This tip may not go well with the idealists, but is a very frequent situation in business management. Let us start with a situation:

You are the business manager of a unit, and you want to measure the business performance around a certain KPI. You realize the following issues:

• The information related to that KPI is not generated.
• Even if the information is generated, it is not available easily.
• Even if the information is available, there is a lot of confusion around the terminology.
• The delivering managers are not keen on measuring it, as it will lead a change in many factors like goal-sheets and incentives.

You have the following options:

• Wait till you are able to get around the people, process and technology issues.
• Get the KPI in the scorecard immediately and let it get fixed over time.

Our recommendation will be as follows:

If you feel that

• No other KPI can be a proxy (an alternative or derivative KPI to measure the same aspect of performance) to this KPI
• This KPI is among top 5-10 KPIs you need to understand and manage your performance
• This KPI may lead to improvements in the process and business management in your team,

You should get this KPI included in the scorecard on the immediate basis, and let it get fixed. You can mark it as a 'beta' KPI, and give it a grace period for 3 months to stabilize. However, treat it as a serious measure from the day 1. With our clients, we have seen (in more instances than not) that once a KPI gets into a scorecard, ways emerge to get the information related to it. As per our experience, it takes less than 3 months for the reliable information to start emerging. You may have to face a little churn and dissonance in the ranks, but sooner most of the professional executives realize the purpose and efficacy. CAUTION- Don't do it with every KPI. Secondly, provide a good clarity on the definition and specification of that KPI