---
id: "claim-obsolete-kpis"
type: "claim"
source_timestamps: ["§ What Makes an Effective Agent Manager"]
tags: ["performance-management", "metrics", "kpis"]
related: ["action-update-kpis", "concept-hybrid-workforce", "contrarian-activity-kpis"]
confidence: "high"
testable: true
speakers: ["Suraj Srinivasan", "Vivienne Wei"]
sources: ["agentic"]
sourceVaultSlug: "hbr-seg-agentic"
originDay: 6
articleStem: "hbr-sig-58-agent-managers"
sourceUrl: "https://hbr.org/2026/02/to-thrive-in-the-ai-era-companies-need-agent-managers"
sourceTitle: "To Thrive in the AI Era, Companies Need Agent Managers"
---
# Activity-based KPIs are obsolete in a hybrid AI-human workforce

## Claim: Activity-based KPIs are obsolete in a hybrid AI-human workforce

**Confidence (as stated in source): high · Testable: yes**

Traditional **activity-based KPIs** (e.g., measuring a worker by making **60 calls a day**) are obsolete. In the new hybrid model, KPIs must shift to **outcomes that depend on orchestration and influence**. Performance is now dictated by how well an employee **tunes their AI agent and runs workflows with it** — so management must maximize the efficiency of the entire **human-agent system** rather than isolated human activity.

### Connected notes
- Action: [[action-update-kpis]] · Contrarian framing: [[contrarian-activity-kpis]] · Context: [[concept-hybrid-workforce]].

### Enrichment verdict — *Concept validated, rhetoric overstated*
Consensus supports **outcome and system-level metrics** as critical (Beam.ai ROI reporting; Rasa continuous improvement; BCG outcome metrics). But **no source calls activity KPIs entirely 'obsolete'**; activity metrics persist for **regulatory reporting, coaching, QA, resource planning, and anomaly detection** (e.g., unusually low human-review rates). Defensible restatement: *outcome and orchestration metrics must supplement or supersede activity metrics in core performance management* — activity metrics get **repurposed**, not discarded.