Achieving goals implementing a OKR system – The Superpowers

Terence Sathyanarayan

May 7, 2022

All, Business Process Automation, Digital Transformation

The most successful people in the world have one thing in common: they all know how to set and achieve goals. They know that a clear, actionable plan is what will get them there. Achieving your goal starts with setting a goal and understanding what needs to be done to reach it. That’s where Objective Key Results (OKRs) come into play. OKRs are an effective way of making sure you’re on track for success by breaking down your long-term goal into smaller objectives that can be achieved each quarter or month. In this blog post, we cover why setting objectives is important, how OKRs can help you achieve goals and the benefits of implementing an objective key results system in your organization today!

What is an Objective Key Results system?

Objective Key Results or OKRs as they are often abbreviated is a goal setting and tracking tool that was originally created by Intel. OKRs consist of a list of short-term objectives linked together to support the long-term company strategy. The system helps employees prioritize tasks and individual objectives as well as to measure their own performance throughout the year.

Instead of writing a formal yearly performance review, OKRs allow for shorter meetings and more frequent feedback which can help managers identify problems early. It also gives employees a clear view of what’s expected of them and lets them track their own performance along the way. It takes some time for your team to get used to the system but once everyone gets into the habit and starts seeing results it will become second nature.

When you implement an OKR system in your organization, employees get four superpowers:

1. Clarity of what needs to be achieved and why (SMART goals anyone?)

OKRs help employees understand and own their role in the company. They will know exactly what they need to deliver and when because that’s all written down in black and white. You can use different formats such as the one below that HubSpot uses but we recommend using this format for software companies (i.e. technology / digital companies):

2. Clarity of who is working on what (how much autonomy do you want to give them?)

If done right, everyone should be clear on their priorities and goals before a plan on how they are going to achieve them. This means that employees can own their work and be empowered to make their own decisions without having to constantly run things by the manager.

3. Clarity on how they are performing (are the OKRs helping you track progress?)

If you’re using a digital system such as Asana or Trello, it’s easy for managers and employees alike to see an overview of what everyone is working on and how much progress there has been on each objective. You can also set notifications so that people don’t forget about upcoming deadlines and keep on track with the plan.

4. Clarity on key results (why did we choose these goals in the first place?)

Writing down clear objectives for both parties to understand expectations and results. This is done for every objective and key result (OKR) that has been set; whether it’s an individual or team goal.

The bottom line:

Having a clear view of what needs to be achieved and who is working on what can help you prioritize tasks and measure your own performance throughout the year. Once everyone is used to the system they will become more autonomous and start seeing results faster!

How to set goals in order to use the Objective Key Results system?

Instead of measurable metrics, OKRs focus on result-oriented outcomes which can be broken into three measurable pieces: what, who, and how. The first piece is what you’re going to do, the second part is who is involved in doing this goal and finally what needs to happen so everyone knows when this objective has been achieved.

When done right, employees at all levels should know exactly what’s expected of them. You want each person to understand their own OKRs, their department’s OKRs, and ultimately the company’s OKRs. This should be accomplished during a kick-off meeting with your whole team that sets clear expectations for what needs to be achieved within certain timeframes.

1. Set Objectives

It all starts by setting objectives – both individual and company ones. Some companies also have cross-functional or departmental objectives but these need not be included in the system if they are already part of your business plan. Once you’ve set your yearly goals, divide them into 3-4 quarterly objectives which will make it easier to keep track of progress throughout the year as well as understand prioritization better.

2. Publish Objectives To Everyone Within Company

Once every objective has been set, make them public to everyone in the company. This is done both for transparency purposes but also to keep people accountable throughout the year. Even if some people are not directly involved in certain objectives it’s good practice to be transparent about what the company is striving to achieve.

3. Set Key Results

Company-wide objectives need key results that can be broken up into 3-4 measurable parts so every employee understands what needs to be achieved by when and who is going to complete this task. To avoid too much detail you should aim at no more than 5 key results per objective – although there might be exceptions here depending on your project or industry. The last part of an OKR is a timeline that sets a clear deadline for achieving the tasks and targets set. This will make it easier to track progress and adjust deadlines as needed.

4. Check-in Every Quarter

Make sure to check in every quarter on company OKRs by identifying key results that need more attention or which were not achieved as planned. Based on this information, update the strategy where necessary and communicate this update across employees so everyone understands what is changing and why; especially those who are directly involved with certain objectives. Make sure to also include all changes in the company’s yearly goals document for reference purposes throughout the year.

5. Celebrate At The End Of the Year!

You should celebrate at the end of each quarter successfully hitting your key results but also celebrate when we reach our yearly objectives – remember: this is a long-term project so we need to celebrate every step we take towards our overall goal.

How To Implement The OKR System?

The process of setting and achieving OKRs can be both fun and rewarding but it does require dedication and careful planning. First, you’ll want to design your OKR system with the help of your whole team; then publish them among employees; set key results based on each objective; check in quarterly on progress, and ultimately celebrate at the end of the year! A good way to track everyone’s progress is by using collaborative platforms such as Asana for tasks related to specific objectives – this will make sure that no one forgets about their responsibilities or gets sacked.

Finally, make sure to document all changes and keep everyone informed as to how the OKR system is evolving because although it might not be perfect from the start, regular adjustments will eventually lead to a great tool for company-wide goal setting.

Why should an organization use it?

As mentioned earlier, the main focus of an OKR system is to set individual and company objectives with the help of every member in a team setting clear milestones for each objective. This way it’s easier both for managers and employees to track progress throughout the year but also adjust strategies if something isn’t working out as planned.

The OKR system makes sure that everyone knows what needs to be achieved by when and who’ll complete this task. It’s also a great way to align teams towards similar goals while emphasizing autonomy at the same time because each person understands their role better; not just in achieving certain key results but in completing tasks related to such results too.

In the end, a company-wide or team-wide OKR system is a great way to keep track of what everyone does and how their individual efforts add value to the overall business objective. This in turn can lead to more involved employees who feel they play an important role in achieving company goals and have a sense of ownership over these objectives.

The benefits of using an Objective Key Results system:

  • Focuses efforts and increases productivity
  • Helps you set quantifiable goals in a way that aligns with company objectives
  • Tracks and updates progress in an easy, transparent, and effective manner
  • Allows individuals to own their work; sets responsibilities and gives clear deadlines.
  • Eliminates silos by bringing different departments together in achieving common yearly goals
  • Increases motivation by allowing people to get involved, and have fun setting goals while stretching themselves
  • Increases performance by rewarding hard work through peer recognition

Finally, we all want our team members to feel inspired, motivated, and fully engaged throughout the year so it’s important that they are not just aware of their yearly objectives but also have some say on how they are achieved. This is the sustainable way to make your company successful – by involving everyone in setting goals and making sure that they are achieved through their joint effort.

Examples of OKR in action:

A good example here can be seen in how Google implemented OKRs: they set a yearly OKR for their SVPs which is to be achieved by breaking it down into quarterly objectives with key results that can be achieved within 90 days. They also include an additional weekly KPI (Key Performance Indicator) based on this objective that helps them track progress throughout the week.

Another good example is The OKR system at Wrike: it uses a collaborative platform for managing projects so all team members can be kept up to date with any changes. Employees are also encouraged to discuss their tasks in the open and thus creating company goals in an organic way where everyone contributes. This way autonomy is emphasized again while managers still retain full control over the project by giving feedback in real-time.

In this blog post, we’ve covered some of the reasons why it’s so important to set objectives and break those down into smaller actionable steps. We hope you can use these tips as a starting point for implementing your own OKR system that will keep you on track towards achieving success in a project or goal you’re working on.

We would love to help you implement a system that will keep you accountable for every objective along the way! Don’t hesitate to reach out if this interests you or if there’s anything else we could answer for you about setting goals with Objectives Key Results (OKRs).