The OKR method for monitoring objectives and results
Loss of overall vision of the company? Strategy that goes in all directions? Poor time management?
The OKR method, invented in the 80s by Andy Grove, inspired John Doerr to help Google in its development strategy.
The method allowed the implementation of ambitious missions while respecting deadlines and measuring what was most important.
OKR Method Definition
OKR comes from the acronym Objectives Key Results. Attractive to many companies, this process aims to challenge teams and make them more productive.
The OKR method is based on the execution of the strategy through ambitious and measurable objectives. It’s a great goal-by-goal management tool.
It aims to align all the actors of the company to focus their efforts on the same important issues.
Objective → It must be ambitious, concrete and action-oriented. This is the WHAT.
Key results → These are metrics, they must be measurable, easy to evaluate and limited in time.
For example: Increase the workforce by 15%, launch an organic product, obtain a commitment rate of 10%,…
These are the RESULTS TO BE OBTAINED.
Ambitious goals
In an OKR, the goal must be very difficult to achieve. These challenges motivate teams and push them to surpass themselves.
Here we use SMART objectives:
Specific
Measurable
Achievable
Relevant
Time-bound
To reach the target, it is necessary to reach 60-70% of it. The specificity of okr is that you have to approach 100% without necessarily reaching it.
The OKR is public and shared throughout the company. It allows total transparency. Its purpose is not to evaluate teams or collaborators, but an objective. It sets the company on an overall course for everyone to work in the same direction.
The benefits of OKR
Clear and precise → Allows you to focus your efforts on a specific point
Engaging → Each of the employees to the strategy in the line of sight and knows the interest of his actions.
Responsibility → The objectives and results are clear, there is no room for ambiguity.
Transparent → Enables a global view of the business and results at a given point in time
Deploy the OKR method
To keep its effectiveness, the OKR method must have for each objective 3 to 5 key results. It is necessary to keep this limited number of axes so as not to disperse.
The OKR method is deployed quarterly, regardless of whether the goal is met or not. We then see whether we should close objectives, continue them or close them. It should not be forgotten that for OKR it is a question of highlighting the major objectives.
Example:
Objective:
Increase profits by 15%
Key results:
• Reduce costs by 10%
• Double revenues by creating online campaigns • Open new
premises
Employees have clear objectives in mind and know on what criteria they will be evaluated.
The advantage of the OKR method is that it can be declined at different hierarchical levels. Let’s keep our example, we can then take one of the Key results like “Double revenue by creating online campaigns”. It is quite clear and will become the objective. To this one we will give 3 key results as:
- Create a Facebook Ads and Instagram campaign
- Define the keywords to target
- Have a commitment rate of 15%
The OKR is there to give objectives but it can very well ally with other methods.
Today many companies do OKR in Excel. They deploy the objectives on multiple shared sheets, e-mail reports,…
This system can work when the company or team is small. But as soon as the organization is larger we can quickly lose efficiency.
Apply the OKR method with Visult
It has become necessary to digitize okr to gain visibility and simplicity.
This is the case of VISULT. With its simple and easy-to-use interface it allows you to express the company’s strategy and be able to share it with everyone.
The platform digitizes your action plan and the waterfall within your organization.
VISULT offers a comprehensive dashboard to measure the progress of actions, set the agenda for discussions and decide on new action plans. It is a real collaborative tool to inform and process a subject in real time without multiplying email exchanges. In agreement with OKR, it makes it possible to engage employees in the company’s strategy.
If you want to know more, discover VISULT or make an appointment for a demo.
VISULT is a collaborative platform that digitizes corporate strategy and enables OKR (Objectives & Key Results) to be managed transparently.
With VISULT, leader easily share their strategy, follow the action plan and improve the performance of their organization.
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