A case study identifying key performance indicators in public sectors

In the public sector, defining and identifying key performance indicators (KPIs) means highlighting measures that show an organization's ability to meet program objectives. In fact, the public sector is often mandated by a legislature to report specific output oriented performance indicators (PIs). Therefore, a case study was performed within Louisiana's Department of Health and Hospitals (DHH) to define and develop a process to identify KPIs and PI's that reflect the organizational goals in order for management to measure the success of the organization. DHH, specifically the Office of Public Health (OPH), collects many indicators, but this data sometimes fails to effectively measure output oriented performance. In order to create a results-oriented management tool, first the goals and objectives of the organization and office were understood and aligned. Then all indicators within OPH were mapped to these specific organizational objectives. From there, KPIs and PIs were identified based on input from all levels within the organization. For OPH, from 171 initial indicators, the following recommendations were made: 15 Executive Level KPIs, 38 Office Level KPIs, 64 Program Level PIs, and 54 non-essential indicators. Lessons learned from this case study regarding identification of KPIs for the public sector are discussed.