Meet Telkom Indonesia
Telkom Indonesia is a leading telecommunications company with around 24,000 employees. The OKR Institute worked with Telkom to embed Objectives and Key Results across the organization in a way that would last. The aim was to make strategic alignment simpler, help work get done more efficiently, and grow a culture that valued steady improvement and agility. With a company this large and this varied, the real work was making OKRs fit and then making them stay. Telecommunications moves quickly, so the framework also had to keep up with a business that is always changing.
Complexity, Culture, and Staying Power
Telkom faced the kind of hurdles that come with size. The first was complexity and scale. As a major telecommunications player, the company had to roll OKRs out across many different units and functions, each with its own way of working. The second was culture. Shifting toward an OKR mindset meant changing habits and behaviors across the whole organization, which never happens overnight. The third was staying power. It was not enough to introduce OKRs once. Telkom needed the practice to last and to fold into the processes and culture already in place.
Each division had its own rhythm and its own pressures, so a framework that worked for one might feel awkward for another. The approach had to be consistent enough to align the company yet flexible enough to suit very different teams.
How We Worked Together
The OKR Institute put together a plan built for both scale and longevity.
- Tailored framework development: We designed a custom OKR framework to fit Telkom's setting, made to scale and adapt across different divisions.
- Comprehensive training programs: We ran wide-reaching training and coaching for teams and leaders, building real understanding so people would commit rather than comply.
- Cultural and process integration: We focused on weaving OKRs into Telkom's existing workflows and culture, with steady learning, feedback, and adjustment to support long-term adoption.
The difference between commitment and compliance ran through the whole effort. A team that merely complies fills in the OKR template and forgets it. A team that commits uses OKRs to make real decisions. The training was built to win the second kind of response.
What Made it Work
- Commitment over compliance: Building real understanding so teams used OKRs to make decisions, not just fill in templates, was the foundation of lasting adoption.
- Flexible consistency: A framework consistent enough to align the company yet flexible enough to suit very different divisions and teams.
- Cultural integration: Weaving OKRs into existing workflows rather than bolting them on ensured the practice did not depend on constant pushing from the top.
- Design for longevity: Planning for adoption rather than just introduction from day one gave the practice a chance to become self-sustaining.
What Changed at Telkom Indonesia
Stronger strategic alignment
The company brought strategic goals and daily operations into closer line, which streamlined effort and lifted execution across all divisions.
More engagement and accountability
Employees and teams grew more engaged and accountable, helped by clearer goals, measurable outcomes, and a shared sense of purpose.
Lasting adoption across divisions
Telkom managed to fold OKRs into the fabric of the organization, building a practice that keeps driving clarity and improvement on its own momentum.
What This Shows
Telkom Indonesia's case is a reminder that for a large company, the hard part of OKRs is not the launch but the staying power. Plenty of organizations can run a training session. Far fewer make the practice last. Telkom did it by building a framework that could flex across divisions and by weaving OKRs into existing habits rather than bolting them on. The lesson is to design for the long term from day one. Plan for adoption, not just introduction, and the practice has a chance to become part of how the company really works. A company can force people to fill in OKR templates, but that produces paperwork, not progress. Telkom aimed higher, building real understanding so teams used OKRs to make decisions. That is what allowed the practice to keep running on its own, long after the launch was over.
