The OKR methodology is a simple and effective framework for target and result management. It creates common understanding, interaction, and a clear focus on the most important tasks to achieve the company's overall goals.
Objectives & Key Results (OKRs) is a powerful and highly effective method for goal and business management that helps companies prioritize the most important tasks to achieve their goals.
OKR stands for "Objectives and Key Results". In Norwegian, it is called "hovedmål og delmål" (main objective and partial objective).
OKRs are an effective and widely used method for converting the company's strategy, vision, mission, and values into clear objectives. All company activities are linked to the achievement of these goals.
In this way, OKRs help companies set goals, stay focused, and make it easier to prioritize activities that move the company forward, both in the short and long term.
OKRs are a unique method to get the company to focus on value-creating activities. Without careful attention, it is easy to lose focus. Inquiries must be answered, deadlines are approaching, and distractions keep piling up.
With OKRs, the company's main long-term goals are clarified. These are broken down into short-term sub-goals and value-creating activities.
This gives employees a greater degree of ownership of the main goals. The awareness contributes to a better company culture, increased performance, and a higher degree of independence and responsibility.
Through a proven focus on the most important tasks, employees avoid being controlled by their surroundings and "issues that keep coming up." Futureworks ensures ownership of what matters most, and through clear focus the organization achieves increased progress, better leadership, and improved business management.
Objectives are the major overarching goals that define:
It is recommended to set 3–5 Objectives for each area.
Objectives should be:
Objectives set the course for the company. Together with strategy, vision, mission, and values, clear goals are one of the most important tools to ensure good leadership and the right progress.
Key Results define how the company will achieve the main goals, the most important results that must occur. Each Objective should consist of 3–5 Key Results. These should be stretch goals: difficult to achieve by nature, but still possible.
Key Results must specify which activities produce the best results.
Objectives and Key Results should normally be set for the whole year and the coming quarter, or for a project period divided into appropriate time periods.
It is recommended to have no more than 3–5 Objectives for the year and 3–5 Objectives for the next quarter within each area.
Each Objective should normally have 3–5 Key Results, which, if fulfilled, will ensure that each Objective is reached.
Note: Objectives for the year do not necessarily need Key Results. They are indicative of which Objectives should be set each quarter, providing a strategic direction for what the organization should focus on.
It is recommended to follow up on all OKRs every single week. The owner of each Objective should give a short status report on a scale of 1–10 (confidence score) on how confident they are that the Objective will be met on time.
Futureworks also includes a Risk Analysis for each Objective that provides an assessment of probability and consistency, a valuable management tool.
Every quarter, companies and departments should revise the year's OKRs, report on the last quarter's results, and set the next quarter's OKRs for the company and each department.
To make this simple and effective, Futureworks provides a built-in template and agenda for weekly, monthly, and quarterly OKR meetings.