When using the OKR framework in Perform & Engage 365, users have the capability to create and manage objectives and KPIs using the Objectives and Key Results (OKR) framework.
An OKR comprises:
- An objective: A clearly defined outcome (typically strategic or high level)
- Key results (between 3-5): Specific measures which define success for the objective
OKRs differ significantly from Goals. Goals have several limitations and a weakly-defined structure. OKRs should be:
- Stretch targets (the target should be difficult but not impossible to attain)
- Shared and made public across the organisation
- Not cascaded (although OKRs can be aligned, they should be set bottom up to influence high level OKRs)
Perform & Engage 365 supports these principles in the following ways:
- RAG status for an OKR is measured to 65% (when someone hits 100% of their OKRs, typically they have been too easy to achieve)
- OKRs are visible to all employees in the organisation (from individual through to organisational level)
- You can only align an OKR to another OKR (you cannot align directly to a key result)
OKR Structure
The Objective in an OKR consists of a free text description and a start/end date. Beneath this Objective, you can add several Key Results.
Key Results should be specific and measurable and represent the overall success of the Objective. When creating a Key Result, you must specify:
- A description
- Unit (binary, %, financial, numeric)
- Baseline (start value)
- Target (end value)
- Start date
- End date
Within Perform & Engage 365, OKRs can be created at different organisational levels including at company, department, team or individual levels. It is also possible to align OKRs by selecting alignment when creating and editing an OKR.
Example OKR
First of all, we need an Objective. An example might be “Create an Awesome Customer Experience.” This sounds great, but how would you know if the experience is awesome? Remember, without measurement you don’t have a goal.
That is why we need Key Results. How can we measure if we are providing an awesome customer experience? Net Promoter Score and Repurchase Rate would be two good options. Do our customers feel so good about dealing with us that they would recommend us and buy again?
But measuring NPS and repeat purchases alone can send the wrong message. It might encourage us to make the customer happy at any cost. Therefore, we can include a countermeasure such as Customer Acquisition Cost. We want to make our customers happy while keeping the costs under control.
The complete example would be:
Objective:
Create an Awesome Customer Experience
Key Results:
- Improve Net Promoter Score from X to Y.
- Increase Repurchase Rate from X to Y.
- Maintain Customer Acquisition cost under Y.
You can find out more about using OKRs in Perform & Engage 365 here.