I’ve lost count of the number of impact measurement frameworks I’ve reviewed. Logic models, theories of change, Social Return on Investment calculations, balanced scorecards — the options are endless and often paralysing.

Most organisations don’t need a complicated framework. They need a manageable set of metrics that they actually track and use. Here are ten that I think every purpose-driven organisation should consider, adapted to your specific context.

1. Outcome achievement rate

What percentage of participants or beneficiaries achieve the outcome your program is designed to produce? If you run a job training program, what percentage get jobs? If you provide housing support, what percentage maintain stable housing?

This is your most important metric. Everything else supports it. If you’re not tracking this, start here.

2. Beneficiary satisfaction score

Ask the people you serve whether the service was useful, respectful, and appropriate. A simple net promoter score or satisfaction rating, collected consistently, gives you a real-time signal about service quality.

The key is asking the question in a way that encourages honest responses. Anonymous surveys, independent collection, and genuine follow-up on negative feedback all help.

3. Cost per outcome

How much does it cost your organisation to produce one successful outcome? This isn’t cost per participant — it’s cost per participant who achieves the intended result.

This metric is powerful because it combines financial efficiency with program effectiveness. An organisation that spends $5,000 per successful outcome is telling a very different story from one that spends $50,000.

4. Retention rate

For programs with ongoing participation, what percentage of participants stay engaged? High dropout rates often indicate problems with program design, accessibility, or relevance.

Track retention at multiple intervals — one month, three months, six months, twelve months — to identify where people are falling off and why.

5. Wait time

How long do people wait between requesting your service and receiving it? For many social services, wait time is a critical quality indicator. A domestic violence service with a six-week wait list is a service that’s failing people in crisis, regardless of how good the eventual service is.

If your wait times are growing, that’s a signal that demand is outstripping capacity and something needs to change.

6. Diversity of reach

Who are you reaching, and who are you missing? Compare the demographics of the people you serve against the demographics of the population you’re intended to serve. If your youth employment program serves predominantly English-speaking participants but the community has significant CALD populations, you have a reach problem.

Track age, gender, cultural background, disability status, and geographic location, depending on what’s relevant to your context.

7. Repeat engagement rate

Are people coming back to your service after their initial engagement? Depending on your context, this could be positive (people value your service and keep using it) or negative (people aren’t resolving their issues and keep needing help).

Interpret this metric carefully. For a crisis service, repeat engagement might indicate failure to address root causes. For a community program, it might indicate strong community connection.

8. Staff satisfaction and retention

Your staff are the mechanism through which your impact is delivered. If they’re burned out, leaving, or disengaged, your service quality will suffer. Track staff satisfaction, turnover rates, and reasons for departure.

This isn’t just an HR metric. It’s an impact metric. High staff turnover directly affects service consistency, relationship continuity, and organisational learning.

9. Partner satisfaction

If you work with other organisations — referral partners, funders, government agencies, community groups — their satisfaction with your partnership matters. Are you easy to work with? Do you deliver on your commitments? Do you communicate well?

A simple annual survey of key partners can reveal issues that you’d otherwise miss.

10. Long-term outcome tracking

This is the hardest metric on the list, but it’s essential. What happens to people six months, one year, or five years after they leave your program? Are the outcomes sustained?

Many programs produce positive short-term results that fade over time. If your job training program gets people into jobs but 80% have lost those jobs within a year, the program isn’t working as well as the initial numbers suggest.

Long-term tracking is expensive and logistically challenging, but even limited follow-up with a sample of past participants gives you invaluable data about your real impact.

How to implement this

You don’t need to track all ten from day one. Start with the three or four that are most relevant to your organisation. Build the data collection into your existing processes rather than creating a separate impact measurement system. And review the data regularly — monthly for operational metrics, quarterly for outcome metrics.

The most common failure in impact measurement isn’t collecting the wrong data. It’s collecting data and never looking at it. Build time into your regular management meetings to review your impact metrics, discuss what they’re telling you, and decide what to change.

These ten metrics won’t tell you everything about your social impact. But they’ll tell you enough to know whether you’re heading in the right direction, where the problems are, and what to focus on next. For most organisations, that’s exactly what’s needed.