As Community leaders, we think about metrics all the time. We're always seeking the best practices to measure success, monitor the health of our Communities, and prove ROI and business value. However, there's one measurement that is often not part of the conversation — employee-level metrics. In this talk, Lauren will share the work she's done as a people manager to establish employee-level KPIs and connect the dots from high-level business goals down to the individual activities and contributions that move the needle. She'll also share her recommendations and actionable tips for creating your own individual-level KPIs, no matter what programs and goals your team has.

1. How to Manage Your
Community Team
BETTER
LIVING
THROUGH KPIS
Lauren Clevenger
#CMXSUMMITRISE
@Laurenfaye512

2. HEY Y'ALL, I’M LAUREN!
● Where I Work
○ Senior Manager, Community &
Developer Relations @
BigCommerce
● Some Numbers
○ 10 Years: Managing Communities
○ 6 Years: People Manager
● You Can Find Me
○ Austin, Texas
● Likes
○ Beyonce
○ Boston Terriers
○ Disney World
● Dislikes
○ Mustard
○ Watching Football
Twitter: @Laurenfaye512
LinkedIn: /in/laurenclevenger #CMXSUMMITRISE
@Laurenfaye512

3. AGENDA
BEST PRACTICES
WHAT
What is a KPI anyways? How to select the right KPIs
to measure.
LESSONS LEARNED
Learn from my mistakes and
don’t do these things.
WHY
Why do Moderators need
their own KPIS?
EXAMPLE TIME
I’ll show you what I’ve built at
BigCommerce.
Q&A
Ask me all your questions
and I’ll try my best to help!
01 02 03
04 05 06
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@Laurenfaye512

4. ● KPI stands for Key Performance Indicator
● Teams use them as targets to measure
progress toward business goals.
WHAT IS A KPI?
#CMXSUMMITRISE
@Laurenfaye512
KPIs can also be used as targets to
measure individual level, employee
performance, and progress.

5. WHAT TO MEASURE
Individual deliverables that
contribute to the overall
Community success and
experience
What’s happening under
the hood of your
Community?
Key success metrics and
health indicators
Demonstrating ROI and
strategic impact
COMMUNITY
EXPERIENCE
OPERATIONS
BUSINESS VALUE
EMPLOYEE KPIS
#CMXSUMMITRISE
@Laurenfaye512

6. COMMUNITY
MODERATORS
& KPIS

7. “AM I DOING A
GOOD JOB?”
#CMXSUMMITRISE
@Laurenfaye512

8. “HOW DO I KNOW
WHAT TO FOCUS ON?!”
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@Laurenfaye512

9. “AM I MAKING ANY KIND
OF IMPACT AT ALL?!?!”
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@Laurenfaye512

10. BEST
PRACTICES

11. KEEP IT SMART
SPECIFIC
Clear,
concise, and
targeted.
M
MEASUREABLE
Show your
work. Must
be tracked
with a
report.
SPECIFIC
S A R T
ACHIEVABLE RELEVANT TIME-BOUND
Be realistic.
Must be
within your
power to
accomplish.
Aligned to
goals of your
program.
Have a
deadline.
#CMXSUMMITRISE
@Laurenfaye512

12. EMPLOYEE KPIS SHOULD NOT BE:
Achievable: Can’t depend on factors
out of the employee’s control.
Time Bound: The measured activity
must be a consistent part of their
daily/weekly workload.
Specific: KPIs must measure the
output of only one individual.
DEPEND ON OUTSIDE
FACTORS
SHARED WITH OTHERS
INCONSISTENT
OR INFREQUENT
#CMXSUMMITRISE
@Laurenfaye512

13. A WORD OF CAUTION
Developing employee-level KPIs for
your Community team is not a one size
fits all approach. Certain roles might
not be a good fit depending on the
programs, goals, organizational culture,
or even tenure of your team.
#CMXSUMMITRISE
@Laurenfaye512

14. #CMXSUMMITRISE
@Laurenfaye512
YOU GET A KPI!!!!

15. THE PATH TO EMPLOYEE KPIS
SELECT YOUR KPI
GET GRANULAR
Using data, determine
what activities influence
this goal.
Select a specific,
employee action will
contribute to this goal.
START HERE
What Community
Experience Metric Do
You Want to Affect?
#CMXSUMMITRISE
@Laurenfaye512
Verify this activity is
individual-based and
SMART goal oriented.
Build a report to track
it.
DEFINE SUCCESS
What level of activity will
meet, exceed, or not
meet expectations?
IS IT SMART?
TEST & LEARN!

16. EXAMPLE: ENGAGEMENT
SELECT YOUR KPI
GET GRANULAR
The more Community
Moderator posts +
comments, the higher
the total engagement.
Decision: Measure the
number of weekly
comments in the Help
Center by an individual
Community Moderator.
START HERE
I want to increase
engagement (# posts &
comments)!
#CMXSUMMITRISE
@Laurenfaye512
YES!
DEFINE SUCCESS
60+ posts = Exceeds
59-50 = Meets
49-40 = Does Not Meet
39-0 = Unacceptable
IS IT SMART?
TEST & LEARN!

17. KPI: ENGAGEMENT
DEFINITION: The ability to proactively engage, nurture members, and contribute to
conversations in order to increase Community member participation.
MEASURED BY:
● The number of comments posted by a Community Moderator in existing threads
in both Q&A and Groups, week over week.
REPORT REFERENCE: [INSERT LINK HERE]
SCORING:
● 3 (Exceeding): 60+
● 2 (Meeting): 50-59
● 1 (Not Meeting): 40-49
● 0 (Unacceptable): Less than 39
TEMPLATE: EMPLOYEE-LEVEL KPI
#CMXSUMMITRISE
@Laurenfaye512

18. ● MODERATION
○ Response Rate (% threads with
first comments)
● SUPPORT
○ Resolution Rate (# of selected
best answers by a Community
Moderator)
● IDEATION
○ Ideas Maintenance (% of
weekly new Ideas
Processed/Updated)
○ Ideas Engagement (# of weekly
comments by Community
Moderator)
MORE EXAMPLES!
#CMXSUMMITRISE
@Laurenfaye512

19. ● CONSISTENT REPORTING
○ Measure Sunday-Saturday. Reports
are emailed every Monday.
● 100% TRANSPARENT. NO SURPRISES.
○ Moderators can pull the reports and
track their weekly progress.
● TOOL FOR SUCCESS
○ Weekly check-ins and coaching
sessions (if needed).
○ Great data point for review time!
EMPLOYEE KPIS IN ACTION
#CMXSUMMITRISE
@Laurenfaye512

20. EXAMPLE: EMPLOYEE KPI REPORT
#CMXSUMMITRISE
@Laurenfaye512

21. LESSONS
LEARNED

22. Watch out for
KPIs that can
easily be gamed
or don’t deliver
meaningful
results.
KPIs too hard or
too easy to hit?
Ask why and
learn!
LESSONS LEARNED
BEWARE
INVESTIGATE
#CMXSUMMITRISE
@Laurenfaye512
REVISE
Don’t worry! It is
okay for KPIs to
change and
evolve over time.

23. CREDITS: This presentation template was created by Slidesgo, including
icons by Flaticon, and infographics & images by Freepik.
THANK
YOU!
Do you have any questions?
Twitter: @Laurenfaye512
LinkedIn: /in/LaurenClevenger
#CMXSUMMITRISE