Translated from Português (Brazil) • View original OKR has become one of the main methodologies within companies in all market segments. It has grown and taken its place among the processes and strategies that are adopted to bring more positive results to the business. Despite the increase in its popularity, many people still don't know OKR in depth and don't even know how to apply it in their business. Because of this, we have prepared complete content so that you can clear all your doubts on the subject, check it out!
What is OKR and how did it come to be in the market?
The acronym OKR comes from the English expression: Objectives and Key Result. It refers to the agile objective management methodology. In a simple way, OKR is a set of objectives that are related to each other and that are focused on the market strategy that has been applied by the company. Because of this, it must always be simple and direct, so that employees can understand and work to achieve what they want. This tool became popular in the 90s, however, it is based on a much older model. In the 50s, Peter Drucker (who was considered the father of modern management), created a management method, the so-called Management by Objectives (MBO). This methodology is also based on goals that need to be achieved to obtain the best results, increasing business productivity. It was from this model that Andrew Grove created the management methodology used by Intel and that, years later, received an investment from John Doerr, who was the one who invested in Google at the beginning of its operation and one of the prerequisites for its application was to adopt OKR as a goal management.
What are the characteristics of OKR?
Nowadays there are different methods to measure results, however, OKR is one of the simplest and fastest. See its main features:
Bottom-Up
The definition of OKR arises from the exchange of ideas between employees and the management of a company, and employees are responsible for defining 60% of the business objectives.
Short cycles
The deadlines for achieving objectives and results should be short. Generally, companies prefer to keep them in quarterly periods. However, it is possible that some OKRs may be annual, but they need to be few and considered indispensable for the company's success during the year.
Communication
OKR works as a facilitator of the company's internal communication. It makes it clear what the company's objectives are and aligns the expectations of management and employees with a focus on results.
Limit
OKR cycles, as mentioned earlier, should be short and do not need to contain many objectives to be achieved. It would be ideal to work with 2 to 5 objectives, each of which should have a maximum of 5 key results and a minimum of 2.
Simplicity
OKRs should be written in a simple and short way, so easy to memorize. In addition, they should be prepared according to the company's culture and your way of communicating with Leads.
Strech Goals
Create challenging objectives and goals that have the ability to take your team out of their comfort zone. Use these items to make your employees rethink the way they work and use their creativity to achieve the expected results.
What is the OKR structure?
For an OKR to deliver the expected results, it needs to be structured in the right way, and for this, a method is used. The formula for this can be explained as follows: I will (objective), measured by a set of key results; both concepts can be explained in a very simple way, see:
Objectives
This expression directly means the directions that the company wants to follow. As mentioned earlier, they should be short and inspiring, since one of its roles is to motivate the team. When creating your goals, give preference to verbs, for a better understanding. In addition, it is important to define who is responsible for the goals and what is the deadline for them to be achieved by the company. Another feature of this item is to facilitate communication between the employees of the enterprise.
Key Results
While objectives are more qualitative, key results are quantitative. They can be understood as the metrics used to track the pursuit of the objectives that were previously set. They can also be considered smaller goals that, as they are achieved, bring the company closer to its main objective. Key results also need to be evaluated from time to time to ensure the success of the operation. If you are interested in this tool and want to know more about it, count on Colorkrew and its team of experts. Contact us and ask all your questions today!