Actio’s strategic planning It is something essential in any company's culture. However, it's common for this to sound very subjective or ethereal to employees. We know the board wants growth, and that's great. But how? The lack of connection between the two ends often demotivates the team and is intimately linked to the absence of clear, shared objectives and “key results.” This is where OKR comes in.
One way to prevent this dangerous misunderstanding is the implementation of the OKR (Objectives and Key Results) methodology.
The benefits of OKR are diverse and extremely impactful in business management. It is important to know them to understand more effectively how to use OKR to help solve your management problems.
What are the benefits of using OKRs and how to incorporate them?
First and foremost, it's necessary to understand that OKRs should be part of the company's identity, in the form of a culture of communication and sharing of interrelated objectives that can be achieved individually or collectively. This means bringing the company's macro objectives (i.e., its strategy) to employees through clear goals and results. The initiative will enable each professional to understand their scope of work and thus direct their efforts without wasting energy on what is not relevant.
The objective management of OKRs tends to raise the increasing productivity and significantly reduce the much-feared workplace stress. In other words, employees will feel motivated by working towards clear goals and tangible results within a stipulated timeframe (no more than a quarter). By producing more, employee self-esteem increases, and the work environment becomes lighter and more cheerful. In other words, it's an equation where everyone wins.
Implementing OKRs to Achieve Goals
You can have a list of objectives (OKRs), which can be for the company, team, and also individual. Each objective is defined for a quarter. For each objective, you have measurable key results. You should order the KRs (Key Results) by order of difficulty – from easiest to hardest.
For each key result, you have a progress indicator, which can be, for example, a score from 0 to 10 or a percentage scale of 0-100%.
Create a management system to have a motivated team
The first step is to control the performance of each professional on your team, and this should be done using OKRs. To achieve this, it is essential to create a well-defined management system. This way, it will be possible to monitor the demands made, correct frequent errors, and evaluate the results achieved. This is a way to show each member of your team that:
- The tasks are being performed well.
- Errors can be corrected with small changes.
- Everyone's participation is important for the group's synergy.
Thus, everyone will feel part of a system and, consequently, will be able to perceive their value within the organization.
Concluding
To keep the team “engaged,” you can create a matrix representing a 3-month period using OKRs. You divide the month into weeks, and each week that passes, you document what was accomplished with a progress indicator. The manager can send an email, weekly or monthly, informing the team “where they are” in relation to their objective.
What do you think of this technique? Ready to implement? Do you already have a goal for the next 3 months? To help you, read our text and understand if the OKR management methodology can replace BSC.
The motivation it is a consequence of good management work carried out by a leader. Put our tips into practice, strengthen the bonds between you and your collaborators, and achieve excellent results for your organization.
