Departments

A Department in KPI Fire is any business unit, function, or team that has been setup to designate ownership for Goals, Metrics, Ideas, Projects and Huddleboards.

  • Use the Green “+” button to add a new sub department.
  • 2x Click on a Department name to rename.
  • Drag and drop each row to reorder the department structure. (Click just to the right of the name for drag/drop)

Department Type

The Department Type feature in KPI Fire is designed to help identify the type of organizational unit represented by this department.

Type options: Location, Function, Shared Service, Business Unit, Other

North Star

The Department North Star feature in KPI Fire is designed to help identify the highest level purpose of a given department. Use this box to identify the primary guiding objective or defining measure of success — the thing that helps everyone in that department align decisions, priorities, and actions. The term North Star comes from the idea of the North Star in navigation: a fixed point used to stay on course.

What a North Star does

A department North Star helps answer questions like:

  • What matters most for this team?
  • How do we decide between competing priorities?
  • What outcome are we ultimately trying to improve?

It’s typically:

  • Clear and memorable
  • Outcome-focused
  • Long-term and directional
  • Used to align goals, projects, and metrics

Type of input for this field:  Text, up to 500 characters.

North Star Examples by Department

  • Sales Department: Grow recurring revenue from ideal-fit customers.
  • Customer Service: Resolve customer issues quickly while increasing customer trust.
  • Product/Manufacturing: Deliver defect-free products on time
  • Human Resources: Build a high-performing, engaged workforce.
  • Strategy Office: Turn strategic priorities into measurable results.
  • CEO: Align people, strategy, and execution.
  • Exective Team: Create sustainable, profitable growth.
  • Marketing: Generate qualified demand and build market trust.
  • Finance: Protect and optimize the financial health of the business.
  • Quality: Build quality into every process.
  • Lean: Zero defects delivered on time.
  • Operations: Deliver efficiently, consistently, and on time.
  • Continuous Improvement: Make work better every day or Eliminate waste and improve flow.
  • Supply Chain: Ensure reliable delivery at optimal cost.
  • Procurement: Acquire the right resources at the best long-term value.
  • Research & Development: Turn ideas into future business value.
  • Legal: Protect the company while enabling growth.
  • Compliance: Ensure ethical, compliant operations without unnecessary friction.
  • Analytics Team:  Turn data into actionable insight.
  • Project Management Office: Ensure strategic initiatives succeed.

A strong North Star often follows this structure:

Verb + Desired Outcome + Beneficiary

Department Owner

The Department owner feature in KPI Fire is designed to give business unit managers the control and flexibility they need to drive Continuous Improvement in the departments they are responsible for.

A Department Owner is a person who is assigned as the primarily responsible person for a given department.

Notification of Ideas Submitted

  • When an idea is submitted in your department, you will be notified via email.

Responsibilities of Department Owners

  • Demonstrate support and encourage participation for Continuous Improvement activities to the people who report to you.
  • Be responsive. Monitor your idea funnel. When employees receive quick feedback on ideas, they are more likely to continue submitting ideas.
  • Be accountable for maintaining the Effort, Impact, Priority & Risk values on the project charter. You can also assign this responsibility to other users.
  • Be responsible for projects created in your department.

Recommended Actions for Department Owners:

  • Create a Huddleboard for your department business reviews.  KPI Fire can be used for regular business reviews such as Daily Huddles, Weekly Syncs, or Monthly & Quarterly Business Reviews.  As a Department Owner, you have the option to create  1 or more Huddleboards.

What if our Department Owner Changes?

  • Contact your KPI Fire Administrator.  Administrators can make changes to this setting.

What License Type should a Department Owner have?

  • An Executive License is recommended. This will also give the person access to sub departments.
  • A Strategy License is recommended if this user should only have access to the designated department, but not the sub departments.

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