The Advantages of the OKR framework in the Current Business Scenario

It is undeniable that the Covid-19 crisis has had a significant impact on businesses in every industry not only in the way they interact with customers, but also in the way their employees work. These huge shifts have impacted all organizations in different ways. However, they also all have something in common and this is an increased need for agility and resilience. These are the two keys organizations in every industry need to navigate their current business scenario. To support agility and increase employee resilience, the OKR framework is a goal setting tool that can support organizations achieve performance goals – even when undergoing immense transformation.

How can your business use the OKR framework to adapt in a crisis?

To truly understand how you can use the OKR framework to your advantage during the current business scenario you must first understand exactly what the term means.

The term OKR stands for objectives and key results. This approach to goal setting was created by Andy Grove and grew in popularity when he and John Doerr used it at successful companies like Intel and Google. By definition, it is a goal setting and performance management framework that organizations use to, track, achieve and set ambitious goals.

Utilize the OKR process to reassess current goals

It is probably safe to say that at some point during the current global crisis that your business, services, products, customers and or revenue have been impacted in some sort of way in. Whether you have had an increase in demand or are facing new business challenges, now is a great time to use the OKR process to reassess your current goals to see if they still align with your business needs.

This will prevent you from wasting time on reaching objectives and achieving goals that simply don’t make sense anymore. Taking the time needed to ensure alignment will also help your employees feel more confident and maintain focus in a time that often feels a bit chaotic.

Now is the time to identify new priorities

Implementing the OKR framework will also give your organization an opportunity and structured way to identify new priorities that will help you adapt to the changing economic landscape. Identifying new objectives and specific measurable key results will help your organization map out what business looks like today. It will also help you provide clear goals and expectations that will help promote teamwork and help your organization work together even if that means working together separately.

The current situation presents an opportunity to refocus on strategy and alignment

Reassessing your goals and identifying priorities is a great way to help steer your organization towards success during these uncertain and continuously changing times. Clearing away old goals and initiatives to make way for better fitting ones also gives you an opportunity to use OKRs to create alignment. When you set new objectives at an organizational level it makes it easier for different departments, teams and individuals to set OKR’s for themselves that support them. This alignment will help strengthen your company’s ability to quickly adapt and excel in the face of change.

Strategic alignment of goals is even more important for organizations who have employees working remotely. This help will your distributed teams stay on the same page and work to achieve the organizations larger initiatives.

Conclusion

If you are looking for ways your organization can become a more resilient and agile business the OKR framework may be the tool you are looking for. This framework provides a unique set of benefits that will help your organization quickly adapt to the rapid changes caused by the global pandemic.

Utilizing an OKR tool and framework can help you clear out ineffective goals that no longer suit your business as well as identify new specific business objectives. The frameworks structure can also help your companies many parts and individuals align their efforts in reaching new goals.

Unlock:OKR is a robust tool that helps organizations harness the power of employee performance with goal alignment, focus, clarity and accountability. Join our First Class program to know more and get the Unlock advantage.