Academy

What is OKR

OKR - Objectives and Key Results is a framework that facilitates the design of goals always focusing on success metrics that generate challenges.

Why is OKR being adopted by most companies? The answer is simple, because traditional methods, particularly those based on SMART goals, no longer meet the ability teams must have to create and determine the consistent velocity that is needed.

With OKR, strategic alignment is greater, providing a single vision of where everyone wants to go and making it easier to set priorities with focus.

OKR spread to several companies in Silicon Valley after Intel, through its CEO Andy Grove, designed the methodology. Today, the largest companies in the world, from all segments, use OKR as a basis for generating value to achieve their goals and align strategies.

What is the OKR structure?

We consider a good way to structure OKRs when we think:

I will reach Objective being measured by key result.

The objectives qualify what we want to achieve.

What you want must be inspiring, short, concrete and it must make clear what you want to achieve for anyone.

Key Results are the success metrics that prove your goal will be achieved. Each objective has a minimum of 2 and a maximum of 5 Key Results. Aim to focus on up to 5 Key Results which is enough to prove the objective. More than 5 may not be necessary or may not bring focus to the team.

What are the OKR levels?

OKRs work fundamentally on 3 levels.

Strategic OKRs

They translate the strategic planning and have macro Key Results, or better explained, KRs that make it possible to create team KRs.

OKR Teams

Connected from the bottom up with the Strategic OKRs, they are OKRs that show where we want to go in the determined cycle to achieve the Strategic OKRs.

Individual OKRs

As the name implies, they belong to one person. It's not very common in organizations, but it happens. Some OKRs are owned by a single person who will lead the events and results of that goal.

How does OKR work?

One of the most fascinating features of OKR is the cadence. An important consideration is not to let OKRs have too long cadences so as not to jeopardize the follow-up.

I remember reading an article about Spotify commenting on the pace they put at the beginning when they implemented it. For Strategic OKRs, OKRs were established with 6 months in mind. As for the OKRs of teams, they dimensioned 6 weeks, that is, in 6 months the teams would have 4 distinct cycles of OKRs. Specific and very focused on metrics.

For companies that are starting the process, we usually adopt the rhythm of 12 months and quarterly, that is, Strategic OKRs built for 12 months (translating the Strategic Planning) and quarterly for teams.

In a year, 4 cycles of three months each. This model is initially better accepted for companies that come out of long cycles and already in this format face the challenge of designing OKRs in smaller cycles for teams.

Another important point is to consider a unification of the cycles in the organization, leaving the cadence freer for the teams to establish as the process becomes more mature within the company.

As a general rule, shorter cycles fit very well for companies with a high intensity of change. If this is your case, try to simplify the monitoring and management processes so that the meetings are not so time-consuming since you will have to make OKR changes more intensively.

Evolve when there is maturity in the process

The evolution of the process, normally well observed by the OKR Master (person chosen by the company to centralize the OKR focal point), should only be given when there is maturity in the company's learning process.

One of the first things worth making a change is whether the business areas will be able to adapt different rhythms that are appropriate to the needs of each area. For example, a product area might have a quarterly cadence and the sales area a monthly pace of establishing OKRs.