Many Fortune 500 companies use Management by Objectives (MBO) methods to create and promote goal-focused alignment within their organizations. OKR is a version of MBO that has been adopted by many large companies, most notably by Google, Twitter, and Uber.
OKR stands for objectives and key results, they work for organizations, teams, and individuals. Objectives are what you want accomplished and the Key Results are how you are going to get it done. Many organizations use OKRs as a simple goal-based management tool. It helps corporations set and measure goal progress. In this article we will discuss the benefits of using OKRs within your organization.
Increased Performance with Purpose
OKRs increases an organizations performance. When OKRs are clearly expressed and formed properly will lead to increased performance. The key to using OKRs properly is setting the right objectives. Focusing on creating purposeful and meaningful objectives will inspire your teams. This requires asking “why” questions when forming objectives, which is the “what”.
So, for forming purposeful and meaningful objectives organizations need to answer the following questions of “Why”, “What”, and “How”. Objectives are answers to “What” and Key Results are the answer to “How”. The Objective is the direction, while the key results are the measure, but setting proper objectives requires answering a “why” question. It goes beyond merely meeting the numbers to be effective for increasing performance.
Objectives must have a sense of purpose to inspire organizations and teams. This means creating objectives that are significant, action-oriented, inspiring, and clear. Good key results are realistic, specific, timely, measurable, and verifiable. When used and deployed properly OKRs can create and foster commitment across an organization. When an organization is committed to a goal and aligned with core organizational values it fosters motivation and accountability.
Increased Transparency and Accountability
OKRs are meant to be openly shared, discussed, and published. It helps keep teams and individuals aligned with company objectives. When organizations publish their company OKRs, Team OKRs, and Individual OKRs it allows everyone to have information on what each group is working towards. It provides insights on what others and the company is doing to achieve their goals. It also, helps keep groups and individuals accountable.
OKRs when openly shared increases the progress visibility with the ability to quickly respond to any issues affecting progress. It helps keep teams focused by providing clear priorities and direction. OKRs help set clear parameters for improving feedback based on objectives. It provides employees a sense of purpose and provides increased visibility on how their actions fit together with an organization's core values and goals.
Employees benefit from using OKRs by providing a system to identify personal and professional development within a company. For management, it provides a system for improving employee engagement by working together with teams and employees in developing and setting personal and team objectives. Using OKRs as a setting to improve engagement and team cohesion through increased inclusion and participation.
OKRs are Flexible
Objectives can be adjusted and revised as work priorities change. An objective is not an immovable object, it can be redefined, however it must remain transparent and communicated openly. As priorities change based on unforeseen forces, such as the current pandemic, objectives can be abandoned or adjusted and added at any point, but there must be a reason for the change and adjustment.
OKRs can be rapidly deployed to manage a crisis. For instance, today’s current struggle with the pandemic has left organizations struggling to adapt to the changing crisis. Developing an OKR to deal with and manage the crisis becomes a company-wide focus. It measures the success of any initiative at the corporate, team, and individual level and communicates activities within the whole organization.