What is OKR

OKR stands for Objectives and Key Results, goal-setting framework organizations use to define and track their objectives and outcomes. The framework involves setting ambitious, measurable objectives and identifying key results that help measure progress toward achieving those objectives.

The benefits of OKRs include increased alignment, focus, and accountability throughout an organization. OKRs provide a clear direction for all team members to follow, enabling them to prioritize tasks and work towards a common goal.

Writing effective OKRs is indeed a critical initial step toward achieving success. However, many teams face challenges in identifying the right OKRs that align with organizational or departmental goals. A straightforward way to begin this process is by exploring examples of well-crafted OKRs. By studying such OKR examples, teams can gain valuable insights and inspiration to create their own impactful OKRs.

Few tips to get started 

1. OKRs are typically set and reviewed every quarter, although some organizations may set them monthly or annually.
2. The Objectives in an OKR should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. This helps ensure that they are challenging but achievable.
3. The Key Results in an OKR should be quantifiable and trackable, allowing progress toward the objective to be easily measured.
4. OKRs are a transparent process, which allows team members to see each other’s goals and progress. This can foster collaboration and support within the organization.

How To create a System to Track OKRs

Tracking OKRs is a critical step in ensuring that progress is being made toward achieving the desired outcomes. 

Set clear and measurable objectives

The first step in tracking your OKRs is to ensure that your objectives are clear, specific, and measurable. Each objective should have one or more key results that define how progress toward the objective will be measured. Without clear and measurable objectives, it will be difficult to track progress and determine whether you are on track to achieve your desired outcomes.

Use OKR software or goal-setting software

There are several OKR software or goal-setting software tools available that can help you track your OKRs. Some popular examples include:

• Datalligence: A popular OKR software that helps teams set and track their goals. It allows you to set up cascading OKRs, which means that you can align your team’s objectives with those of the organization. Datalligence provides a range of features that can help you track your OKRs, including progress tracking, automated reminders, and reports.

Try Datalligence, the Best OKR software for your teams.

Review progress regularly

Once you have set your objectives and started tracking your progress, it is important to review your progress regularly. This will help you identify any areas where you are falling behind and make adjustments to your strategy as needed. Ideally, you should review your progress at least once a month, but it can be more frequent depending on the nature of your objectives.

Make adjustments as needed

Finally, if you find that you are not making progress toward your objectives, it may be necessary to make adjustments to your strategy. This could involve changing your key results, adjusting your timelines, or revising your objectives altogether. 

Regular reviews will help you identify any areas where adjustments are needed.

What Does a Bad OKR Look Like?

A bad OKR (Objectives and Key Results) is poorly defined, overly ambitious, or unrealistic, and lacks clarity or alignment with the organization’s mission and goals. Here are some examples of bad OKRs:

👎 Here are some examples of what a bad OKR might look like:

1️⃣ Objective: Increase website traffic

• Key Result: Send out 100 marketing emails every day

This OKR is poorly designed because it focuses on a specific activity rather than a measurable outcome. Sending out marketing emails is a tactic that may or may not result in increased website traffic. A better key result would be to set a specific target for website traffic growth, such as “Increase website traffic by 20% by the end of the quarter.”

2️⃣ Objective: Improve customer satisfaction

• Key Result: Respond to all customer complaints within 24 hours

While responding to customer complaints promptly is important, it may not directly improve customer satisfaction. A better key result would be to measure customer satisfaction through surveys or ratings and set a target for improvement, such as “Increase customer satisfaction ratings from 3.5 to 4.0 on a 5-point scale by the end of the quarter.”

3️⃣ Objective: Launch a new product

• Key Result: Hire 5 new engineers

While hiring new engineers may be necessary to launch a new product, it is not a specific outcome that can be easily measured. A better key result would be to set a target for the product launch, such as “Launch the new product by the end of the quarter with at least 100 beta users.

🎯 It’s important to take the time to set effective OKRs to ensure that the team is working towards a common goal and making progress in the right direction.

How to draft useful Objectives and Key Results (OKRs)

Start with the “Objective”

The objective is a qualitative statement that defines what you want to achieve. It should be concise and clear and should describe the desired outcome. The objective should be aligned with the company’s mission and vision. 

Examples of good objectives are

• Increase customer satisfaction
• Improve product quality
• Expand market share

Define “Key Results”

Key results are specific, measurable, and time-bound targets that indicate progress toward achieving the objective. They should be achievable and aligned with the objective. 

Key results should answer the question, “How will we know if we’ve achieved the objective?”

Examples of good key results are:

• Increase customer satisfaction score from 80 to 90
• Reduce product defects by 50%
• Increase market share by 10%

Ensure “Measurability”

It’s important to ensure that your key results are measurable. This means that you should be able to track progress and measure success. Make sure that your key results are quantifiable and have clear metrics. Examples of measurable key results are:

• Increase customer satisfaction score from 80 to 90 through surveys
• Reduce product defects by 50% through quality control measures
• Increase market share by 10% by tracking sales data

Focus on “Achievability”

Your key results should be achievable. This means that they should be challenging but not impossible. Make sure that you have the necessary resources and capabilities to achieve your key results. 

Examples of achievable key results are:

• Increase customer satisfaction score from 80 to 90 by improving customer service
• Reduce product defects by 50% by implementing a new quality control process
• Increase market share by 10% by launching a new marketing campaign

Keep “Relevance”

Your key results should be relevant to the objective. This means that they should be directly linked to the desired outcome. Make sure that your key results are aligned with the objective and contribute to achieving it. 

Examples of relevant key results are:

• Increase customer satisfaction score from 80 to 90 to improve customer loyalty and retention
• Reduce product defects by 50% to improve product quality and customer satisfaction
• Increase market share by 10% to increase revenue and profitability

Objective and Key Result Examples

HR OKR Examples

Objective 1: Improve Employee Retention

• KR 1: Reduce employee turnover rate by 20% in the next quarter by conducting employee engagement surveys and addressing the concerns of the employees.
• KR 2: Increase employee satisfaction score by 15% in the next quarter by introducing employee recognition and reward programs.

Objective 2: Enhance the Recruitment Process

• KR 1: Decrease time-to-hire by 30% in the next quarter by leveraging new recruitment technologies and optimizing the recruitment process.
• KR 2: Increase diversity in hiring by 25% in the next quarter by implementing unconscious bias training, expanding the candidate pool, and partnering with diversity-focused organizations.

Objective 3: Develop Employee Skills and Knowledge

• KR 1: Increase employee training participation by 20% in the next quarter by developing new training programs and promoting the value of continuous learning.
• KR 2: Improve employee performance by 10% in the next quarter by implementing performance management systems, providing timely feedback, and creating career development plans.

To learn more about HR OKRs, Visit our blog 10 Best HR OKR Examples, and gain more insights.

Marketing OKR Examples:

Objective 1: Increase brand awareness

• KR 1: Achieve 1 million impressions on social media platforms by the end of the quarter.
• KR 2: Increase website traffic by 20% within the first month of the quarter through targeted ad campaigns.

Objective 2: Generate more leads

• KR 1: Increase lead generation by 30% within the first quarter through email marketing campaigns.
• KR 2: Achieve a 15% increase in the conversion rate of website visitors to leads by the end of the quarter through website optimization.

Objective 3: Improve customer engagement

• KR 1: Increase social media engagement by 25% within the first quarter through interactive content creation.
• KR 2: Achieve a 10% increase in customer satisfaction score by the end of the quarter through better customer support services.

To learn more about Marketing OKRs, Visit our blog 10 Best OKR Examples for Digital Marketing, and gain more insights.

IT OKR Examples

Objective 1: Improve system uptime

• KR 1: Increase uptime to 99.9% over the next quarter
• KR 2: Reduce mean time to repair (MTTR) by 50% in the event of a system failure over the next quarter.

Objective 2: Increase efficiency of IT operations

• KR 1: Reduce the time required to provision a new server by 25% over the next quarter
• KR 2: Automate at least 50% of routine IT tasks over the next quarter, resulting in a 10% reduction in labor hours

Objective 3: Enhance cybersecurity

• KR 1: Conduct a thorough security audit and address all identified vulnerabilities within the next month
• KR 2: Implement a comprehensive employee cybersecurity training program and achieve 100% participation within the next quarter.

To learn more about Marketing OKRs, Visit our blog 10 Best OKR Examples for Software Engineers, and gain more insights.

Curious about Customer Success OKRs, Sales, or Finance OKRs? Well, Visit our OKR Example page for all your answers.

Conclusion

In conclusion, writing effective OKRs is all about setting clear objectives, defining specific key results, prioritizing them, and regularly reviewing and refining them. By following these steps and using the examples provided, you can create OKRs that will help your team or organization achieve its goals. Talk to our experts and coaches and gain more insights or try Datalligence for free.

Frequently asked Questions