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Ready to wrap up 2023 with a bang? We've got some insider tips on nailing those OKRs!
Meet our OKR Champions – the folks who've made it to our Hall of Fame by acing OKRs in their organizations. This framework was built to fit the fast-paced and ever-changing business vibe of today by getting teams on the same page with strategic priorities and picking the right metrics to show off business progress. The trick to rocking OKRs is in how you roll them out. We chatted with some top-notch practitioners who've nailed the implementation in their orgs, and they're here to spill the beans on their experiences and best practices. Here are the experts starring the 5th Edition of the Champion’s Hall of Fame (in alphabetical order):
Let's hear what our Champions have to say!
Business Head - Jewellery International, Titan Company Ltd.
OKRs is a framework where both our requirements are getting met. It is an Agile way as well as a method that will take care of the changing dynamics of international business. That’s why we got on board and the entire leadership team at International was really excited about taking this. Initially there was a little bit of hesitation purely because it was new – this was a concept as simple as if you want to try out a new brand of sneakers, you'll have apprehensions. But you’ll love it when you use it.
As IBD as a whole took on OKRs, we found that each sub-unit within IBD had its own set of unique challenges. Therefore, to define anything at the IBD overall level did not make sense, hence we chose to go one level deeper. For example, we have set up something for our North America unit, Gulf unit, or the South East Asia unit. And some of the support functions are contributing specifically to these markets, and those contributions could easily sit in these geography-led teams.
The other practice is really limiting the number of Key Results that you are taking because otherwise there is a tendency of taking too much, to satisfy everybody in the team. Normally with a team, you take up goals so that everybody has something to do. But OKRs are not about that. It's not about satisfying every individual. It is about really choosing what are the top priorities as a team, rather than individual KRAs.
CHRO at Bobble AI
We love the OKR Platform, which provides a clear understanding of business goals in an objective manner that helps us cut down the noise and focus on what’s important for the organization. We are easily able to track progress, identify and de-risk elements, and focus on stretch goals with clear visible pathways laid down for all teams to meet the organization’s objectives and goals.
It's a continuous, dynamic, and evolving mechanism keeping the adrenaline kicking!
We started with clear definitions of objectives top-down. This helped build transparency, focus, clarity, and visibility of where we want to go as an organization with well-defined and qualified goals. We invested a lot of time defining organization-level and department-level OKR definitions that helped build an OKR momentum across the entire organization.
OKRs now demanded teams to have a higher sense of collaboration, clarity, and precise objectivity in aligning department/team goals to organizational goals.
Some of the key activities that helped us were having champions, cross-functional team cadence, sharing of best practices, etc. to enable teams to learn and evolve. We also follow a four-step process of mining, shining, polishing, and publishing with established guidelines.
We have also incorporated OKR as part of our new employee induction program.
Chief of Staff at Hotelogix
We appreciate how OKRs bring simplicity to our goal-setting process, fostering focus and clarity within our teams. By aligning our objectives with organizational goals, we've successfully prioritized our efforts without any dispersion.
In implementing OKRs at Hotelogix, we've incorporated key practices:
A) Ensuring alignment with both long-term and short-term organizational goals, ensuring that team efforts contribute effectively to the company's overarching objectives.
B) Implementing regular check-ins and progress tracking, enabling adjustments and course corrections as needed, and emphasizing realistic and achievable targets.
C) Prioritizing transparency by making OKRs visible to all departments. This practice has not only fostered a culture of transparency but has also played a crucial role in creating a shared sense of purpose and accountability across the organization.
Senior Product Manager at Dresma
Fitbots has made it very convenient for us to plan our quarterly goals. We are able to effectively prioritize our tasks to achieve the outcomes as a team. By bringing the entire team together on the same platform, we have been able to get into the granularity of each task with the impact they would make on the overall goal. With a single dashboard, the entire organization is apprised of the progress the organization is making. Our Fitbots coach has been a great help and support system. She has guided us through the entire process and helped us adopt the process seamlessly. Highly recommended for Organization Success!
Deputy General Manager, MENA at UrbanPiper
A) Sense of Direction: OKRs give us an overall sense of direction to the team and there is a common objective that gets engrained in teams which is one of the most beautiful and tough aspects to crack for any organization
B) Quality of Input: OKRs have upped our quality of input, which is the real controllable element. With OKRs, we are able to think out of the box and more logically about what is the right input to achieve a desired outcome
C) Measurement/Metrics: OKRs have also helped us measure performance better and also understand what are the right metrics to measure in the first place.
A) Quality of Cadences: Improving the quality of check-ins and reviews by making the agenda always centered around OKRs. This has helped us make sure we move the team towards common objectives, creating a sense of shared ownership and a lucid sense of direction
B) OKR understanding: Right post the planning is concluded, we ensure every individual in the function gets to know what OKRs we have signed up for, the why, and the how. From Day 1 of OKR execution, then every member of the team is working towards achieving the OKRs
C) OKR planning Maturity: Over the last few quarters, we've matured ourselves consciously on planning and writing of OKRs. We are taking up non-BAU KRs to build for the long term as well and this is also helping us think more strategically about our function
Senior Product Manager at Ideas2IT Technologies
I love OKRs, as I see it as an effective platform for leadership teams to communicate what they want to accomplish and what milestones you'll need to meet in order to accomplish ambitious goals. The beauty of the OKR is 'align and connect' where every layer in the organization knows its top-level priorities with its ultimate purpose. In fact, every individual feels a sense of accomplishment when the organizational objectives are met.
A) Communicate the organizational wins horizontally and vertically so that every individual feels proud of their contribution.
B) Begin with a small number of clearly defined objectives and ensure they are met within a reasonable timeframe.
C) Encourage employees to participate in setting their own OKR so that they work on projects that interest them and grow professionally.
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