How to Get Your Organization on Board for OKRs

The Okr management framework – the very renowned and effective goal-establishing approach that enabled Google to attain the success it has today. Not just Google, but okr tool has been the go-to approach for numerous successful organizations such as Uber, Netflix, and Adobe. Okrs are meant to be straightforward, efficacious, and measurable. Despite that, many leaders often struggle to get their organization onboard for using okrs. 

One of the most common reasons that result in causing this hesitancy in adopting the okr tool is the misconception that establishing objectives and measuring results is burdensome. Well, that is certainly not the case. To be very clear, okrs are not the additional work but rather, they are the work! This is the reason that it is embraced by organizations left, right, and center. It enables you to establish a high-performing culture where teams are highly efficient, productive, and engaging! 

So, how do you get your organization on board with the okr management framework? Let’s find out!

1. Initiate with the why

Rather than diving into the okr process straightaway, initiate by clarifying why okrs is paramount for your organization. If your organization has been experiencing mixed results, the majority of your employees would like to witness extraordinary refinements. The okr software works to bring these extraordinary refinements through objective and key results. Get the message across your organization that okrs will bring alignment, focus, and growth to the organization. Moreover, it works tactically and strategically to push everyone beyond their current limits. 

2. Determine the OKR cadence

Okr cadence refers to the duration of a complete cycle of okr. Generally, the okr cadence is separated as follows:

a. Strategic okrs that are held annually.

b. Tactical okrs that are held quarterly. 

c. Weekly check-ins for measuring the progress on the established okrs

There is no golden rule when it comes to the best duration of okr cadence. It is dependent on the nature of the business and the size of the organization. Organizations that need to react to highly volatile environments are likely to thrive with shorter okr cycles. While the larger organizations operating in relatively stable markets are more suited to more prolonged cadence. 

3. Conduct a presentation based on okr

Conducting an okr presentation is highly recommended when your teams have little or no knowledge about the okr management framework. Ensure that this presentation is well aimed at making them familiar with okrs, answering their doubts, and covering the basics of okrs. Along with this, you can also e-mail this presentation in the form of an e-book to your employees so that they can go back to it anytime they want. Make the e-book designed in a way that can help them learn everything about okrs and also help them in establishing their okrs. 

4. Define your organization’s mission

The mission statement of an organization serves as an assertive tool that enhances the morale, productivity, and engagement of the employees. Hence, it is crucial to specify one that mirrors the core values of your organization and makes it accessible to your employees and teams. It is quite ideal to place your organization’s mission statement at the strategic spots in your workplace. Doing so ensures that your teams remain focused while establishing the okr metrics. 

5. Initiate with a pivot group

Instead of going all guns blazing by implementing okrs throughout your organization from the outset, focus on a pivot group to start with. This enables you to test the viability of this approach and make required tweaks along the way. It also allows the manager and team to get hands-on experience and familiarity with the okr management methodology. Ideally, you should begin with the top-level management team. Once they buy into the notion and benefits of okrs, it shall be easier to get others on board with okrs as well. Alternatively, you can also test the okr software with a particular organizational team, such as the marketing department. Once everyone is satisfied with the positive influence that okrs bring to the business, use this success to scale the enactment. 

6. Have a strategic session 

It is easier to propose the implementation of okr software to employees with specific long-term objectives. This is the reason that having a strategic okr session with the top management is highly crucial. Utilize this session to have a discussion on the annual goals and convert them into okrs. 

To start on the right foot, you need to ensure that every member approves of the okr cadence. It is recommended to initiate the process with a quarterly cycle that has check-ins weekly to review the progress. This provides you with abundant time to adjust should anything goes amiss. After that, your team needs to determine the number of objectives and key results. Experts recommend having a maximum of 5 objectives supported by a maximum of 4 key results. To get things running, select a specific team member who will be responsible for overseeing the team and individual level okrs. 

7. Don’t associate okrs and performance appraisal 

One of the biggest blunders organizations commit is that they end up linking performance appraisal with the outcomes of their okrs. Doing so adds unwarranted stress to your employees and holds them back from givest their best sot at attaining their objectives. In a handful of cases, using okrs as a foundation for a performance review can also backfire. Employees might end up resorting to establishing easier objectives in order to get impressive scores. This will eventually defeat the whole purpose of embracing the okr software in the first place. 

The above-described points will enable you to effectively get your organization on board with okr management framework. Once your team goes through the process described above, they will reflect the same enthusiasm to work with the okr tool. 

So, what are you waiting for? Get your organization on board with okrs by contacting us today!