Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) is a collaborative goal-setting methodology used by teams and individuals to set challenging and ambitious goals with measurable results. It is a simple tool for creating alignment and engagement around measurable goals, and it is used by companies of all sizes, from Google to Walmart. OKRs are established, tracked, and reevaluated frequently, usually quarterly. This article will explain the basics of OKRs, how to set them up, and how to use them to measure success. The main objective of OKRs is to create alignment in the organization.
To do this, OKRs are public to all levels of the company, so everyone has access to each other's OKRs. The company establishes the strategic OKRs that each team should use to draft their tactical OKRs. Tactical OKRs must align with the company's strategy with the other teams. In a typical company, about 60% of OKRs are set bottom-up, according to managers. When setting up OKRs, focus on the goals you know you can achieve in a given time frame.
Break Key Results Into Smaller Goals. Instead of using annual static planning, OKR takes an agile approach. By using shorter objective cycles, companies can adapt and respond to change. The use of OKR is simple and the OKR themselves are easy to understand. Once again, having a set of key outcomes helps create a healthy and sustainable OKR.
We want to increase weekly visits, but we want it to be organic, not through an expansion of marketing spend. The philosophy behind OKR is that if the company is always achieving 100% of the objectives, it's too easy. Instead, OKR aims for bold and ambitious goals. In addition to aspirational goals, OKR believes in allowing the team to set challenging goals that make the team rethink the way they work to achieve maximum performance. Separating OKR from compensation and promotions is crucial to achieving ambitious goals.
Employees need to know they won't lose money if ambitious goals are set. It's hard to get over the moon when you need the bonus to pay for your children's college. OKR is a management tool, not an employee evaluation tool. Adopting OKR is a journey, not an event. As with any cultural transformation, change doesn't happen overnight.
But it is possible to modify the dynamics of the company in a few months, aligning and involving the team. In addition, you must customize the OKR for your organization. Do you need help with the OKR? See how we can work together. Use OKR to measure if you are adding value, not if you are delivering tasks. Therefore, you need to understand the difference between value-based and activity-based key outcomes. This error is a common consequence of the first.
Instead of being a long list of all the things you do, OKR lists your top priorities. Even if you use key value-based results, you need to focus or your team won't remember their OKRs. OKR is an alignment tool, so you should never configure your OKR in isolation. You need to talk to the other teams. Without regular monitoring, you'll never reach them.
You can also use some OKR tools to help you understand the goal system. Other key differences between MBOs and OKRs are that the latter are quarterly, not annual, and separate from compensation. Later, once you've mastered OKRs, you can set 1 to 3 overall company goals and 1 to 3 team OKRs. Aligning their daily tasks with the team's goals helps everyone understand their team's quarterly approach and how it meets the company's vision. Koan makes it easy to configure OKRs and their owners, and the weekly reflections feature is great for keeping the team on track.
