Tip of the Month: Using Key Indicators in BarnOwl

Did you know?
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and Key Risk Indicators (KRIs) can be used to drive accountability and ownership in Risk Management. A key indicator is a measurable value which can be used to determine how effectively your organisation is achieving key business objectives.
In BarnOwl, you can use key indicators (Key Risk Indicators and Key Performance Indicators) throughout your organisational structure. Key indicators can be linked to risks, controls, objectives and units, and you can generate the Key Indicator reports to obtain an overview of the company’s performance over a period of time. You can also run the Key Indicator Trend report, which can be used to determine future risk.
BarnOwl provides a Key Indicator library, where you can capture key indicators which can then be linked to relevant business units, strategic and operational objectives, risks and controls. If you capture a Key Indicator template, this template can be applied to different units and/or items throughout the organisation. You can also capture Key Indicators directly against items such as risks or controls.
It is recommended that you set up KI templates in the KI Template Library, as this enables users to “re-use” these key indicators throughout BarnOwl, and can prevent duplication. In this example, we are capturing a key indicator to measure the number of product complaints received each month.

You can link this Key Performance Indicator too, by right-clicking the Key Indicator you wish to link.

You can also capture Key Indicators directly in the applicable register. In this example, we are capturing a Key Indicator against a risk in the HR Unit.

After you have set up the Key Indicators for your organisation, you need to update current values as determined by the target period. Therefore, if the target is set up per month, you need to capture the current values each month.
For example, in the Complaints KI captured above, the target type is monthly, but you can also select daily, weekly, quarterly or annually. You can specify the target parameters. You can view each key indicator and its values in the Key Indicator register.

Key indicator values can be updated in both the rich client and the web interface. If you are using the Web open license, you are only able to view the Key Indicator and add a current value. If you have a BarnOwl Lite license, you can capture, edit and update Key Indicators.

Key Indicators linked to risks, objectives and controls will trigger an automatic reassessment if the values are below target. In this way, you can see that a risk is more likely to occur, and you can put more effective controls and action plans in place.
You can run a key indicator report, a key indicator per risk report and a risk indicator trend report to provide a measurable overview of where problem areas might arise. This enables you to provide an accurate picture of the organisation in terms of its risk.
For detailed information on using Key Indicators in BarnOwl, see the following topics in the BarnOwl Online Help:
Working with Key Indicators in BarnOwl ERM
Working with Key Indicators in the BarnOwl Web Interface