Objective KPIs Overview

An objective can have multiple objective KPIs (key performance indicators), which enable you to track and quantify the performance and success of the objective. Customer success managers can use this feature to facilitate reporting to internal and external stakeholders, saving time, operational cost, and improving customer satisfaction.

Each objective KPI can have a different category, description, target date, and unit, as well as different baseline, current, and target values. By specifying these values you can view how your objective KPI is progressing toward the target. You can also select a unit of measurement, such as a currency, time period, or numerical unit. The following example shows how you can use an objective KPI and its baseline, current, and target values to track and quantify an objective's performance and success.

Example:

One of your customer's targets is to generate an additional $250,000 in revenue in this financial year. To track this target and quantify its performance and success, you can create a related objective KPI. In addition to setting a target date, selecting a category, and selecting USD as the unit of measurement for the objective KPI, you can also specify the following information:

  • A baseline value of $1,000,000, which was the revenue generated in the preceding year
  • A current value of $1,100,000, which is the up-to-date value of the customer's revenue
  • A target value of $1,250,000, which is the revenue value that the customer aims for
Note:

The progress of objective KPIs is displayed as a number between 0% and 100%. If the current value of an objective KPI is less than its baseline value, the progress is displayed as 0%. Negative progress values are not supported.

By default, Customer Success Cloud provides the following units of measurement for the baseline, current, and target values:

  • Currency: EUR, GBP, JPY, USD
  • Time: Hours, Days, Weeks, Months
  • Numerical: Percent, Quantity

The baseline, current, and target values of an objective KPI must use the same unit of measurement. The unit of measurement that you select when creating an objective KPI applies to all of its values by default. We recommend customizing this field to include values specific to your organization. For more information, contact your administrator.

Permission Sets

To use this feature, users must have one of the following permission sets assigned to their profiles:

  • To view, create, edit, and delete objective KPI records: CSC - Customer Success
  • To view, create, and edit objective KPI records: CSC - Participant User

For more information, see Assigning and Removing Permission Sets.

Managing Objective KPIs

You can create, view, edit, and delete objective KPIs to manage their details efficiently.

Creating Objective KPIs

You can create an objective KPI and associate it with:

  • A new standalone objective. You can do this when creating a new objective from either the Actions panel or Success Tracker.
  • A new objective associated with a success plan created from a template. You can do this when creating a new success plan from a template from either the Actions panel or Success Tracker.

  • An existing objective. You can do this from:

    • The objective's record page
    • The Objective KPIs tab
    • Value Tracker
    • Success Tracker

An objective KPI can only have one objective associated with it. However, an objective can have multiple objective KPIs.

For more information, see Creating Objective KPIs.

Notes:
  • When creating an objective from a template, the new objective inherits the template's objective KPIs. The target dates of the new objective KPIs are calculated by adding the number of days between the template's original start date and the new objective's start date, which is today's date by default. However, if you change the objective's start date manually when creating an objective, you must then manually update the target dates of its objective KPIs as well.
  • When creating a success plan that includes objectives from a template, the new objectives inherit the template's objective KPIs.

  • When creating an objective KPI in Value Tracker, the Parent Account and Success Plan fields are automatically populated and cannot be edited unless you are viewing Value Tracker on an account or success plan record page.

Tip:

When you customize the Objective KPIs grid by reordering, resizing, hiding, or sorting the columns, your customized view is retained when you access the grid on the same device, using the same browser.

Viewing Objective KPIs

You can view objective KPIs in the following ways:

  • View all objective KPIs in your org in the Objective KPIs tab
  • View objective KPIs associated with a single objective on the objective's record page, in the Objective KPIs related list in the Related tab
  • View all objective KPIs associated with a parent record in Value Tracker on the record's page
  • View an overview of your objective KPIs in the Objective KPIs section of the Record Details panel in Success Tracker
  • View objective KPIs with a target date in the next seven days in Activity Tracker

Value Tracker enables you to view and manage all the objective KPIs of:

  • Objectives associated with a success plan
  • Objectives associated with an account
  • A single objective

This consolidated view of objective KPIs gives customer success managers more control over them.

For more information, see Value Tracker Overview.

Note:

By default, Value Tracker is displayed on success plan record pages, but your administrator can add it to additional record pages, app pages, and workspaces. For more information, contact your administrator.

When selecting an objective and opening the Record Details panel of Success Tracker, you can view the following objective KPI information:

  • Overall objective KPI progress
  • Title
  • Target Date
  • Individual objective KPI progress

In the Record Details panel, you can also:

  • Click an objective KPI's title to open its record page.
  • Edit the objective KPIs of the currently viewed objective by clicking Edit. This opens the Edit Objective KPIs window where you can also add new objective KPIs to your objective, as well as delete an existing objective KPI. When you customize the Objective KPIs grid by reordering, resizing, hiding, or sorting the columns, your customized view is retained when you access the grid on the same device, using the same browser.

  • Confirm the status of your objective KPI represented as one of the following badges:

    • Completed: The objective KPI's current value meets or exceeds its target value.
    • In Progress: The objective KPI is not yet complete and its target value has not been met or exceeded. This status displays only if either its target date or parent objective's start date is not specified.
    • Not Available: The objective KPI's values are missing or invalid. Progress is calculated as 0%.
    • Not Started: The start date of the objective KPI's parent objective is in the future.
    • Off Track: The objective KPI is behind schedule relative to its target date and parent objective's start date.
    • On Track: The objective KPI's progress meets or exceeds expected progress relative to its parent objective's start date and its own target date. The objective is also on-track when it has not been progressed with, has no target date, and its parent objective has no start date.
    • Overdue: The objective KPI is not yet complete and its target date has passed.
    Tip:

    If Not Available is displayed, you must specify the current or target value for the objective KPI.

You can view objective KPIs in Activity Tracker. For more information, see Activity Tracker Overview.

Editing Objective KPIs

You can edit an objective KPI:

  • From the Objective KPIs related list in the Related tab of the related objective's record page
  • In Success Tracker, if the related objective is associated with a success plan
  • In Value Tracker
  • In the Objective KPIs grid in the Edit Objective KPIs window, when creating a success plan from a template
  • In the Objective KPIs tab
Tip:

When you customize the Objective KPIs grid by reordering, resizing, hiding, or sorting the columns, your customized view is retained when you access the grid on the same device, using the same browser.

For more information, see Editing Objective KPIs.

Deleting Objective KPIs

You can delete an objective KPI:

  • In the Create Objective and Edit Objective windows, when either creating or editing the objective related to the objective KPI that you want to delete
  • From the record page of the objective KPI that you want to delete
  • From the record page of the objective that the objective KPI is associated with
  • In Value Tracker
  • In Activity Tracker
  • In the Objective KPIs tab
  • In the Record Details panel of Success Tracker, if its related objective is associated with a success plan
  • In the Edit Objective KPIs window, when creating a success plan from a template

For more information, see Deleting Objective KPIs.

Adding CS Activity Notes to Objective KPIs

You can add CS activities to objective KPIs in Value Tracker. To do this, click Actions next to the objective KPI to which you want to add a CS activity note, then click Add CS Activity Note in the drop-down list. For more information, see Creating CS Activities.

Note:
  • To add a CS activity note to an objective KPI, you must first save the objective KPI in the Value Tracker grid.
  • You cannot save CS activity notes created in Value Tracker as drafts.

Blocking Objective KPIs

To indicate that an objective KPIs cannot be progressed with, select its Blocked field. Objective KPIs can be set as blocked regardless of their status. This field is automatically selected if the status of the objective KPI's parent objective is set to Blocked.

Making Objective KPIs Available for External Access

To make an objective KPI available for external access, for example, on Experience Cloud sites, select its External field. For more information, see Experience Cloud Sites Overview.

Objective KPI Analytics

The Objective KPI Trending dashboard enables you to view information about all of your objective KPIs over time, using data derived from the Customer Success Cloud dataset. The dashboard is designed to be embedded on record and app pages.

For more information, see Objective KPI Trending Dashboard.

For objective KPI trending in the Objective KPI Trending dashboard, Customer Success Cloud uses objective KPI value records to store the current and previous objective KPI progress values. These records are for system use, and are created automatically when the progress of an objective KPI changes. Each subsequent progress update is stored in a new objective KPI value record so the previously created records are not updated and overwritten.

An objective KPI value record includes:

  • The percent completion of the objective KPI
  • The date and time of the objective KPI's progress update
  • The baseline, current, and target value of the objective KPI

You can view objective KPI value records for an objective in the Objective KPI Values related list on the objective KPI's record page.

Note:

We do not recommend creating objective KPI value records manually.