21.01.

2021 re:Work - Gu de: Set goals w th OKRs

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Guide: Set goals with OKRs

GUIDE: SET GOALS WITH OKRS

Introduction

Studies have shown that committing to a goal can help improve employee performance
(https://www.researchgate.net/publication/11152729_Building_a_practically_useful_theory_of_goa
year_odyssey_American_Psychologist_579_705-717). But more speci cally, research reveals
that setting challenging and speci c goals can further enhance employee engagement in
attaining those goals (http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1348/096317909X468099/full).
Google often uses “Objectives and Key Results” (OKRs) to try to set ambitious goals and track
progress.

OKRs at a glance:

Objectives are ambitious and may feel somewhat uncomfortable

Key results are measurable and should be easy to grade with a number (Google uses a
scale of 0 – 1.0)

OKRs are public so that everyone in the organization can see what others are working on

The “sweet spot” for an OKR grade is 60% – 70%; if someone consistently fully attains their
objectives, their OKRs aren’t ambitious enough and they need to think bigger

Low grades should be viewed as data to help re ne the next OKRs

OKRs are not synonymous with employee evaluations

OKRs are not a shared to-do list

In practice, using OKRs is different from other goal-setting techniques because of the aim to set
very ambitious goals. When used this way, OKRs can enable teams to focus on the big bets and
accomplish more than the team thought was possible, even if they don’t fully attain the stated
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21.01.2021 re:Work - Gu de: Set goals w th OKRs

goal. OKRs can help teams and individuals get outside of their comfort zones, prioritize work, and
learn from both success and failure.

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