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- Effective project managers have evolved
from simply managing workforces and timelines
to aligning projects, people, and resources
with successful outcomes.
As a project manager,
you've got a lot of moving pieces to manage
while simultaneously looking forward to future projects.
You may have wondered how big-name organizations
like Alphabet, Amazon, and Samsung
can effectively sustain their growth over time.
The answer is OKRs.
But before I get ahead of myself,
let's start with the basics.
What does OKR stand for?
OKR is an acronym
that stands for Objectives and Key Results.
OKRs align employees with company goals
using measurable outcomes.
This framework differs from other goal-setting techniques
by pushing individuals out of their comfort zone
to achieve success beyond what they thought was possible.
With OKRs, each objective is supported
by a set of key results.
Key results are the outcomes you need to achieve
to accomplish your objective.
Each key result will point to projects and tasks
or initiatives that can help you maximize your key results
and get closer to reaching your objective.
Knowing where you want to go is no use
unless you also know how to get there.
OKRs align your projects and strategies with company goals
so your team has a clear roadmap towards success.
The OKRs you set to build of your company culture
and provide employees with meaningful tasks
can give purpose to even menial, everyday activities.
To understand how establishing an OKR framework
can help you reach your goals,
you first have to understand the difference
between objectives and key results.
Objectives are the main goals of an organization.
These are the big ones,
the long term goals that require continuous engagement
and tenacity over several months to see positive results.
Imagine your objective as the capstone of the OKR pyramid,
and the brick supporting it are your key results.
Key results are the outcomes
that measure your progress toward the objective.
Tracking your key results helps your team meet lofty goals
incrementally over time.
To get to the top of the pyramid,
you must first achieve your key results.
At first glance, OKR seems similar to their cousins,
KPIs or Key Performance Indicators.
The main difference between an OKR and a KPI
is that Key Performance Indicators give a snapshot
of how your business is currently operating
towards your goals.
Objectives and key results are defined more broadly
and focus on an organization's future.
Let's talk about some of the reasons why you might use OKRs.
Setting company-wide objectives and key results
not only helps teams maintain focus throughout the year,
it also unifies organizations
so they can accomplish more together
on the way to their common goal.
Businesses that clarify organizational goals
and set specific, measurable OKRs can achieve more
than companies that use other goal-setting methods.
Here are just a few benefits
that come with setting organizational OKRs.
When managers and employees use OKRs
to align teams in a common direction across departments,
everyone in the organization is poised to build momentum
towards reaching aggressive goals.
Communicating goal with objectives and key results
make sure everyone knows their expectation
and gives them a roadmap to achieve milestones
on the way to more significant organizational objectives.
Deploying a goal management system like OKRs
can cause a shift from output
to outcome-focused evaluation.
Instead of simply measuring sales or revenue,
OKRs help organization-based success
on increased performance and positive business outcomes.
The OKR method creates the laser beam of focus
that cuts through the noise,
so employees and team leaders can prioritize work
directly linked to your objectives.
When employees have a purpose, they thrive,
and it's easier for employees to connect to their projects
with big picture objectives.
OKRs boost team productivity and happiness
and allow employees to see themselves
as an integral part of your organization.
Now, you know what OKRs
and how they can benefit your organization,
but how do you write good OKRs you can actually measure?
Use this simple formula as a template
to create OKRs for any application.
Setting OKRs follows a strategic and straightforward method
that involves asking yourself a few questions
about your company goals.
These three questions can help you discover
what your objective is
and which key results to work toward on the way.
The answer to this question is your objective.
Maybe you want to increase revenue since last quarter,
improve the customer experience,
or become an innovator in your sector.
Don't be afraid to dream big here.
Your objectives should be lofty enough to inspire drive
without being so out of reach
no one else can see your vision.
The answer to this question
will reveal what your key results are.
If the objective is your destination,
then the key results are the signposts
that tell you how much further you have to go
before you arrive at your objective.
For example,
suppose your goal is to beat last quarter's earnings.
In that case, your key results might include
decreasing your sales cycle,
increasing sales to existing customers by 20%,
or generating $500,000 in a new region.
The answer to this question
will tell you what your initiatives should be
to achieve your key results,
and over time, realize your primary objectives.
Initiatives are the projects, tasks,
and other work you should prioritize
to bring your results to life.
If one of your key results
is to upsell more existing customers,
then your initiatives might include segmentation
for triggered marketing emails
or implementing a rewards program.
Your initiatives should be thick, measurable,
and attainable stepping stones
that lead to your key results,
and ultimately, your objectives.
Project managers know planning is essential to success,
and that applies to OKRs too.
OKRs should be fully understood by your team
and have a metric that can be measured.
Looking out for these common OKR pitfalls
can help make sure you set solid OKRs.
Your objectives are either too challenging
or not challenging enough.
A reasonable OKR success rate is about 70%.
Shooting for below 90% makes sure that your goals
stretch your team's abilities
without disempowering them or being unrealistic.
You set too many OKRs.
Too many objectives or key results can dilute productivity
and spread people and resources thin.
Aim to develop one to three main objectives per quarter
with three to five key results for each objective
so your employees can stay focused
on organizational directives.
Your key results are hard to measure.
Choose key results that have a numeric
or quantitative value,
so it's easy to tell
if your team's on the right track or not.
You don't communicate regularly about OKRs.
Avoid setting OKRs that aren't impactful enough
to be revisited weekly.
Teams should take time to discuss
where they stand with their OKRs
and work together to discover their next steps.
OKRs are a perfect fit for TeamGantt
because every project detail is measurable.
Our free OKR template that's linked in the description below
is formatted with objectives listed as task groups,
and each key result recorded as a task
below its related objective.
All you have to do is update the task names
and delete any extra items you don't need.
You can use the template as a simple scorecard
for your progress towards each goal.
Update your OKRs at the end of the quarter
or any point along the way,
and leave comments about goals you've achieved
and marks you've missed.
Progress is scored based on the duration of the tasks
in the Gantt chart,
as well as the number of tasks in the group or project.
You can view the progress
of each key result under an objective
to check in on team OKRs.
In TeamGantt, you can export a PDF of your Gantt chart
to share in an OKR review meeting
or share a view-only link to the project
so that others can track progress along the way.
This makes it easy to report OKR status to bosses,
clients, and other key stakeholders.
Online project management software like TeamGantt
not only gives you more visibility into active projects,
it can also help you keep track of outcomes
and align people and resources with big picture goals.
Hit the link in the description
to discover even more TeamGantt features
and see just how easy it is to plan and track OKRs
so you can take your organization to the next level.
That's it for this video on OKRs.
I hope you found it helpful,
and I'd love it if you could return the favor, if you did,
by hitting the like button.
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Thanks for watching.
I'll see you next time.
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