Managing Parent and Child Metrics

 Managing Parent and Child Metrics

Child Metrics allow you to break a larger target into individual contributions across your team — each person owns a portion of an overall goal, and their results roll up automatically into a single Parent Metric.

This structure supports clear accountability at every level. For example, each salesperson can own their individual sales target, with all contributions rolling up to show the company's total.

• Multiple Child Metrics can roll up to a single Parent Metric.
• You can cascade Metrics up to three tiers.
• Each Child Metric can have a different owner.
• The Parent automatically calculates totals — you never enter data directly into it.

⚠️ Important: A Parent Metric must always be blank. It pulls all values exclusively from its Child Metrics. If an existing Metric already has data entered, it cannot be converted into a Parent.

Roll-Up Types: Summation vs. Average

When creating a Parent Metric, choose how it calculates from its Children:

📝 Note: To change the roll-up type on an existing Parent: click the Parent Metric (highlights green), scroll to Roll-Up Type in the Properties panel, and select Sum or Average.

Setting Up a New Parent/Child Structure

Follow this order when building a fresh structure from scratch:

1. Create the Parent Metric first. Leave it completely blank — no targets, no actuals.
2. In the Parent Metric's Properties panel (right side), click + Add Child Metric.
3. Enter the Child Metric title. Frequency and Metric Type are automatically copied from the Parent (editable if needed). Click Add to save.
4. Repeat to add additional Child Metrics. The Parent will show a chevron (>) to expand and view all linked Children.
5. Enter targets in each Child Metric individually. These roll up automatically into the Parent.
6. As team members update their Child Metric actuals, these cascade up to the Parent in real time.

💡 Tip: All Child Metrics must be the same Metric type as their Parent (Count, Measurement, or Flat). Set targets on Child Metrics only — the Parent calculates automatically.

Linking Existing Metrics into a Parent/Child Structure

If you have pre-existing Metrics that you want to group under a single Parent, follow these steps:

1. Create a new blank Parent Metric — same type as the existing Metrics you want to link.
2. Click on the existing Metric you want to make a Child (it will highlight green).
3. In the Properties panel on the right, scroll to the Parent Metric section.
4. Click the dropdown and select the new Parent Metric. Use the search field if there are many to scroll through.
5. Repeat for each additional Metric you want to link.

Once linked, each team member continues updating their assigned Metrics as usual. The data rolls up automatically into the Parent.

Unlinking a Child Metric

To detach a Child Metric and return it to a standalone Metric:

1. Click the Child Metric you want to detach (it highlights green).
2. In the Properties panel, scroll to the Parent Metric section.
3. Click the dropdown arrow next to the Parent Metric name.
4. Select Detach.

📝 Note: If you have multiple Child Metrics to unlink, repeat this process for each one individually.

Copying and Deleting Metrics

Copying a Metric

Copying saves time when you need similar structures for multiple team members, functions, or new quarters. Rather than building from scratch, copy and adjust what's different.

1. Click the Metric you want to copy (it highlights green).
2. Click More (top right) and select Copy Metric.
3. The new Metric appears with the same structure. Update the name, targets, owner, and Scorecard link as needed.

What carries over: title (with "Copy" appended), frequency, Metric type, and formatting.
What does not carry over: cascading/Parent links (re-link manually) and historical actuals.

💡 Tip: After copying, double-check targets and actuals to avoid carrying over old data. Reassign the owner and decide whether it should be marked as a Company Metric.

Deleting a Metric

🚫 Warning: Deleting a Metric is permanent and cannot be undone. All historical data tied to that Metric will be lost.

1. Navigate to the Metrics page and click the Metric (it highlights green).
2. Click More (top right) and select Delete Metric.

If you want to keep the data but stop using the Metric, stop tracking it instead (see Article 3: Tracking Periods).

How Company Metrics Cascade to Child Metrics

If a Parent Metric is set as a Company Metric, all its Child Metrics automatically become Company Metrics too. This mirrors how Company Priorities work across the platform.

In Meetings: if you pull Company Metrics into a meeting agenda, only the Parent Metric will display by default. Click the chevron to expand and show all Children.

Child Metric Error: "Parent metric history is preventing the addition of a child metric"

This error appears when you try to assign a Parent Metric that already has data entered. A Parent cannot contain its own data — it calculates exclusively from its Children.

To resolve:

1. Create a new blank Metric to act as the Parent.
2. Ensure the new Parent has no data in its Actual column.
3. Assign the Child Metrics to the new Parent.