Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) is a methodology used by businesses to boost engagement and efficacy, helping managers understand what needs improvement. Most OKRs are implemented on a quarterly basis to allow time to analyze the success rate and make the necessary adjustment.
Through the framework, your business will create high-performing teams as it engages and empowers them to be better at their work. Learn more about the methodology and how to use it in the guideline below.
What Are OKRs?
Everything you need to know about the strategy is right at the name. Notably, a well-defined framework has the following elements.
- An objective- It clearly defines and sets goals for every department in your company. The objective should have a timeline and provide at least three results.
- Key Results- The results are used to measure the objectives’ success. Besides, managers use these results to analyze the progress towards the objective.
This breakdown shows why OKRs can be a useful framework to measure the progress and success in every department of your business. Actually, each of the methodologies delivers both the goal and the metric making the way forward much clearer.
With this strategy, you don’t need to micromanage your employees as they clearly understand their objective and the expected results at a given time. It is the best strategy, particularly for a growing company with hundreds of employees, as it breaks down the organizational objectives and gives direction.
Why Do I Need OKRs in This Company?
John Doerr initially developed the framework in the 70s and was quickly incorporated mostly by tech companies. Decades later, the framework is popular among top businesses as it effectively drives global brands such as Uber and Google. So, there are plenty of reasons to consider incorporating the approach in this company.
- It improves motivation- The clarity provided by the OKRs framework helps employees understand the business goals and breaks down simple activities that will lead to success.
Employees who understand the simple objectives and expected results are confident in their work and understand the time frame better.
- Enhances corporate direction- The quarterly arrangement of the OKRs framework helps managers make corrections in the course before the situation gets worse.
- This strategy makes it easier to implement meaningful changes and align the practices with the organizational objective.
- Aligns teams and departments- Isolated and siloed departments are a common problem, especially in large companies. OKRs help address the issue by ensuring that every department and its team members have specific goals that, when combined with others, will contribute uniformly to the general organizational objectives.
- Improved accountability- The tracking of objectives on an individual level makes it easier for managers to examine employee performance and progress. The results help them to make informed decisions about their roles and responsibilities and those of the employees.
Implementing the OKRs framework the right way can play a significant role in transforming your business in a real way. The best way to introduce the strategy is to start with a trial and see how things work.
