How to introduce OKRs?
If you are reading this probably means that you know one or two things about OKRs. Despite this assumption, I’m going to outline the concept of OKR. It stands for Objectives and Key Results, and it is a popular goal management framework that helps companies implement and execute strategies.
An Objective (The “What”) is the description of what you would like to achieve in the future. It is your big goal, the main thing you want to accomplish.
A Key Result (The “How”) is a measurable outcome required to achieve the Objective. It contains the metrics with a start and target value, the benchmarks you will track on the path to hit your principal objectives, more expressed as a percentage. Typically, there are between 3 to 5 per goal Key Results for Objective.
Start working with this framework is not a simple task and I would recommend these other two articles:
I genuinely like this analysis from a sports coach (I couldn’t find his name):
With OKRs, you can write any Objective you want and any key results. The key is not to sandbag and not to be unrealistic. If it’s truly unachievable, you absolutely are going to set yourself up for failure. But still, make it a stretch. If a poorly performing football team sets a goal to win the World Cup and that’s not realistic, it’s still possible to set a goal that is aggressive and a stretch, like winning a regional championship.
The above words are very important, and we should keep them in our mind when introducing OKRs in a company. Remember that the key is to set a truly achievable goal.
There are many approaches and steps for rolling out OKRs. Two of the most popular ones are:
Apply the framework across the entire organization in a time period of one to three months. This would require experienced enterprise agile coaches with experience doing this job to smooth the transition challenges involved at all levels of the company.
Another beneficial approach is to execute a gradual roll-out, choosing to pilot the OKR methodology within a single team or vertical business line before implementing it across the full organization.
In both cases, the key to moving anything forward in the work environment is a commitment from the leadership team. The first team to pilot OKRs before they’re implemented across the organization should be the leadership team. Leaders must publicly commit to their objectives and stay steadfast. High-level OKRs among the c-executives unit allow the organization’s decision-makers to build a foundation of understanding OKRs prior to asking other teams to do the same with setting goals.
You can begin building and setting OKRs from your particular vertical, department, or team. In introducing and eventually piloting OKRs within a team, it is important to:
Present the framework clearly and comprehensively, and share success stories of other companies that use OKRs. Express not only the benefits of a company-wide OKR framework, but also include how it will specifically meet the unique needs, demands, and challenges of your team.
Develop a maximum of 5-7 objectives with 3-5 key results. In the book “Measure What Matters”, John Doerr wrote: “We must realize, and act on the realization, that if we try to focus on everything, we focus on nothing.”
With the structure, demands, and challenges of your organization in mind ask yourself the following questions:
Will OKRs be reviewed on a quarterly or annual basis?
When adopting OKRs, will there be three layers: enterprise, squad, and individual teams, or just one organization-wide layer that everyone is expected to follow?
A key factor is to decide how OKRs will be cascaded throughout the squads and individual teams. As there are many approaches to goal management, it is important to plan ahead and think critically about the implementation plan for the framework. One of the ways to approach this is:
Define at the c-level of the company, around 2-3 “Objectives, and Key Results” essentials for the vision and roadmap of the organization.
Share them with the rest of the company and explain why they are important.
Give a voice to everybody in the organization and allow them to propose Key Results that directly affect their job and move them towards reaching the Objective proposed at the c-level.
Be open and give the opportunity to the squads and individual teams to set up their own “Objectives and Key Results“.
Assign a number to each Key Result, for example, 10 points each. Depending on the analysis, the value can be a mix of 5, 10, or 20 points.
Consider mandatory the Objectives defined at the c-level and optional the other ones. Remember to give the teams the opportunity to include their own feedback, and “Objectives and Key Results”, in the final approved list of items they are going to work on. Choose Key Results until the total value is 100.
For the first 6 months rolling the OKRs for the first time, let the team choose between 40-60 points and, if possible, select Key Results from the mandatory Objectives.
After these 6 months, analyze how the team is doing. What was done? What were the challenges that the team face? What were the forces that help the team towards reaching the results? What were the forces stopping the team from reaching the results?
The teams choose the Key Results they will focus on for the next 4-6 months. This time the teams choose Key Results for a value of up to 70-80 points. Ideally covered the ones related to the mandatory objectives.
At the end of the year, do again an analysis of the job done. The teams should have done between 70-80 points, and successfully reach the Results to fulfill the mandatory Objectives defined at the c-level. Please note that we do not need to address all the Key Results this time. The reason is that you want the teams to get familiar with the concept and give them flexibility.
During the second year of rolling OKRs, analyze what went well and what needs to be improved, and remember that prioritization and simplicity are at the core of the Objectives and Key Results framework. Although it can be a rigorous prioritization process in the face of many goals and challenges needed to be met, the OKR process will help leaders better direct focus and resources to sweet spots with the greatest potential for impact on company goals.
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