If you’re like most business owners or administrators, when you start the process of setting metrics and goals for your youth activity center you can find yourself frustrated, overwhelmed, and buried in spreadsheets and the binders of death.

It’s not uncommon to experience “information overload” when trying to measure business success. The best place to start is with a focused set of data that is useful to your business and provides a reference point for making positive impactful decisions.

Of course, metrics are important in determining lasting success. But, how do you decide what numbers you should be looking at and how you can measure them? What are your key performance indicators, or KPIs for short?

Metrics should measure progress toward achieving your organization’s vision, mission, and core values. Don’t simply measure what is easy to see. Metrics should be quantifiable.

Success Metrics for a Youth Activity Center

There are many different data points that you can pull from to measure the success of your youth activity center. Here are 5 ‘big picture’ metrics that are important to consider.

1.     Financial viability or profitability
2.     Customer satisfaction.
3.     Employee satisfaction.
4.    Community contributions or philanthropies
5.    Key operational results.

What makes these pieces of data ‘key?’

Let’s take a closer look…

• Financial Viability is important for organizational survival and growth. This is critical but should not be the sole focus of measurement. The result is an organization driven by financials without considering the “people” outcomes that are essential to produce long-term success.
• Customer Satisfaction is important because without customer feedback it’s difficult to understand the impact your interactions are having on your bottom line. Remember – it’s not the goal to have 100% satisfaction on our surveys – you want the good, bad, and ugly so you can know how to improve. Approach all feedback with a problem-solving frame of mind to help create a positive customer experience for all customers. 
• Employee Satisfaction is important and it is difficult to have happy customers when you have unhappy employees. Take the time to listen to your employees, simplify staff processes, and make sure they feel seen and heard.
• Community Contributions are important because every organization needs more than a financial motive to attract/retain the best talent and to sustain itself for the future. Impact your community in a positive way and your business will see the positive results.

With these pieces of data in mind, how do you figure out what your own success metrics look like?

7 Key Success Metrics to Consider

How do you determine what your overall success measurements should be? Consider these points:

• Your mission, vision, and core values should reflect what is important to your organization. Consider these things when creating your success metrics.
• Limit your overall success measurements to 10 or less so that you don’t have too many goals to focus on.
• Set a goal to reevaluate your success metrics and strategic planning on a regular basis. Some businesses like to reevaluate every year, while others prefer 3-5 years.

We know you’re serious about your success and so are we. Keep track of your metrics with ease by using Jackrabbit’s robust reporting features. Try Jackrabbit for free to see what reporting will benefit your youth activity center. 

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