Objectives and Key Results: Breaking Down The Popular Goal Setting Framework

Keeping tabs on your business’s objectives and results can be a challenge, especially when there are so many variables.

For example, how many code reviews does your team have to go through in order to achieve the sum of its values? How many meetings should the team have per week to hit the company’s daily sprint goal?

These are just a few of the questions OKRs help you answer in any given situation. But first, what is an OKR and how can you set them consistently? Keep reading to discover everything you need to know about setting and achieving OKRs.

What Is an OKR?

OKR stands for objectives and key results. It is a key performance indicator that enables you to keep tabs on both your company’s objectives and the results achieved to date. It’s a way for you to track and evaluate your company’s performance against both short- and long-term goals.

An OKR is more than just a number on a spreadsheet. It’s a tool to measure your company’s progress and help you determine where to focus and the resources you need in order to hit your objectives.

How to Set and Achieve OKRs

So what exactly are you supposed to do to set and achieve OKRs? There are a few components that make up an OKR. Here’s what you’ll want to keep in mind as you set and achieve OKRs:

• Descriptions: These are the facts about your business and what has gone well so far. It may include information about your past performance, achievements, and results.
• Attendance: This is the number of times your team members are supposed to be in the office or on-site. It may include remote work, hybrid work, full-time employment, or other arrangements.
• Targets: This is where you envision your organization to be after a certain period of time. It could be in terms of sales, profits, generated leads, or even internal processes such as upscaling recruitment.

Benefits of OKRs

By setting and achieving OKRs, you can track the progress of both short and long-term goals to see how your team is performing overall against the company’s overall objectives. This is especially helpful when you’re setting new goals or revising existing ones. You can see how many days it’s taken your team to hit their personal best and see if there’s anything you can do to make yourself a more successful team. If you see a trend, you can then adjust your strategy to account for the upward or downward shift in the market.

Furthermore, when you set and achieve OKRs, you are focusing on one goal at a time: the objective of each area is to reach or exceed that company’s intended goal.

The Final Words: Going from Set to Achieve

Setting and achieving OKRs is a process. It’s not some magical thing you can just drop into place and have it done automatically. In fact, it takes a lot of work. You have to set and achieve them one objective at a time. That’s what makes them great as long-term goals—they aren’t reached quickly, but rather, over time.

If you want to set and achieve great goals, you have to make an effort. You have to put the time in. You have to take risks. You have to be willing to fail—which, together with perseverance, is what it takes to succeed.