OKR FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
about Objectives and Key Results, OKR Cycle and Implementation
“OKR” stands for “Objective & Key Result.” OKRs are an effective agile goal-setting and leadership tool for communicating what you want to achieve and what drivers you’ll need to define in order to accomplish it. OKRs are used by some of the leading organizations to set and execute their strategies.Â
OKRs are:
Action-Orientated Goals
Define and measure Advancements
Focus on Outcome
Future-focused, directional
Should be aggressive and bold, towards your strategic goals / vision / mission
Has a set time period (OKR Cycle), OKRs changes in the next OKR Cycle.KPIs are:
# that measure the health of your business
Measures “Business as Usual”
Focuses on Output
Most of the time lagging indicators
Monitors the “steady-state” and provides benchmarks
Measured on an on-going basisAsk yourself if it’s an OKR or KPI:
Are you doing anything differently? It’s an OKR
Is there already an established process? It’s a KPI
Are we building, improving, or innovating? It’s an OKR
Will we continue to do what we already do? It’s a KPI
• It breaks the year into a manageable time period
• It creates an opportunity to celebrate little wins
• It empowers for teamwork and better communication
• It allows employees to show progress
• It allows you to make smarter & faster decisions
• It enables employees to build on their success
• It enables managers/employees to be focused
• It empowers the entire organization to think about development all year long
Aspirational OKRs: Big Picture Ideas – working on the business
Operational OKRs (Committed): (Company Metrics: Product Launch, No of Customers, etc) Management will typically set these at the company level while employees set goals at department levels – working in the business
Learning OKRs: Encourages teams to test a hypothesis by exploring an unproven theory or strategy. They are useful for defining success when the outcome is uncertain.
OKR Improvement Checklist
1. Less is more: Focus on what really matters for your organization and team. Fewer OKRs are better.
2. Set at least 50% of the goals from the bottom up: The most powerful OKRs often originate within the teams. OKRs can help these team members see how their work aligns and contributes to overall goals.
3. No dictating: Collective agreement is essential to maximize goal achievement.Â
4. Stay flexible: If you realize you are heading in the wrong direction, you can adjust your Key Results during the OKR Cycle
5. Dare to fail: It is good to have committed OKRs, things that everyone agrees must be achieved. But one of the most compelling aspects of OKRs is the “aspirational OKR.” If you heading for the mars but land on the moon, it is still a huge step towards your goal.Â
6. A tool, not a weapon: Don’t use OKRs for compensation or bonus system. You will create a sandbagging system in your organization.
7. Be patient: OKRs are trial and error. It may take a few cycles before they feel natural, or even go well. It is like building up your OKR muscle, it takes time.
Output is something that you do
Outcome is something that happens as a consequence of what you do
Input is something you can influence, in your control
Examples of Deployment Parameters: The questions we must answer before implementing OKRs
1. Levels: At what level will we set Objectives and Key Results?
2. Number: How many OKRs will we set?
3. Scoring: How will we score OKRs?
4. Cycle Time: How long is an OKR cycle?
5. Tooling: Where do we draft, publish, and track the OKRs? What kind of templates or software do we use?
6. Performance Reviews: How will OKR relate to performance reviews/appraisals?
7. OKRs vs KPIs: How do we differentiate OKR from KPI?
8. Alignment: How will we ensure OKRs are aligned in the organization and teams?
9. Bottoms-Up: How will we ensure most OKRs come from the bottom-up?
10. Agile Tools: What agile process do you already have? And what heartbeat?
11. Pilot Group: How will we ensure to include OKR enthusiastic people in the pilot group?
OKR Sponsor
Internal Coaches (OKR Practitioner or Champion): 1 for every 50 employees
External Coaches (optional)
OKR CoordinatorÂ
OKR Lead
Key Result Lead
OKR Contributors
Set and forget OKRs
Lack of planning
Missing Strategy
No accountability
Limited cross functional communication
Focus on deliverables, not outcomes
Too many OKRs
Over-cascading OKRs
Not training or educating organization
Not using retrospectives to continuously improve
the work itself
relationship with co-workers
opportunity to use skills and ability
relationship with immediate superior
contribution of work to the organization’s goals
autonomy and independence