Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
Whether you are managing a restaurant, a non-profit organization, or a church, it is important to know that you are focusing on those things that help move the organization closer to achieving its mission.
Critical Success Factors are what organizations use to measure their success.
Anyone who manages an organization understands how challenging it is to stop the day-to-day tasks and check how well the organization performs.
It has been said that what gets measured gets done, but finding an easy way to evaluate how the organization is doing keeps many in leadership from doing so.
What Are Critical Success Factors (CSF)?
Many organizations use a quality improvement tool called Critical Success Factors (CSF).
These indicators measure how well an organization accomplishes its strategic plan and objectives.
For instance, if a nonprofit organization relies on donors to support its cause, it may measure and track the number of donors.
CSFs are customized to each organization and help provide focus to steer the organization toward fulfilling its mission and vision through strategic objectives.
These indicators of success are used to identify those things that, if done well, lead to breakthrough results.
Most organizations have between eight and twelve CSFs and adjust them as strategy changes.
Too many measures can make it difficult to target those things that would achieve the greatest results.
However, having too few limits the organization’s ability to move to the next level.
It is essential to have SMART Goals attached to the CSF measures so that there is a strategy and timeline for achieving targets.
As a general rule of thumb, CSF should target those things that affect quality, cost, customer satisfaction, market share, and increased revenues.
Monitoring these targets monthly provides a quick visual for how successful the organization is, and keeping goals at the forefront is the best way to ensure they are achieved.
4 Examples of Critical Success Factors
Example #1 – Restaurant CSF
Restaurants depend on return customers. They understand that when a customer has a great meal, they return and bring their friends.
For a great customer experience, it is vital to maintain the quality of the food. One way to measure that quality is to track how many meals are returned to the kitchen.
Another way to ensure customers enjoy their visit is to have well-trained employees who provide great service.
Organizations with high turnover have a difficult time maintaining a great customer experience. The reason is simple – when the restaurant continuously trains its employees, it loses the benefit of having a seasoned, well-trained worker interacting with its customers.
Example Restaurant CSF
| Critical Success Factor | Target |
|---|---|
| Customer Satisfaction | 83% Extremely Satisfied |
| Market Share | 20% of 10 Mile Radius |
| Employee Turnover | 25% Per Year |
| Food Quality | 5% Returned Meals |
Example #2 – Non-profit Organization CSF
Nonprofit organizations exist to help others. They rely solely on the support of their donors and their army of free labor (volunteers).
To measure the success of a non-profit, it is important to track how many donate to its cause, how many provide free labor for its mission, and how many people receive its services.
Each of these groups can be monitored and tracked.
In addition, it is essential to understand the experience of its key stakeholders – employees, volunteers, and service recipients.
Example Non-profit CSF
| Critical Success Factor | Target |
|---|---|
| Number of Donors | 15,000 Monthly Donors |
| People Served | 2,000 Per Month |
| Volunteers | 350 Active Volunteers |
| Client Satisfaction | 92% Extremely Satisfied |
Example #3 – Church CSF
Growing churches understand the importance of its free labor (volunteers) to help achieve its mission.
It also recognizes that its church facilities and programs are limited to the generous contributions of its members.
While churches don’t exist to see how big they can become, they do exist to help their community and members.
Churches often track things like attendance and weekly contributions and monitor how well they meet the needs of their core customers – employees, volunteers, and members.
Understanding these measures can help the church board allocate resources to reach more people and improve systems and processes to ensure those who call the ministry home recognize that their free labor and financial sacrifices are worth the effort.
Example Church CSF
| Critical Success Factor | Target |
|---|---|
| Weekly Attendance | 1,000 Per Week |
| Volunteers | 200 Active Volunteers |
| Sunday School Attendance | 350 Per Week |
| Weekly Contribution | $20,000 Per Week |
| Visitors | 25 Per Month |
| Customer Satisfaction (members, volunteers, employees) | 88% Extremely Satisfied |
Example #4 – Car Dealer CSF
A car dealership relies on a happy customer base to maintain and grow its business. Satisfied customers are return customers who refer others.
The car business also works to gain as much of the market share as possible as it competes with the dealer down the road.
Keeping track of how much of that market it maintains allows the dealer to focus its energy on growing its base.
To grow a base, customer satisfaction is extremely important. Service after the sale for a car repair can be one measure.
Tracking the accuracy of its diagnostics and repairs is a great way to improve service after the sale.
Example Car Dealer CSF
| Critical Success Factor | Target |
|---|---|
| Sales Volume | 150 Units Per Month |
| Diagnostic Accuracy | 3% Error Rate |
| Customer Satisfaction | 95% Extremely Satisfied |
| Market Share | 15% Within 10 Mile Radius |
These are merely examples of indicators that can be targeted and measured for success.
Like any other business goals, CSF is only as good as they are monitored, measured, and tracked for performance.
Reporting processes should be put in place, and these indicators should be reviewed every month by senior leaders of the organization.
How does a church develop a list of critical success factors?
Start by looking at your strategic plan and pull out those mission-critical strategies, and identify a CSF target.
For instance, if growing your volunteer base is essential to your mission, make a CSF that monitors the number of volunteers needed to manage all church programs and ministries.
Critical success factors are merely another tool that your church can use to monitor its effectiveness. Take the time to identify and monitor your CSFs; you may be surprised at what you learn!
Can your church identify its indicators of success?
Learn more tips for managing your church by enrolling in our Fundamentals of Church Administration Course.
