What are OKRs?

OKRs. They’re like KPIs—but also not! Short for objectives and key results, just what are OKRs, and why are they so important for your company to use and your teams to know?

The short answer: OKRs are statements that give you the big picture about where your business is headed. There are three main advantages to creating and using OKRs as an expression of your business strategy:

• OKRs are fast to create and easy to use.
• OKRs increase focus and commitment to goals.

OKRs’ use by both teams and management help keep goals aligned.

OKRs versus KPIs

Just to be absolutely clear, let’s break down KPIs and OKRs a bit further—to see where they differ, and also where they intersect.

• One of the biggest differences between OKRs and KPIs is their underlying ethos. While OKRs prioritize ambition, KPIs are focused on stability. OKRs push your company toward grand goals, but KPIs are focused on the actionable steps of improving day-to-day performance. Where KPIs are the micro, OKRs are the macro. Where your company’s tactics for getting ahead are expressed as KPIs, its overall strategy is expressed as OKRs.
• Another big difference between OKRs and KPIs is the type of data they evaluate. KPIs typically evaluate only quantitative (numbers-based) data, but OKRs combine qualitative (non-numerical) objectives with quantitative key results.
• The two frameworks also differ in their style of alignment. You can think of OKRs as something of a company’s “mission statement,” focusing the entire enterprise towards a common vision. KPIs, meanwhile, are usually department-specific.

Finally, KPIs can be incorporated into OKRs—for example, as key results, or used to measure granular progress toward OKRs.

Committed vs. aspirational OKRs

There are two main types of OKR that are worth discussing: committed and aspirational. What are the differences between the two, and why does this matter?

• Committed OKRs describe goals that are actually, realistically reached. They are created with the express purpose of being attained, ideally by the next quarter.
• Aspirational OKRs, also called moonshots, are intended to push the team or business forward, perhaps even beyond what’s realistically achievable. Setting a goal intentionally out of reach is a powerful motivator to accomplish the previously unthinkable. And even if unfulfilled in their initially specified timeframe, aspirational OKRs can remain on the “to-do” list until they are indeed achieved.

How to write OKRs

While they reflect large goals, OKRs are simple statements, and this is what makes them so powerful and effective. Because of their big-picture focus, they can be broken down into smaller, more immediately attainable steps and actions. A common template for creating OKRs is in the following example statement:

We will accomplish objective as measured by these key results.

Here’s a few basic guidelines about how to craft the best OKRs to help your business develop a solid strategy:

• First, identify three to five big objectives you want to accomplish.
• Next, determine three to five key results per objective. (These can be KPIs!)
• Be sure to use direct and basic terminology, for maximum understanding and maximum impact.
• Communicate OKRs across teams. OKRs are company-wide initiatives, so it’s essential that everyone is cued into how these reflect your strategy—and what role they’ll play in making these come to life.
• Finally, you can use Plecto dashboards to facilitate your OKR goals. Visualizing essential data on office TV screens is one of the best ways to encourage teamwide motivation and performance, keeping everyone on the same page as they work to achieve goals together.

With that said, we’ve compiled a list of sample OKRs you can use to create goals and track progress in your organization. Whether in sales, marketing, customer service, finance, or product development, OKRs are among the most versatile tools to strategically embolden your teams and create a culture of workplace success.

Sales

Objective: Boost sales revenue

• Key Result 1: Achieve a 20 percent increase in quarterly sales revenue.
• Key Result 2: Close 50 new enterprise-level deals.
• Key Result 3: Increase average deal size by 15 percent.

Objective: Improve sales efficiency

• Key Result 1: Reduce sales cycle time by 10 percent.
• Key Result 2: Increase win rate by 15 percent through improved sales training.
• Key Result 3: Achieve a 90 percent customer retention rate.

Objective: Expand market reach

• Key Result 1: Enter two new geographic markets.
• Key Result 2: Secure 10 new partnerships with key industry players.
• Key Result 3: Increase market share by five percent in existing markets.

Marketing

Objective: Increase brand awareness

• Key Result 1: Achieve a 15 percent increase in website traffic by the end of the quarter.
• Key Result 2: Generate 10,000 new social media followers across all platforms.
• Key Result 3: Secure five mentions in industry-leading publications.

Objective: Improve lead generation

• Key Result 1: Generate 500 marketing-qualified leads (MQLs) through content marketing campaigns.
• Key Result 2: Increase email open rates by 20 percent through targeted email campaigns.
• Key Result 3: Reduce Cost per Acquisition (CPA) by 10 percent through optimized ad spend.

Objective: Enhance customer engagement

• Key Result 1: Increase newsletter subscriptions by 25 percent.
• Key Result 2: Achieve a 30 percent engagement rate on social media posts.
• Key Result 3: Host three successful webinars with an average attendance of 100 participants.

Customer Success

Objective: Increase customer retention

• Key Result 1: Achieve a 95 percent customer retention rate.
• Key Result 2: Reduce churn rate by 10 percent.
• Key Result 3: Implement a customer loyalty program with a 50 percent participation rate.

Objective: Improve customer satisfaction

• Key Result 1: Increase Net Promoter Score (NPS) by 15 points.
• Key Result 2: Achieve a 90 percent satisfaction rate on customer support interactions.
• Key Result 3: Resolve 95 percent of customer issues within 24 hours.

Objective: Enhance customer engagement

• Key Result 1: Increase customer engagement with the product by 20 percent.
• Key Result 2: Conduct 5 customer success webinars with an average attendance of 50 participants.
• Key Result 3: Implement a customer feedback loop with a 30 percent response rate.

Finance

Objective: Optimize financial performance

• Key Result 1: Reduce operational costs by 10 percent.
• Key Result 2: Increase profit margins by five percent.
• Key Result 3: Achieve a 95 percent accuracy rate in financial reporting.

Objective: Improve cash flow management

• Key Result 1: Reduce accounts receivable aging by 20 percent.
• Key Result 2: Increase cash reserves by 15 percent.
• Key Result 3: Implement a new budgeting process with a 90 percent adoption rate.

Objective: Enhance financial compliance

• Key Result 1: Complete 100 percent of required financial audits on time.
• Key Result 2: Achieve a 95 percent compliance rate with regulatory requirements.
• Key Result 3: Implement a new financial reporting system with a 90 percent satisfaction rate from stakeholders.

Product Development

Objective: Launch a new product feature

• Key Result 1: Successfully launch the new feature by the end of the quarter.
• Key Result 2: Achieve a 95 percent satisfaction rate from beta testers.
• Key Result 3: Generate 10,000 active users for the new feature within the first month.

Objective: Improve product quality

• Key Result 1: Reduce the number of reported bugs by 30 percent.
• Key Result 2: Increase user satisfaction scores by 15 percent.
• Key Result 3: Implement five user-requested enhancements.

Objective: Enhance user experience

• Key Result 1: Improve app load time by 20 percent.
• Key Result 2: Achieve a 90 percent completion rate for user onboarding.
• Key Result 3: Conduct 10 user interviews to gather feedback and insights.

Conclusion

Whether you’re trying to increase sales revenue, obtain more deals, win more clients, or streamline your finances, OKRs are a simple yet highly effective roadmap to get you where you need to be. Using OKRs and engaging with them across teams has never been easier: with Plecto, you can display both your quarterly OKRs and the steps necessary to reach them for both your management and all of your teams alike.

Sounds exciting? Let Plecto help launch your moonshot, and sign up here for a free two-week trial today.