Why is 2021 a Perfect time to Switch to OKRs?
Here is the definition of Objectives and Key Results by John Doerr.
“A management methodology that helps to ensure that the company focuses efforts on the same important issues throughout the organization.”
An OBJECTIVE, I explained, is simply WHAT is to be achieved, no more and
no less. By definition, objectives are significant, concrete, action oriented, and
(ideally) inspirational. When properly designed and deployed, they’re a vaccine
against fuzzy thinking—and fuzzy execution.
KEY RESULTS benchmark and monitor HOW we get to the objective.
Effective KRs are specific and time-bound, aggressive yet realistic. Most of all,
they are measurable and verifiable. (As prize pupil Marissa Mayer would say,
“It’s not a key result unless it has a number.”) You either meet a key result’s requirements or you don’t; there is no gray area, no room for doubt.”
In simple words,
Objectives are where you want to go.
Key Results are how you are going to reach your destination.
As you complete each key result, you can measure your progress toward your goal.
Why is it Important today with everything going around?
Objectives and Key Results are vital to today’s business world because of everything that is happening right now.
Do you remember the beginning of 2020?
“The only measure that matters is improved results – an improved client condition, in this case, measured by objectives met and validated by key results.”
–Alan Weiss, Author and Speaker
Things were really worse.
Employee-centric organizations were able to manage employees and handle the situation as they already had all the required tools ready, to work remotely; they just did not predict that it would be for this long. On the other hand, the organizations with strict policies found it really hard to adapt to the then new normal. Gradually, they digitized the workplace and with the help of technology, they ran the operations seamlessly in the following months.
But when it comes to Goal-Setting, most companies got affected as only a very few companies had an agile Goal-Setting system. The business environment was too unpredictable, and the goals set for the year became irrelevant. They wanted to change the goals but alignment and cascading goals were their major challenges. However, everyone made it this far, and it is a new year with great hopes for the future.
And it is still unknown what the future has in store for us. It is better to have agility incorporated into your systems and operations.
Objectives and Key Results (OKR) framework can help you with agility, and the framework can assist the companies in setting goals by making them focus on what really matters.
How OKR Makes Goal-Setting Agile?
Agility becomes easier with OKRs. Objectives and Key Results help the management to make midway corrections along with reducing the timeframe for the feedback cycle to quarterly from annual. Thus, companies can weather any storm if they can change their direction in a short span of time. Also, with OKRs, alignment is guaranteed.
Employees can align their individual goals with the overall business objective. The top management should focus on setting the relevant and specific goals and allow the departments to align themselves. If this Goal-Setting protocol is brought into the business culture and systems, the leaders need not worry about setting goals in difficult business environments and times.
Accountability is Grist to The Mill
Yes, holding your employees accountable for their respective works is mandatory, given the remote working scenario. The managers cannot request updates all the time and for every step. Then, that would be called micromanagement. In OKR methodology, the employees are responsible for the individual OKRs, and they can update their progress in the regular meetings. Whenever the employees confront obstacles, they can discuss them in meetings or during continuous check-ins.
This approach will be really helpful especially when the employees are working remotely. The employees will not feel isolated and will be engaged as their company trusts and involves them in the Goal-Setting process.
Transparent OKRs prevent Redundancy
“People can’t connect with what they cannot see; networks cannot blossom in silos. By definition, OKRs are open and visible to all parts of an organization, to each level of every department. As a result, companies that stick with them become more coherent.”
–John Doerr, Measure What Matters
As it is very hard or almost impossible to get every single employee on a call to discuss goals, it is better to keep every department’s and employee’s goals transparent. The employees should know one another’s goals to steer clear of redundant objectives and also to learn the direction of the organization. OKR framework promotes transparency and fosters collaboration.
Performance Management is Easier
OKRs should be decoupled from compensation. But it gives the required data to evaluate an employee’s performance. For instance, how an employee handled the objectives, and how did he/she exhibit teamwork while completing the tasks. These competencies and achievements can be analysed and taken into account for performance appraisal. At the same time, it does not affect the quality of work.
Managers can also learn the strengths and weaknesses of employees and give them inputs on how to improve them during one-on-one meetings.
Stretch Goals are Not Distant Anymore
The probability of making your dreams a reality is higher with OKRs, not just for organizations but also for individuals’ personal goals. The key results are the baby’s little steps to the big mountain (stretch goal) with medium stops from time to time (yearly objectives). Google’s stretch goal of becoming the number one browser was attained with the help of OKRs. Not just Google, many global companies have seen miracles leveraging the power of the OKR framework.
“OKRs have helped lead us to 10X growth, many times over.”
Larry Page, Co-founder, Google
With OKRs, the job satisfaction rate will skyrocket. Implementing an OKR software will further make goal setting easier for HR and managers. Besides, it becomes easier to keep track of all the goals and use them as future references.
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