Objective- Drive sales revenues by 40%
Key Result 1- Increase conversion rates on qualified leads by 35%
Key Result 2- Increase client retention rate by 70%
Key Result 3- Boost cross-sell ROI by 60%
OKRs must not be set in a vacuum but should align with the company’s vision and overall strategy to attain measurable outcomes. 5 key tips to effectively set objectives and key results for employees, managers, and the senior leadership are as follows:
- Define Goals in a Positive Language
Each person must align to the expected business objectives while using OKRs. It is human nature to engage better with something that is easier to adopt and possible to attain. For instance, define a goal as ‘Improve your marketing strategy or ‘boost your marketing campaigns in the next quarter. The latter objective inspires marketers to explore new campaigns or optimize existing ones to ultimately drive marketing leads and boost business sales. Setting goals in a positive language creates ample opportunities for teams to learn, innovate, and collaborate.
- Goals must be Achievable
Companies must align leaders and their team members with bold yet achievable goals that can bring improved key results. Setting too many objectives or key results may dilute the focus from what is most important. Even managers who create unattainable goals fail to engage their teams with the OKR process, thus affecting the business productivity. So, organizations must set achievable goals and align everyone to these goals so that everyone rallies in the same direction.
- Key Results must be Controllable
When you set objectives at the individual, team, or the company level, they must control the expected key results. Leaders must follow the right rhythm and maintain transparency while assigning OKRs to each person. At the end of the month, quarter, or even a year, objectives should clearly bring out the best possible outcomes as metrics indicating revenue increase, performance impact, business growth, etc.
- OKRs should be Time-bound
Many companies favor OKR cadence on a quarterly basis so that it becomes easier for managers to assess progress and refresh goals on a frequent basis. OKRs adapt to the changing business needs and can be realigned while keeping the focus on the priorities. OKRs must be time-bound as per the battle rhythm and timely tracked to measure success.
- Add More Value to Business
OKRs are first set at the organizational level and then communicated down to leaders and their teams. OKRs must add value to your business else they are meaningless. They must bring transparency while assigning goals so that everyone knows the bigger picture and moves in the same direction. When adopting OKRs, ensure that goals are well-defined and results are measurable, thus boosting performance, driving engagement, and overall efficiency.
Objectives and Key Results have become one of the popular goal-setting and performance management frameworks for departments such as Sales, Marketing, Operations, and others. Unlike traditional methods, OKRs in business reduce the gap between strategy and execution, while promoting agility and inspiring employees to engage and innovate.
Looking for an ideal goal-setting framework that can unlock business success, then Unlock:OKR can be an ideal choice. The powerful tool helps organizations leverage the benefits of amazing superpowers- focus, clarity, agility, rhythm, and accountability to unlock their potential. Need further help with implementing OKRs for the first time, then seek help from our OKR Coaches.
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