Relying on OKRs to create business success is a smart tactic when implemented correctly.
Not only are OKRs useful for big businesses, but they are vital to the success of smaller operations. The popularity of OKR strategy was first the result of its praise from major companies like Google and Spotify, but it has since grown in interest due to the high levels of success that it has created for companies of all sizes worldwide. Here we talk about OKRs as a universal business strategy and how you can use them to carry out your business endeavors.
What are OKRs?
OKR is an abbreviation for Objectives and Key Results. Both of these have their own functions that serve the larger goals of a company. Objectives are considered the qualitative or big picture concept that explains what the company is trying to achieve on a broad scale. General yet specific goals are encouraged as they are the ones that best correlate with the Key Results. Key Results are measurable outcomes and processes that clarify to the business whether or not they have achieved their goals. Key Results are numerical, and therefore, they are specific indications of progress. If a business hits or misses these marks, they know exactly where they are in terms of success or failure.
How Do They Work? Consider Profit.co
Your OKR strategy success will depend on your ability to work with the business collectively, knowing that each employee will be assigned tasks that contribute to the greater goals. Teamwork is an emphasized principle of OKR strategy, which will require business leaders to facilitate the kind of workplace culture that encourages this workflow and participation. Is the company used to giving more responsibility or say to certain team members than to others? This is the kind of practice that needs to stop in order to prevent any stalling of the goal. The purpose of OKR in action is to divide up company-decided tasks which contribute to the end goal. Workers are assigned either independently or in teams, specific functions that do just that. At the end of the projected time frame, the company as a whole will benefit from the efforts that everyone in the company has put forth. Giving everyone a purposeful role enhances employee satisfaction and provides a sense of company worth to each worker. This boost in satisfaction can lead to greater work output and work ethic for the OKR implementation duration. To get even more out of your OKR endeavor, consider enlisting the help from experts and their software from Profit.co.
How to Apply Them
Gather up the team from the executive level to the bottom line. Hold a meeting and determine what the company needs to change to keep growing or stabilizing itself within the respective industry. Find the suggestions that the majority agree need to be worked on and make these your company-wide objectives.
If you have trouble brainstorming ideas, common goals include customer satisfaction, revenue growth, marketing campaign tracking, and employee motivation.
Although every company is different, overlapping objectives are commonplace. You can reference these examples if you need ideas to get started. Once you have determined your objective, make sure it is measurable and specific. Your key results will tie up any loose ends related to the objective.
You can think of the key results as your how-to component. If your goal is to increase sales by x percent in a year, your key results will be the roadmap explaining how to go about that process. Key results could look like hiring a branding team to launch an audience-targeting campaign, increasing promotional ads, or hiring a team to handle online engagement to boost customer rapport. The methods are endless; it’s really about making a decision and structuring your plan for success. Ensuring that the company as a whole is aware of the objectives and key results will drive a consistent intention of what is to be accomplished. This team understanding will encourage active participation and bring about key results more likely than not by focusing and understanding the goal.
Celebrate Little Victories
Remember to celebrate the milestones as you go. OKRs are a series of mini goals that lead you to the completion of the final goal. The pressure is on with each and every employee taking on assignments that impact the rest of the team and the work results. For this reason, celebrating the milestones along the way will not only alleviate some of this pressure but will safeguard and perhaps even boost motivation to continue working towards significant goals.
The Main Takeaways
Seeing your organization as a workforce composed of equal employees will motivate you to utilize your company resources skillfully. Using OKRs to harness these resources is the skill or strategy that will get you from point A to point B. Don’t be afraid to ask for employee opinion when defining objectives and key results and be open to suggestions. Once you understand that company-wide change requires company-wide thinking, the process of OKR integration becomes a whole lot easier. Ensure that your objectives and key results are specific and measurable and in ways that balance one another. See your objectives as the big picture and your key results as your roadmap. Know that teamwork and active participation require a few pats on the back from leaders, so be sure to celebrate little victories as they arise during your OKR journey.
We know that change is never easy, just that it’s worth it. Switching up your business’s workflow and culture may seem daunting, but with a crafted strategy like OKRs, you’re destined to succeed. The problem with most business optimization strategies today is that they lack the flexibility that OKRs have to apply to nearly any business. It isn’t easy to model off one kind of business from strategies created for other companies. OKRs eliminate the need for industry-specifications and allow for flexibility and creativity to take the wheel instead.