Top Maintenance KPIs Every Industry Professional Should Track

Tracking and analyzing your business’s performance through maintenance KPIs allows you to pinpoint the specific metrics driving the success of your maintenance operations. By understanding these key indicators, you can identify the most critical areas to prioritize for sustainable growth and improved efficiency.

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Knowing and understanding what the right Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are for your maintenance business is very different from implementing them properly. If you’re struggling to find value in your latest KPIs – ask yourself – what are the current goals of your business? Are you setting up indicators that are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely (SMART KPIs)?

Setting the goals for your business, building SMART KPIs around them, and managing them with planned maintenance software will help you measure, track, and achieve what you set out to accomplish for your company. 

The Three Maintenance KPI Categories

Most key performance indicators can be broken down into one of three categories: strategic, operational, and departmental. If implemented correctly these KPIs allow for a business to provide its employees with common goals to work towards. 

Strategic KPIs

Strategic KPIs are most often evaluated by the owners or executives of a company to analyze their previously laid out objectives. They are used to measure the big picture over an extended period and can help you to make decisions about the future of the company. 

Operational KPIs

Operational KPIs are most often used by local managers to analyze how operations are doing in a specific area. They can be tracked daily, monthly, or longer – and are used to determine if the strategic KPIs you’ve implemented need to be altered to reflect the current state of the business. 

Departmental KPIs

Departmental KPIs are specific to the different departments within a company. They are set up with a unique goal that would only make sense for that specific department to have. They can be strategic or operational and should help define what is or isn’t working for a specific team.

For example, your sales team or department should have a KPI to track the number of cold calls and emails they send out in a specific period. This type of KPI wouldn’t work for departments outside of sales.

Subcategories for Maintenance KPIs 

Now that you understand the three main categories that KPIs can fall under, let’s go deeper and learn about subcategories that you might find informative for your maintenance business. 

Financial Maintenance KPIs

Financial KPIs are essential for monitoring the monetary health and performance of your maintenance business. Metrics such as net profit, revenue, and profit margins provide a clear picture of overall financial success.

Net profit, in particular, often serves as the go-to KPI for assessing the company’s profitability. Beyond that, tracking areas of your budget that may require adjustments ensures you’re optimizing every dollar spent and maximizing returns.

Employee Maintenance KPIs

Implementing employee-related maintenance KPIs helps you stay informed about staffing decisions and workforce performance. Tracking engagement and productivity across your team allows you to gather valuable feedback on how employees view your company and align it with their contributions. Using this data, you can create a robust maintenance business plan that prioritizes both team satisfaction and operational efficiency.

Customer Service Maintenance KPIs

Your technicians often serve as the frontline of your offline customer service. Ensuring they are equipped with the tools and skills to interact effectively with clients is key to building long-term relationships and leveraging word-of-mouth referrals.

Monitoring customer service KPIs, like response times or resolution rates, is especially critical in today’s review-driven world, where exceptional service can set your business apart and attract new clients.

Performance Maintenance KPIs

Performance KPIs measure productivity across teams, including technicians, office staff, and managers. These metrics help identify inefficiencies and areas for improvement. For example, tracking how long it takes for admin staff to complete tasks or recording the frequency of errors in specific departments can shed light on training needs. By focusing on these KPIs, you can foster a more efficient and high-performing operation.

Marketing Maintenance KPIs

The maintenance industry relies heavily on lead generation from marketing efforts, such as web and social media content. Marketing maintenance KPIs, including website traffic, email list growth, and lead conversion rates, allow you to gauge the effectiveness of your campaigns.

For example, tracking new users and identifying visitors who express interest in your offerings through actions like webpage clicks or email sign-ups ensures you’re consistently engaging potential clients and turning leads into loyal customers.

By focusing on these key maintenance KPIs, you’ll gain a deeper understanding of your business’s strengths and areas of opportunity, driving sustainable growth and long-term success.

Sales:

If you don’t have a separate sales team, and your technicians are the ones creating additional revenue opportunities – which can often be the case in the maintenance industry – setting targets with sales KPIs can help your technicians bring in more revenue.

You could try tracking a technician’s upsell value per month; for instance, you can monitor how often and how much additional value they can bring in per week. If you notice one technician standing out, ask him what he’s doing while talking to clients and incorporate it into your training strategy.  

If you’re looking for more information on KPIs and selling for the trades – visit our sales guide!

Examples of SMART Maintenance KPIs

Creating and tracking SMART KPIs will improve your business and help you grow with a repeatable process. Below are examples of specific maintenance KPIs that can drive success for your teams.

SMART KPIs for Business Owners

Efficiency: Start by measuring overall efficiency. Focus on metrics like overtime hours, maintenance backlogs, equipment setup, job site cleanup times, and rework jobs.

Spending: Want to boost revenue fast? Set KPIs around spending. They’ll help uncover unbalanced areas or departments needing adjustments.

Inventory: Track inventory inefficiencies digitally. Over-ordering parts or running out can hurt your budget. Reviewing KPIs monthly or weekly ensures inventory aligns with your financial goals, maximizing revenue.

Asset Uptime vs. Downtime: Monitor assets to ensure uptime stays within budget and meets service level agreements. Proactively addressing asset issues improves schedules and keeps customers satisfied.

SMART KPIs for Maintenance Technicians

First-Time Fix Rate: Track how often technicians complete jobs in one visit. Repeated visits for unresolved problems reduce revenue. Start by measuring this KPI and use the data to make improvements.

Turnover Rate: High turnover? Check if external factors, like competitors’ offers, are a cause. If not, evaluate internal issues. Conduct exit interviews to identify solutions and boost retention.

SMART KPIs for Maintenance Office Staff

Scheduling Frequency: Analyze cold call success rates. Measure conversions into customers or return clients. Study your top-performing staff and apply their strategies company-wide.

Time Until First Touch: A strong marketing plan should generate leads regularly. Measure how quickly office staff contacts new leads and how often these turn into clients. Note lead sources to better direct marketing efforts.

By consistently refining these SMART maintenance KPIs, you’ll optimize your operations, streamline processes, and create a stronger foundation for growth.

If you’re looking for even more examples of specific KPIs that you can track, take a look at this article from ClearPoint Strategy for 30 additional trackable metrics.

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The Takeaway on the best maintenance KPIs

Developing and tracking SMART maintenance KPIs is essential for driving success in your maintenance business. These Key Performance Indicators allow you to set clear, measurable goals and monitor the progress of your operations effectively.

However, it’s crucial to remember that maintenance KPIs are not static; they should evolve as your business grows and adapts to new challenges or opportunities.

Start by identifying the specific objectives you want to achieve, whether it’s improving response times, reducing equipment downtime, or increasing customer satisfaction. Work with your team to ensure everyone understands these goals and their role in meeting them. This collaboration not only fosters alignment but also ensures that your KPIs cover the most critical areas of your operations.

It’s also important to reassess and refine your maintenance KPIs over time. Business conditions, customer needs, and industry trends can shift, and your indicators should reflect these changes. By regularly analyzing performance and adjusting these metrics, you can identify what’s working, address weaknesses, and continue driving meaningful growth.

While figuring out the best KPIs takes time and effort, a well-coordinated approach across your company will ensure you stay on track and build a resilient, high-performing maintenance business.