all know how easy it is to even get them on the phone. Leadership makes it out like we all love not making money and are here just twiddling our thumbs. I pray things get better but the new leadership needs a ride out of town
@b4 !!!This!!!! I can guarantee these 'VP's' and 'Execs' wouldnt settle for a decreasing salary every year. Yes we're sales, but to see how the commission structure doesnt work or incentivize financial growth and to stand behind that comp plan for a second year, while also decreasing the salaries of those that they no longer consider 'senior' recruiters really shows how much they value their employees. Is that $2500 really going to determine whether or not we hit the intentionally UNattainable goal that is set for revenue? Not that it meant that much to me either but in a year where they've done nothing but take and take and take and make things so much more difficult to do the basics of our job well... it would have meant something. Sadly, they know they have us backed into a corner because they know the job market offers very few options to get as far away from this disaster of a 'corporation' as possible.
I’d really like to see a win for the teams that actually make this company money. Leadership doesn’t generate revenue, yet they continue to collect cushy salaries while relentlessly “leaning out” everyone else. If cuts are so necessary, maybe leadership should start by leaning themselves out.
How many VPs of recruitment, client-facing teams, and directors do we really need? None of these roles bring in revenue, yet leadership keeps harping on the people who do—the same people who pay those salaries.
There was a LinkedIn post recently about what happens when companies keep losing top performers and those who actually want to be here. Are leaders going to step up and do the work themselves? Highly unlikely. They seem to only know how to crack the whip.