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What Are OKRs? A Guide For Setting Objectives & Key Results
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If you're new to the whole Objectives and Key Results (OKR) thing, let’s give you the elevator pitch.
It's a simple process that maps out the future of your business. You gather your team and ask why we're doing what we're doing. What do we want to achieve in 6 months? In a year? What is it that we want to be remembered for?
Once you're all on the same page, you agree on some objectives and key results that will move your business forward. These can be anything from increasing customer satisfaction to beating competitors. When everyone signs off on these OKRs, they go to work!
Then at a scheduled time, the OKRs are revisited, and the progress is reviewed. This is done either weekly or monthly, depending on the nature of your business or industry.
This article will examine this goal-setting framework, outline tips for setting OKRs, and explore some examples of OKRs.
But first, let us explain what OKRs are in greater detail.
OKR is an acronym for Objectives and Key Results. It is a goal-management method that involves setting specific, measurable, time-bound goals relevant to the growth and development of individual team members and the organization. These objectives and key results are designed to track and improve business performance and growth. In other words, what OKRs do is set objectives and then measure those objectives with key results or successes.
Objectives, in this regard, are typically qualitative, measurable goals that team members can collaborate on and achieve through a framework of feedback, problem-solving, critical thinking, and continuous learning. Key results refer to the metric by which you will measure the success of the objective.
Well, not exactly. Although very similar, OKRs differ from goals. Here’s an example that breaks it down:
When setting a goal, you specify a direction and a target. For example, you set a goal to increase your following on Instagram by 300%. In this instance, “increase following” is the direction, and “300%” is the target. When applying an OKR framework, this same goal will then be divided into an objective and a key result. Using the same example, “grow following” will be the objective, and “300%” will be the key result.
In a sense, OKRs are goals that have been split into objectives and key results.
But what about OKRs and KPIs?
OKR and KPI are two methods that organizations use to set and track goals and measure progress. While they are similar in many ways, there are also some key differences between OKR and KPI:
Overall, OKR and KPI are both valuable tools for setting and tracking goals and measuring progress, but they serve different purposes and are used at different levels within an organization.
Technically, OKR setting starts with the top management of your company. They start out by setting annual and quarterly objectives. Next, they break it down into monthly objectives which managers now use as a basis for setting goals for their teams. From this point, each team member can derive or set out individual objectives and key results.
To create effective OKRs, you need input from everyone affected. This means you should gather feedback from all team members who have a part to play in achieving the key results. This way, everyone is aligned on the goals and can better structure both team and individual OKRs to achieve goals faster.
Don’t get overwhelmed by the large task at hand. Break down objectives into bite-sized pieces and prioritize based on urgency. Remember that there is no right or wrong number of OKRs; set them based on the resources available and the amount of time available.
Once objectives have been set, brainstorm with your team and develop specific action plans. Map out how you can achieve the goals, set metrics for measuring success, and evaluate performance. This will help clarify expectations and let every member of the team know what they need to do to reach their objectives.
Many times, employees have a hard time understanding how their jobs impact the company’s goals. To avoid this confusion, ensure that each objective is broken down from the organizational level to the team level and the individual level.
The more measurable your key results are, the better your chances of achieving them. For example, instead of saying, ‘publish more blog posts each month,’ say, ‘publish 20 blog posts each month’. By doing so, at the end of each month, you can count the number of blog posts published and know whether or not the goal was reached.
Remember to celebrate every milestone and reward individual team member’s efforts. This type of positive reinforcement helps maintain OKR best practices and encourages everyone involved to keep putting their best foot forward and achieving their goals. For the best results, set up a support system within your team and encourage transparency and accountability.
While a good OKR grade is subjective, generally, a grade of 60-70% is considered good. It's also important to note that OKRs are meant to be challenging and stretch goals, so achieving 100% may not always be realistic or necessary. Ultimately, the most important thing is to make progress towards your goals and continuously strive for improvement.
It is generally recommended to set a maximum of 3-5 OKRs per quarter or per year, depending on the size and complexity of the organization and the level of detail in the OKRs. It is important to have a clear and focused set of objectives, rather than trying to tackle too many goals at once.
At the organizational level, OKRs are great for managing and achieving long-term goals. Check out this company-wide OKR example:
Sample Objective:
To provide nerdy minimalist household decor to customers.
Sample Key Results:
OKRs are also as effective for teams as they help direct strategic thinking and improve team functions. Here are some department-level OKR examples:
Objective:
Increase recurring revenue.
Key Results:
Objective:
Increase employee engagement and development
Key Results:
Here are some ways that Assembly's collaboration, project management, and communication tools can help companies achieve OKRs:
Overall, Assembly's suite of tools can help companies streamline their workflows, increase productivity, and achieve their OKRs more effectively.
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There is study after study showing that employee recognition leads to increased engagement. This in return creates an environment where employees are happier and more motivated which increase productivity and reduces voluntary turnover significantly. In order to filled critical roles, companies tend to spend nearly twice the value of an annual salary. Assembly is an investment in your employees that supports your bottom line.
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The minimum agreement term is a 12-month subscription.
We do and for FREE! Any new customer needing further support to get started with Assembly to ensure you're set up for success can request custom onboarding support. Improving your employee experience is about much more than just using our amazing software; it’s about transforming your business to create a workplace that people love. That’s much easier to do with the personal support and advice from our passionate people experts.
At the time of redemption (when your employees exchange their points for a paid reward) you'll pay face value. If a reward is a $10 Amazon gift card, your cost will be $10. All paid rewards are billed for on a monthly basis.
The good news is that you don't have to pay for rewards upfront because we only charge you when points are redeemed, not when they're earned.
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Great question! You can customize your core values to match your organization's to boost and track alignment. You can change your currency from the 🏆 emoji (our default) to any emoji of your choice. You can swap our logo for your own. You can also set up company culture rewards such as, "Lunch with the CEO," "Buy a book on us," and so much more!
While we recommend a peer to peer set up where anyone in your organization can give or receive recognition, you can set up Assembly however you want. If you need to limit the people who can give or receive recognition, that's perfectly fine and can be done from your Admin, here.
Assembly connects to the tools your employees use every day to offer an easy, seamless experience with minimal change management.
Assembly has integrations with HCM/HRIS systems like ADP, Google, Office 365, and Slack. We also integrate with communication tools like Slack and Teams so you and your employees can access Assembly wherever they work now.
That depends on the company's permissions set up. That said, over 90% of the employees on Assembly's platform are recognized on a monthly basis. That means nearly every employee across all of our customers are receiving regular recognition from their peers, managers, or leadership. We're extremely proud of this.
They are not required. You can use Assembly without having rewards set up. However, we don't recommend it if you intend to have a high adoption and usage rate. You can always keep the costs down by offering internal culture rewards that are fulfilled by you internally.
No, you can remove allowances from anyone or everyone. It's up to you but we do recommend using points whether they're worth a real dollar value or not. Companies that use points have a much higher engagement rate even if those points don't exchange for real dollars.
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