Challenge:
A memorial products manufacturer specializing in bronze plaques, granite memorials, and stone installations had accumulated dozens of operational metrics over time. Teams were tracking large volumes of data, but leadership found it difficult to answer a simple question:
Which measures actually matter for driving business performance?
Across different parts of the organization, teams had identified over 70 performance measures. While many were useful individually, such as labor hours per piece or production rejects, there was little clarity on how these metrics connected to the company’s strategic objectives.
Without a clear structure:
- Teams focused on local performance metrics without understanding broader impact.
- Leadership lacked visibility into how operational improvements affected company outcomes.
- Metrics existed in isolation rather than functioning as part of a cohesive measurement system.
The organization needed a way to connect daily operational work to executive-level
business results.
Approach:
Work Excellence partnered with the leadership team to design a structured Work Measurement framework that aligned operational metrics with the organization’s strategic priorities.
The process began by identifying the company’s L0 (top-level) organizational measures, which represented the key outcomes leadership used to evaluate business success:
- Return on Assets (RoA)
- Revenue
- Net Income
- Revenue per Full-Time Equivalent
From there, the team worked through a structured measurement design process.
Step 1: Inventory All Existing Measures
Teams across the organization initially identified 76 measurable indicators related to production, labor efficiency, and product quality. Examples included:
- Labor hours per piece
- Production rejects for bronze products
- Operational throughput measures
- Installation and construction performance metrics
Step 2: Identify Critical Measures
The team then evaluated each metric based on one key question:
How does this measure influence the organization’s L0 outcomes?
This exercise helped distinguish informational metrics from truly critical performance drivers.
Step 3: Establish L1 Measures
Through this process, the team refined the measurement system to 14 critical L1 measures that directly influenced the organization’s strategic outcomes. These L1 measures created the bridge between:
- Operational activities
- Executive-level performance goals
Step 4: Connect Measures to the Work System
Each measurement was then mapped to the relevant phase of the Work System, creating clarity around:
- Where performance occurs
- Where improvement opportunities exist
- How teams influence results.
This connection allowed leaders to evaluate performance within the context of how work is actually done, rather than reviewing metrics in isolation.
Step 5: Establish Targets and Improvement Priorities
Targets for each measure were set based on the organization’s L0 goals, ensuring that operational performance supported broader strategic outcomes.
Teams also evaluated improvement opportunities by rating each area based on current strength versus improvement potential, helping leadership prioritize where to focus effort.
Solution
The final result was a structured measurement architecture that cascaded performance metrics throughout the organization. Instead of tracking dozens of disconnected indicators, the company implemented a system where:
✓
Executive goals (L0) defined organizational success.
✓
Key operational drivers (L1) translated strategy into actionable performance metrics.
✓
Department and process measures linked daily work directly to business outcomes.
A similar process was applied to the stone production stream, where an initial list of 80 potential measures was refined down to 15 meaningful performance indicators, all aligned with the same L0 strategic goals.
Results
The new measurement framework transformed how the organization understood and managed performance.
Clear Strategic Alignment
Employees across departments could see how their work, whether reducing rejects, improving labor efficiency, or increasing throughput, directly influenced company-level results.
Simplified Measurement System
Large volumes of disconnected metrics were refined into a focused set of critical
measures that leadership could use to guide decision-making.
Improved Operational Visibility
By linking metrics to phases of the Work System, the organization gained clarity into
where performance issues occurred and where improvement efforts would have the greatest impact.
Stronger Decision-Making
Leaders could prioritize initiatives based on their measurable contribution to strategic outcomes.
Key Takeaway
Many organizations track dozens, or even hundreds, of metrics, but few have a clear structure connecting operational performance to executive strategy.
By aligning measurement from L0 organizational outcomes down to operational drivers, this manufacturer created visibility across the entire organization. Teams could clearly see how their work influenced company performance, allowing leadership to focus improvement efforts where they would create the greatest value.