What to Measure: A Cross-Functional View of Productivity

Productivity is often measured through outputs such as work completed and quality, but these metrics alone do not fully reflect how work gets done. APQC research shows that productivity is also shaped by how work flows—how easily employees access information, collaborate, and move work across teams.

Employees report spending only about 65% of their time on productive work, with the remainder lost to activities such as searching for information, recreating work, and managing communication. 

To provide a more complete view, organizations should measure productivity across functions using a broader set of indicators. The following measures—spanning HR, supply chain, finance, cross-functional work, and AI—offer a practical starting point. Each table includes the measure name, metric ID (where applicable), and benchmark data to support comparison.