While the number of OKRs will vary depending on the size of the company, we believe that the ideal is to have 2 to 3 OKRs, each with 3 to 5 corresponding KRs. Summary: While the number of OKRs varies depending on the size of the company, we believe that the ideal is to have 2 to 3 OKRs, each with 3 to 5 corresponding KRs. Below, we detail why we believe that less is more, how and when to overcome this recommendation, and some basic OKR rules we must follow. As long as you meet some mandatory criteria, there's no right or wrong amount of OKR to set.
But there is an amount recommended by professionals. Professionals recommend setting 3 to 5 OKRs per quarter rather than setting too many at once. Depending on the number of OKRs you establish, it's critical that they represent your most pressing priorities and the effective tasks you must accomplish. That was the time when I paused from the coaching session with a recent potential client.
An organization with fewer than 30 employees working to achieve 15 results at any given time is a clear sign that there are “too many OKRs”. OKRs are designed to determine what is most strategically important for the company in the coming cycles. They are a filtering mechanism used to reduce your company's efforts and focus them on assumptions critical to current market conditions. When an organization establishes several OKRs across the organization that cover all functions in a traditional way, it doesn't prioritize anything.
The message for the teams is: “Do everything as you always have done and do it well. The strategy is diluted. I wish I could give you a unique OKR number as the “correct maximum amount”. The answer is based on your context.
If you have 30 employees, the most likely thing they can achieve is one goal and up to three key results. For larger organizations, having specific objectives for each business unit makes sense. Once again, start with a goal for the next two quarters and see if you can align your organization around it. If you end up with more than one, make sure you have enough staff to support that effort.
Keep in mind that not every team needs to have a unique OKR to achieve this. It's best to limit the number of objectives to 3 to 5.OKRs are designed for shorter, higher-impact objectives. Each goal must have a deadline.
Christina Wodtke, an American entrepreneur and OKR expert, advises that companies set a goal and key results.
If you set the right OKRs, your team will be much more productive and may struggle to follow them and try to achieve them in the best way.These numbers can change based on employee engagement, and if your employee is new to the job, you should set up easy and attainable OKRs. Remember that setting too many OKRs for an employee can cause much more pressure and stress, as well as impair employee engagement and decrease their performance. John Doerr was the pioneer of the OKR methodology. These are the key objectives you want to achieve and the results you want to measure in time.
