When talking about managing a company, one needs to decide upon a goal-setting method that can be used by individuals, teams, or other members of an organization to set measurable objectives. OKR Coach certification program is aimed at developing plans and strategies are pre-determined by the organization and can be followed as well as assessed by anyone. It is an all-encompassing methodology that allows the firm to invest its time and energy on the same issues that are primary to the organization.

OKR Coach certification program – How to identify Objectives?

To put it simply, an objective is nothing but defining what one wants to accomplish. It is important to set objectives right in the beginning and should be well-defined, realistic, action-oriented, and aspirational. Building an organization implies that you have to work with many people. When working in multitudes and handling several projects at a time, it is quite easy to lose sight of milestones that the organization had set out. The objectives help you to set your blinders on and focus only on what’s the most important thing. They further grant you with a license to say ‘NO’ to things that do not align with your company’s objectives. 

How to identify Key Results?

If objectives define ‘WHAT’ needs to be done, key results specify ‘HOW’ it is to be measured.

Compelling KRs do not leave any scope for vagueness. They are concrete and bound by time. They are ambitious as well as realistic. Most importantly, they have to be quantifiable and verifiable. Either you have achieved a KR progress or you have not. There is no scope at all for any ambiguity or doubt. 

Objectives Vs Key Results

Objectives help you visualize your present position vis a vis your destination. They are mid- & short-term, to break the strategy down to a yearly planning and quarterly for specific short term goals. On the other hand, key results provide you with a map of routes to guide you towards your goal. They are going to evolve as you proceed. You can set your overall objectives at the start of the year. You set your planning cycles in motion to achieve these objectives. Each planning cycle will have its own OKR that will help you get closer to your overall objective. Objectives are aspirational and present a broader picture. On the contrary, key results are more realistic and time-driven. However, you should be aware of the fact that key results do not present you with a step-by-step plan to reach your goal. KRs are also achievements on their own. Generally, they are a mix of inputs as well as outputs.

Why do you need OKRs?

OKRs approach provides the organization with four superpowers: 

Focus and work on the priorities

The OKRs equip the companies with appropriate tools and a baseline to measure their progress. Once you define what your objectives are you can stay away from all the other distractions. Team leaders serve as reminding officers to everyone. However, they need to set their own OKRs and commit to them first.

OKRs help you stay on the same page as the others and collaborate with them.

As discussed earlier, OKRs present a bird’s eye view of the company’s vision and work. As  a result, they help you to easily align with the other departments or your colleagues who are working on the same project. In other words, it helps every employee to understand how his/her work contributes to the big picture. Therefore, it creates true alignment and a sense of collaboration. OKRs provide scope for vertical alignment. As OKRs are visible to all, they allow you to counter trouble spots with the help of a cross-functional team. 

OKRs are a way to track accountability

As they are visible and accessible, employees are more driven to work towards their firm’s vision and mission. They promote in-house collaborations as everyone can see what you might be working on. Eventually, a simple OKR system is time-efficient, saves money, and causes less frustration. There are two ways in which you can track and test the accountability of OKRs. You can use something as simple as Google sheets or something complex as an individual tool dedicated to tracking objectives and key results. You can also assign the task of reminding someone to set and grade their OKRs to an “OKR shepherd”.

OKRs motivate you to stretch for amazing

Usually, when determining the goals of a company, people are of the opinion that they can be achieved completely. This is particularly true when deciding on performance bonuses. However, OKRs are much more ruthless. They are based on the visionary realm and are often beyond reality just to make the organization strive for more.