If you ever want to start an unsolvable argument, ask a group of people about their favorite pizza chain. Some say Pizza Hut. Others love Papa John’s. Mine is Domino’s – but it did not start out that way.
Back in 2008, the most common complaint Domino’s received was that their pizza “tasted like cardboard.” Beyond product issues, they also had low customer satisfaction ratings due to slow delivery times. What did Domino’s do to turn things around?
First, they publicly acknowledged the negative feedback. Then, they invested heavily in KPIs – key performance indicators – across every dimension of their business. With a strong investment in technology, Domino’s began tracking customer satisfaction scores, delivery times, social media sentiment and quality control metrics – both in aggregate and by store. They also focused on one of the most powerful KPIs: Net Promoter Score (NPS) – a measure of how likely customers are to recommend Domino’s to friends and family members.
Within a few short years, Domino’s achieved one of the most impressive turnarounds in fast food history. Their stock price increased over 1,000%, and they became one of the most successful global pizza chains.
Why Invest in KPIs?
Great strategy is only as powerful as its execution – and execution requires clarity, focus and measurement. That’s where KPIs come in. For nonprofits and businesses alike, KPIs translate ambitious plans into measurable action. They give organizations the visibility to know what’s working, where to adjust and how to stay aligned on what matters most.
Once your strategic plan is in place, developing an implementation plan with associated KPIs (we call this a dashboard) is essential to bringing it to life:
- Agreeing on a strategic direction – Identifying the right KPIs and linking them to strategic direction helps your team align on where to focus attention.
- Measuring progress toward goals – KPIs start with a baseline output (e.g., number of donors) and then are paired with agreed-upon benchmarks (e.g., 10% growth annually). By doing this, you provide quantifiable data to assess whether you’re on track to meet strategic objectives.
- Driving decision-making – By tracking KPIs consistently, you can make informed and timely decisions.
- Identify problems early – As KPIs are tracked, issues and risks can be identified before they escalate.
- Aligning teams by improving transparency & accountability – When everyone agrees on a direction and a growth goal, it clarifies expectations and encourages ownership. KPIs can then be tied to performance objectives and incentives.
- Optimizing performance – While setting goals can often be an exercise in optimism, regularly reviewing them – at least annually –can help you see see what is working well and what needs adjusting – in terms of resource allocation, training and processes – for better results.
Without these metrics, Domino’s would have just been guessing at what to tackle to improve customer satisfaction. But with KPIs, they were able to focus on what mattered most to their customers. As a result, they overhauled their pizza recipe, implemented quality controls (e.g., order accuracy, delivery temperature), invested in technology (e.g., pizza tracker), retrained staff and improved customer service.
And the impact was pretty significant – by the end of the year, sales increased by 9.9%. This launched a virtuous cycle of brand revitalization, which led to additional sales and customer loyalty. It also put them on the forefront of technology, with more than 70% of their orders coming through digital channels.
Domino’s took the guesswork out of their success. They became so data-savvy that they could predict success or failure based on KPIs. By aligning these KPIs with customer expectations, they turned their brand reputation around, gained market share, and set a new standard for transparency and innovation in fast food.
How can social sector organizations tackle KPIs?
- Invest in a strategic plan. Even a one-year action plan with KPIs demonstrates commitment to specific goals and performance – and gives you a roadmap to share with others to help you achieve them.
- Decide on key cross-cutting KPIs to drive your unique strategy and consider for team goals. You cannot do it all at once. Choose 3-5 strategic drivers that will be the centerpiece of every strategic plan and tie a few strategic KPIs to them. For example, if your organization is a start-up on the nonprofit lifecycle and you want it to become better known, focus on brand growth. If your organization is a mature nonprofit, you might target staff retention or building a leadership pipeline.
- Integrate KPIs across each flywheel area (e.g., impact, brand, revenue, operations, governance, culture), focusing on the ones that will take each area to the next level.
- Develop an impact measurement process by establishing a baseline and an agreed-upon goal. Decide how often you will assess data. Each data point may differ based on whether or not the tool used to collect the data is automated and the urgency of need.
- Decide on regular checkpoints for review. We recommend quarterly senior leadership check-ins and annual board reviews. To assist nonprofits with KPIs, we have crowdsourced common KPIs with some of our colleagues. Special thanks to:
- Nicola Paugh – Nonprofit Alliance of Bermuda
- Megan Heber – SMU
- Gabriela Norton – PPR
- Sean Hale – Nonprofit CFOs
- Tawnia Wise – Wise Resource Development
- Sommer Neff – Sommer Neff Consulting
- Anne Kogan – TACA
Click here for a list of common KPIs in all six flywheel areas – impact, brand, revenue, operations, governance and culture.
KPIs are more than metrics. For nonprofits, they are your mission in motion. They provide clarity, help teams stay focused and motivated, and build trust with stakeholders and the communities we serve. In a world where resources are limited, KPIs also ensure we are not just working hard, but working smart – with purpose and accountability. When we measure what matters most, the social sector is an unstoppable force for lasting, meaningful impact.
Do you use KPIs to drive your work? We’d love to hear how they’ve helped take your organization to the next level.
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