Objectives and Key Results (OKR)

Kickass Names for Your OKR that Convey Mission Statement and Inspire Teams

How do we feel the moment we enter office premises? It is time to act professional, which naturally implies, “Keep your emotions aside.” Even when you disapprove of someone’s behavior, you have to do it in a professional way, meaning “Do not directly tell them; but indirectly say that you don’t like their actions and return to your seat without being sure whether they have understood or not.” 

But, if this is the scenario in normal days, imagine how much impact this kind of work environment will have on the employees in this remote working era. Employee disengagement, decreased productivity, low quality would be the results. Allow your employees to be more human even at work. Professionalism is not turning yourself into machines. In recent days, even the customers expect human touch in all the stages of a sales funnel.   

“Making more room for emotions and vulnerability is going to be an important part of the performance conversations as well.”  

-Catherine Mattice Zundel, Founder, Civility Partners  

Art of Communication Attracts Attention  

Many active online users might have come across this message that spread on many social media platforms. A kid refused to eat Upma, a popular Indian dish because it is something that’s cooked often in Indian homes. So, the mother came up with an idea. She called the child and said, “Would you like to have a portion of dry-roasted semolina porridge with boiled veggies topped with roasted cashews served with pickle of your choice?” The child immediately agreed without knowing that the mother meant the same Upma. That’s the power of communication and naming.  

Your company should follow the same. Your managers should master the art of communicating and naming a goal. You should present the goals in a way that your employees feel a connection with them. That is, bring the human element in naming your goals and communicating them with your teams. Remember! You are not dealing with the baby boomers anymore, but with the tech-savvy millennials, whose thirst for change and innovation can never be quenched.  

Get Rid of Your Old Habits in Naming!  

The workforce, today, wants the management to embrace emotions, vulnerability, and empathy and transform the workplaces. They want to digitize the processes and operations to ensure seamless workflow. They are not ready to just work for pay but expect other benefits like learning, professional growth, feedback, rewards, etc. Do you think they will abide by the formal language rules? The thin line between personal and professional lives is disappearing gradually, especially with COVID-19.  

Here, follow this secret and win the talent market! Keep your language updated with the changing workforce.   

Are you wondering what you’re supposed to do to bring in that change?  

It is just simple.  

Give kickass names to your goals, rewarding process, feedback, one-on-one sessions, etc. Let’s discuss just how to name your Objectives and Key Results (OKR) in this blog. Before that, check out the tips to set OKRs here, if you are a first-time OKR user.

Here is an example of your old way of naming an OKR,  

Continue to build a world-class team.  

KEY RESULTS  

  1. Recruit 10 engineers [0.8].  
  2. Hire commercial sales leader [1.0].
  3. One hundred percent of candidates feel they had a well-organized, professional experience even if Nuna does not extend an offer [0.5].  

It could have been,  

OBJECTIVE  

Let’s bring in more people to join our Dumbledore Army? (If you have watched Harry Potter)  

Or   

Why not bring in more talented guardians to our galaxy?  

KEY RESULTS  

  1. Hire 10 Tony Starks. That would do to run the universe.  
  2. Who can do better than Steve Jobs? Hire him  
  3. 100! Say it! The only number we know. Achieve it by providing dope professional experience to candidates.  

The soulless words create no impact on the inquisitive minds. They appear more like OKRs created by machines, not human beings; whereas, look at the second example. They seem more stimulating. It need not exactly be the way as the example. Understand your team members and learn what interests them more. Create an engaging OKR using their fun language to incentivize them and get things done. Besides, imagine how lively and interactive the goal-setting sessions will be. The employees will also try their best to understand the OKRs and achieve them.  

Here is another high-octane name for your Sales OKR,  

Objective   

Who is the Hermes in here? We are! And we will touch 35% in sales by Q4.  

Key Results  

  1. How about having 10 more Mae like in The Circle by Q2  
  2. Man, prove you can generate monthly 12,000 active prospects in the sales funnel  
  3. Pull it off like Chris Gardner in Pursuit of Happiness and convert 30 leads every day.   

You can also have a theme in setting OKRs. There is only one rule. Make it engaging and intriguing.   

Objective  

One is always Ours. Claim our rightful throne by 2020. The best Goal management Product.  

Key Results  

  1. Increase your MQL soldiers to 2000 per month  
  2. The treasure (revenue) should increase at a CAGR of 42% after every battle (quarter).  
  3. Our victory should roar like a lion, and so increase market reach by 35%  
     

If you name OKRs with words only you know about, no one is going to laugh with you, and it will become an awkward session. So, have those small talks with your team members and learn their preferences. Then, go ahead with the naming part. It is not a great business strategy, but a small task that has the ability to create an impact on the team members. Bring the entertaining factors, which also motivate and encourage your team members to perform well, into your processes. Do not be overwhelmed by unwritten rules that are disguised as professional ethics. Do what is right for your company and what makes your company thrive.  

For your company to achieve greater heights, you need to think of trailblazing ways to keep your employees engaged. Besides, take their inputs to plan a strategy.   

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