How to Implement OKRs

Step-by-step guide to setting and tracking OKRs.

Author

Rameel Sheikh
September 05, 2024

How to Implement OKRs

Insight from Frankli

Alright, let’s say your culture and company are good fits, and you've decided to take the plunge.

Let's break down how to implement:

Step 1: Set the Stage

Appoint an OKR Champion. Educate your leadership team on OKRs (no, watching a TED talk doesn't count), and kick things off with a comprehensive review of your company strategy – it's your North Star for this journey.

Step 2: Craft Your OKRs

Start at the top. Work with leadership to nail down 1-3 company-wide objectives that align with your mission. Break these into quarterly goals – because a year in startup time is like a decade in the real world.

From there, let the cascade begin. Departments create OKRs supporting company goals, teams align with departments, and individuals contribute to team goals. 

It's a Russian nesting doll of productivity 🪆

Step 3: Make It Stick

Choose your OKR software wisely – it's the digital home for your goals, not just another app to ignore. Set your cadence: annual for company, quarterly for teams and individuals. Establish weekly check-ins because what gets measured, gets managed.

Step 4: Monitor and Evolve

Track progress like a hawk. Hold quarterly reviews that people don't dread. Gather feedback like it's going out of style. Find out what's working and what's making people want to pull their hair out. Then, refine your process.

The Secret Sauce 👇

  1. Keep it simple: Focus on clear, concise objectives that everyone can understand and rally behind.

  2. Quality over quantity: Two great OKRs beat five mediocre ones any day.

  3. Make them ambitious but achievable: There's a fine line between stretching and snapping.

  4. Align, align, align: Your OKRs should fit together like a well-oiled machine, not a jumble of spare parts.

  5. Transparency is key: Make OKRs visible across the organization to foster accountability and collaboration.

  6. Celebrate progress: Hit a key result? Time for a victory lap (or at least a gif in the Slack channel 🎉).

Implementing OKRs is an iterative process. Expect to refine your approach over time as you learn what works best for your organization. 

Remember, the goal is continuous improvement, not perfection from day one 👍

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