KBI – the next, purpose-driven KPI

Earlier this week, I had the pleasure to attend the Dell Women Entrepreneur Network (DWEN) event in Amsterdam. Dell established DWEN 10 years ago, to help support female entrepreneurs grow and thrive with their businesses across the globe and its great to see how this community has grow and flourished ever since.

These summits are always time well spent – not only do I get to meet leaders from other great companies, but even more importantly, I have a chance to talk to amazing women who have founded their own businesses. The grit and entrepreneurial spirit of the DWEN attendees have always been hugely inspiring to me. Obviously, at these events, we spend a lot of time discussing IT, the role of women in business, and entrepreneurship - but this year, one word that kept coming up in our discussions – purpose.

And one might think…there’s always purpose to everything we do. Some are motivated by money, power or the opportunity to challenge themselves in business. Others find their “why?” in pursuing their passion and then finding ways to transform that into a profitable business. But earlier this week in Amsterdam, when we were discussing purpose, we had something else in mind.

After all, in the grand scheme of things, how important is it to chase one KPI after another, not looking at the higher purpose of the entire organization? In my opinion neither leaders, not the employees of those one-dimensional businesses will be happy and satisfied in the long run. Their customers – who are now becoming increasingly inquisitive about the values and social impact of companies – will quickly draw their own conclusions too.

One of the recent researches, commissioned by Dell Technologies and conducted by IDC (The Future of Work) shows that companies who holistically look at their employees’ experience, tend to increasingly focus on KBIs instead of KPIs. Key Behavioral Indicators are performance metrices that seek to assess a person’s ability to problem-solve, collaborate effectively in multiple project teams and think outside the box. They’re focused on what humans do best. I guess it’s time we all admitted, we’re not Masters of Spreadsheets anymore – machines are. In this human-machine partnership that we see happening more and more across many industries, it’s best to nurture what’s unique to us – purpose-driven, creative and relationship-building humans.

DWEN is an occasion for me to look into the lives of female entrepreneurs who do not have the support of a large, multi-national corporation. As owners and CEOs, they are simultaneously also change managers, communications officers, HR business partners and diversity leads. And all that on top of being also the heads of sales and product development. That’s a lot of weight to carry for one person. But interestingly enough, when I hear them talk about the advice they would give to their younger self, what they wish they had done was to focus more on their company’s values, culture and an HR structure earlier in their companies’ lifetime. I imagine it must be tempting to try and squeeze profit out of every dollar of revenue of a young company. Invest only in what is essential for growth. And what I take away from the meeting in Amsterdam is that having a clearly defined purpose IS essential for growth. It is the glue that keeps the company together. It helps all the employees speak the same language and take actions which follow the company’s strategic direction. And that supporting that purpose with the right back-office structure early on is key too.

What I love about DWEN meetings is also the fact that they provide a platform for the female entrepreneurs to get recognized without bias. Still too often, women’s’ businesses are treated as an extension of their hobby. In consequence, they do not get fair access to capital or development opportunities – and a fair dose of patronizing looks. This must change. And I am proud that the Dell - through Dell Women Enterprise Network community - has made it our purpose to drive that change.