OKRs in Business Drive Employee Engagement: Know How?

Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) have become one of the most popular goal-setting approaches for organizations today. The beauty of using OKRs lies in the fact that they serve as a simple yet powerful tool for setting and tracking shared goals and achieving measurable results. Every business vertical- be it Sales, Operations, Customer Success, Business Development, and others implement OKRs in business to focus on the priorities, align with other teams to understand the company’s vision, and bring the best possible outcomes.

Setting goals and tracking your overall progress during weekly or quarterly check-ins help the leadership create employee engagement. Rather than analyzing whether 100% of goals are accomplished, review meetings should focus on whether goals are well-communicated, challenges are addressed, and results are also timely updated. This enables every team member to monitor their progress during the OKR process, improve collaboration, and work more efficiently in their roles to sustain a great work-life balance. Let us discuss the four key aspects for implementing a successful OKR process in business:

1. Commit to Priorities

You need to commit and focus on the changing business priorities and set the right OKR cadence, whether monthly, quarterly, or yearly. Commitment begins with the top-level leadership, followed by communicating common goals to managers and different team members. This creates alignment at all levels, enabling employees and leaders to engage during the entire OKR process and successfully track their progress.

Also Read: How are OKRs in Business Better than Traditional Approaches?

2. Track for Accountability

Accountability also starts with the top leadership. The OKR methodology imbibes a culture where everyone can admit their mistakes and learn from them to improve progress. The OKR framework can also help drive accountability by making everyone participate and contribute towards business success. Weekly or monthly check-ins focusing on the high-priority goals can help boost employee engagement and accomplish targets in the given timespan.

3. Set Cross-team OKRs

You need to successfully align OKRs with the company’s vision, goal, and purpose. You may also need to gain buy-ins from other executives or managers who may contribute to implementing your OKRs. So, encourage setting cross-functional team OKRs that build engagement and help unlock strategic advantages on successful goal achievements.

The most effective way to adopt OKRs in business is to start in multiple phases. First, the senior leadership may utilize objectives and key results to set a clear vision and future direction. They must first get comfortable with the OKR methodology to prepare and motivate others to adopt this approach successfully. Based on how organizations want to cascade OKRs, they can onboard more and more participants every quarter and set their goals aligned to the desired results.

Also Read: Using Objectives and Key Results to Attain Organizational Goals

Objectives and key results set for the top-level may showcase the bigger picture. As you funnel down the goals and key results to managers and their team members, OKRs become less task-oriented and more outcomes-aligned. This helps empower the workforce and encourages them to remain aligned, engaged, and focused on achieving more and performing better.

Are you ready to implement an effective goal-setting framework for your business? Unlock:OKR can be a perfect choice! Based on the four unique superpowers- Alignment, Focus, Rhythm, and Agility, Unlock:OKR can help unlock your potential and transform your goal-setting strategy. To know more about the tool, book a free demo today and get started.