There are plenty of benefits for businesses who decide to use an OKR. In fact, if you didn’t already know it was good, all you need to do is look at the huge list of businesses that already use them: Adobe, Google and even Netflix have implemented OKRs and their success is pretty great. There’s a good reason that this objective and key results model is being used by many though, and that is because (when used correctly) is can be hugely beneficial to businesses. This article will talk about the benefits of using an OKR.
So what is OKR? OKR is an acronym for ‘objectives and key results’. OKR are dedicated tools for setting, communicating, tracking, and measuring goals and results within businesses
So, it’s no surprise that more businesses are keen to use OKR tracking software when it comes to helping their business, as it can help craft mission and vision, aid in employee engagement and help the business achieve their goals. If you still don’t believe that an OKR will be good for your business, even though some top businesses use them, you should keep on reading to find out what other benefits an OKR can offer you.
Focus
One of the main benefits that an OKR can offer is the focus, this is because when you set OKRs, you are limited in the number of them. There can be more than one objective, but always less than seven. However, it is better to have fewer objectives, but obviously it is your decision at the end of the day. Because you have to limit the number of things to focus on, you have to make choices when you use an OKR.
When you start an OKR cycle, you should first ask yourself what is the most important thing for the next three (six or twelve) months? This is what makes an OKR system a lot better, as it makes you focus on hitting your target. You know when it’s due, you know when you need to get it done, so this can be a huge help in setting a baseline for the assessment and making sure that it is done properly.
Alignment
Once you know exactly what your aim is then this is where the real work begins. When you’ve moved past from the planning side of things (so knowing when it is due, what the end goal is etc), then it is time to get managers and contributors on the same wavelength and make sure they all know what they need to do.
They need to make sure that they tie their day-to-day activities with the organisation’s company-wide vision. The term for this linkage is alignment and this is a huge benefit of an OKR. This benefit cannot be overstated. Research has shown that if a company has highly-aligned employees then there are more than twice as likely to be top performers – so of course, this is something which every business should be aiming for.
Commitment
One of the other benefits of an OKR is something that shouldn’t come as a surprise. Since the company is focused and all the employed are aligned, it makes sense that everyone is then committed to hitting their target. Once targets have been agreed to be achieved, schedules and resources are then the only things that need to be changed to make sure that the target is hit.
The only thing that the team using the OKR needs to ensure they do, is to create very clear signals for how they are doing. This could be through a google sheet, or an OKR tracking software every month. Your employees need to know what they are striving for, and whether or not they are hitting their target. Naturally, there are plenty of other things that you can do to ensure your business is a success though, for example, just check out these everyday basics for business success here!
Do you have any other benefits of using an OKR that we may not have mentioned? Read more productivity-enhancing articles in our ‘productivity’ category.