What Is a Lower-Is-Better Metric on a Scorecard?
Last updated: November 6, 2026
Most Scorecard metrics reward employees for doing more, but some, like the number of negative customer reviews or email response times, are better when the number is lower. A Lower-is-Better metric gives employees more points as their result goes down.
Continue reading below to learn more about using Lower-is-Better metrics for your Ambition Scorecards.
Required permissions:
No special permission is required to view Lower-is-Better metrics on your Scorecard.
The Ambition Scores: Edit permission is required to set a metric as Lower-is-Better.
How Lower-Is-Better Scoring Works
Each Lower-is-Better metric uses three values:
Start Value: The highest scored value. Results at or above it earn 0 points.
Target: Reaching it earns the metric's full weight.
Stop Value: The lowest scored value. Results below it don't earn any additional points.
Employees earn the same number of points for every unit their result drops below the Start Value.
Rules for Lower-Is-Better Metrics
Start Value is required. It must be greater than the Target value.
Stop Value must be between 0 and the target. If you leave it blank, the Stop Value will be set to 0.
The Target can be 0. Higher-is-Better Targets must be greater than 0.
One Scoring Type per metric. While a metric is Lower-is-Better on one Scorecard, it can't be used as a Higher-is-Better metric on another Scorecard.
No Proration. Lower-is-Better metrics can't be prorated.
Example: Scoring a Lower-Is-Better Metric
Assume the metric is Errors, worth 20% of the score, with a Target of 10, a Start Value of 20, and a Stop Value of 0. Each error under 20 is worth 2 points.
15 errors: (20 - 15) * 2 = 10 points
10 errors: (20 - 10) * 2 = 20 points
5 errors: (20 - 5) * 2 = 30 points