The KPI Graveyard

If you’re a child of the 70s or 80s, I’m sure that opening image grabbed your attention. The Schoolhouse Rock series was classic Saturday morning TV (fun and educational).

But no worries, I’m not going to start writing about law, government, or politics; there is already enough of that going on. I will talk about evolution in a measurement-type way.

As I was putting this article together, the analogy of a bill turning into a law struck me as similar to comparing a metric to a KPI. In this case, the only difference is that I will discuss the reverse (downgrade) scenario.

The KPI Graveyard: How to Know When a Metric is Dead

KPI RIP

You’ve probably seen it before.

A beautifully colour-coded dashboard, humming with charts and gauges. But one of the key performance indicators (KPIs), let’s say “On-Time Delivery”, hasn’t moved in 9 months. It’s always green. Nobody talks about it. Nobody acts on it. And yet… there it is, still shining brightly.

Welcome to the KPI graveyard. A quiet resting place where once-meaningful KPIs go to die, often without anyone noticing.

Let’s discuss how to recognize when a KPI is no longer serving your organization and, more importantly, what to do about it.

Why Do KPIs Die?

Key Performance Indicators are supposed to align critical goals with strategy, drive action, and focus teams. But over time, even the best ones can become:

• Irrelevant: The business shifts, but the KPIs stay the same.

• Compliant: Everyone hits the target, so it’s no longer a stretch.

• Neglected: It no longer tells a story people care about, or even trust.

Here are the most common causes of KPI death:

1. You Solved the Problem

Some KPIs exist for a season. If on-time delivery used to be at 74%, and now it’s consistently 98%, you may have already institutionalized the behaviours that drove improvement. At that point, the KPI is just confirmation, not motivation. Especially if the sustained level of performance is no longer a differentiator for the company, now it truly can be regarded as a metric.

2. The Metric Became Politicized

When KPIs get tied to bonuses, org charts, or internal turf wars, they often lose their objectivity. People game them. Manipulate inputs. Argue about the definitions. And once trust in a KPI erodes, it’s usually a downhill slide.

3. It’s No Longer Leading Anything

Some KPIs are lagging, in that they tell you what happened last week or last month. Others are leading, they give you insight into what’s about to happen. If you’re tracking things that only tell you the score after the game, it may be time to pivot to a better-balanced set of KPIs.

4. The Business has Changed

Significant events can occur within a business year that justify reconsidering the goals and KPIs you’re focused on. A dramatic shift in consumer demand, new competition or regulations, or global events such as a pandemic or a war can all cause a pivot to how a company needs to operate in the longer term.

Three Signs Your KPI Belongs in the Graveyard

Here’s how to know if it’s time to bury a metric:

🔇 No One Talks About It

If your KPI isn’t mentioned in team meetings, stand-ups, or performance reviews, that’s a red flag. KPIs should drive conversations, and silence often signals irrelevance.

🟢 It’s Always Green

A KPI that is always "in control" or meeting targets may no longer be challenging your team. It's the equivalent of lifting 5-pound weights at the gym; you’re not getting stronger, just going through the motions.

🧩 It Doesn’t Link to Strategy

It becomes noise if a metric isn’t clearly connected to your current goals or business priorities. And in the age of dashboard overload, noise is dangerous.

What to Do with a Dying KPI

Not every dying KPI needs a funeral. Sometimes it just needs a refresh.

1. Interrogate It

Ask: What decision does this metric support? What behaviour is it meant to drive? It might be time to move on if you can’t answer those questions.

2. Reframe or Replace

If a KPI is too high-level or stale, try reframing it:

• Instead of “Customer Satisfaction,” track “Customer Complaints per 1,000 Orders.”

• Instead of “Sales Volume,” track “Pipeline Conversion Rate.”

Often, a sharper lens reignites relevance.

3. Retire It as a KPI - With a Ceremony

If you’re done with a KPI, don’t quietly delete it from the dashboard. Acknowledge what it helped you accomplish or what has changed. Communicate clearly why it's being removed. Celebrate progress. This reinforces a learning culture and keeps people engaged in the evolution of your KPIs.

And who knows, when the time is right, that same metric could get noticed, elevated, and maybe earn the right to become a KPI again. If metrics could sing, you'd hear one on the steps of your dashboard, humming, "And now I'm a KPI…", finally fulfilling its purpose.