What are the duties of managers in a company using OKRs?

We have followed a dull work culture for so long. Many managers fail to realize the importance of constructive and bidirectional conversations at work. Every time something goes wrong with a project or deadline, the team leaders try to blame individuals.

84% of the US workforce say they feel unnecessary stress when working under untrained managers.

Even when you adopt a new management framework, such as the OKR framework, it’s hard to figure out what practices you should follow to enable your team to perform better. Leaders should take the initiative to understand the perspective of their teams and learn to manage their people better. 

The OKR framework is an excellent way to understand the purpose behind the organizational work and manage people with more effective continuous performance management. Founders and C-level leaders can enable a culture of learning and better execution by following some useful practices routinely.

Responsibilities of managers using the OKR framework

First, you should have an in-depth understanding of the OKR framework. If you’re new to this framework, you should train from the OKR experts. They will help you understand the process of effectively creating and implementing this framework.

Understanding business and team priorities

All your efforts can be futile if you make strategies without proper business analysis. You must know what will move the business forward and discuss the priorities with other leaders and employees.

Engage in regular communication with senior management to understand their priorities and the overall direction of the business. Stay up-to-date on industry trends and changes and consider how they may impact the business and its priorities. Understand the needs of customers and align your strategy around them. Finally, create relevant business-aligned OKRs.

Involving the team in goal-setting

Commands don’t work anymore. Employees need something meaningful to align their work with the business and be a part of the positive business growth. The best way to do this is to gather your team and allow them to align their work with organizational goals.

Help the team to create their KRs that are connected with shared objectives. Encourage open communication and dialogue with your team and ask for their ideas and perspectives on the goals and objectives.

Engaging in continuous performance management

Annual performance evaluations are outdated. They are irrelevant, considering the changes in employee performance throughout the year. Continuous performance management is impactful and helps employees enhance their performance.

The OKR framework works well with the above system. It is not a one-way assessment of individuals. Employees get to talk openly about their performance with their managers. Schedule regular one-on-one meetings, informal feedback, and coaching as needed. Recognize the deserving high-performers throughout the year. The OKR framework supports this ongoing evaluation with regular check-ins.

Conduct routine check-ins

Setting goals and forgetting to review them is like going to a destination without a map. Check-ins help you review the team’s progress and identify any issues limiting their performance.

You must encourage team members to participate in the check-in meeting actively and to share their ideas and perspectives. Ensure you allow the team to set clear action items and note takeaways from the meeting.

Recognizing the potential and high-performance

Employees desire regular feedback and appreciation at work. This not only boosts their morale but also inspires them to perform better.

Use various methods to recognize team members, such as verbal praise, written notes, awards, and rewards. You can use the recognition tools on the OKR software to make the appreciation transparent.

Be sincere and genuine when recognizing team members. You must also encourage team members to recognize each other and show appreciation for their contributions.

Enabling employees to execute OKRs effectively.

The OKR framework is simple, but you must give significant time and experiment to implement it in daily life successfully. A better way to implement this is to train managers to become OKR Champions.

Deciding on the KRs that perfectly align with business-level or team-level objectives requires careful consideration and reflection. Train your team members to set relevant KRs and align their daily actions with them.

Supporting employee growth

People prefer empowering work cultures. Companies that support the well-being and growth of employees report high employee engagement and more productivity. 

You can start by offering challenging objectives that allow employees to stretch their abilities and learn new skills. The OKR framework is great for doing the former. Encourage continuous learning by providing opportunities for new skills and knowledge, such as training and development programs, mentorship programs, and learning resources. 

Train them to review their KRs at the end of each goals-setting cycle and reflect on their performance. Even if they achieve a higher percentage of their KRs, teach them to analyze the quality of their work. Did their contributions fulfill critical team or business-level objectives?

We can help you create a business strategy with the OKR framework and train OKR Champions at your company. Talk to us to get started.

FAQs

1. How much time will it take to learn OKRs?

Learning the concepts of OKRs is not a daunting task. You can read books, watch YouTube and read blogs to understand the concept.

Implementing OKRs in an organization requires careful planning and experience. As a manager, you must be willing to learn and experiment with OKRs.

2. Do my employees need OKR training too?

Companies use OKR software to manage it efficiently. Learning to use the software is easy. 

Employees must be aware of how OKRs affect their work and business for day-to-day activities. They must also set some of their KRs. So, they should be trained in using the OKR framework at work.

Reach out to our OKR experts to learn more about the process.