Are you wondering how to motivate your team and drive them toward success?
When you run a business, you shouldn’t just tell your employees to grow your company and leave that as the only objective. Instead, you need to set specific, attainable goals that help them work toward something.
But how do you know which goals to set? Try using the OKR strategy. This allows you to identify your main objectives and figure out how to reach them.
Want to learn more about OKR and how it drives your business to new heights? Keep reading to learn more!
What Is an OKR?
First, we need to define the term OKR. It stands for Objectives and Key Results, which you will use to both define your goals and measure your progress toward them.
Your objectives constitute anything you want to work toward. For instance, you may want to grow your online client base or become a highly-rated business in your area. Think of this as your ultimate destination.
Objectives need to be ambitious, inspirational, and achievable within a defined timeframe.
Now, think about what will happen when you’re on your way to reaching your goal. What kinds of results do you expect to see? These serve as signs that your endeavors have worked. If you don’t see these results, you will know to reassess your endeavors.
Your key results should be as measurable and specific as possible. That way, you can tell just how much progress you have made toward your goal.
Initiatives
Even though the OKR acronym only mentions objectives and key results, you also need initiatives for a successful OKR strategy.
Think of your initiatives as the ways you will reach your key results and objectives. To identify your initiatives, take a look at where you currently stand. Then, look at what you need to start doing to reach your goals. If necessary, research how others have attained similar objectives and adapt their initiatives to your needs.
You should also look at your initiatives from the perspectives of several different departments. For instance, if you want to grow your revenue, you might assign different responsibilities to several teams. Develop as many initiatives as necessary and make sure you have the staffing needed to achieve the goals.
Any initiatives you undertake should have specific steps to them. Ensure everyone on your team knows what they must do and when they must finish their work. To keep everyone on track, schedule periodic meetings to review your progress.
Encourage departments to set their own OKR goals
Do you want your company to continue to do better in all departments, no matter their role in your initiatives?
Have each of your departments set OKRs of their own. Placing your team managers in charge of setting OKR goals for their departments allows your employees to continue to better their work. For instance, an IT team might have the objective of getting better cybersecurity training, which strengthens your system’s safety.
These OKRs help you continue to get better at what you do.
Benefits of using OKRs
So, why use OKRs? Why can’t you just work on projects without specific and defined goals?
Of course, you could, but you risk missing out on the many benefits of implementing OKRs. The techniques for OKR and strategy give you a roadmap to your desired destination. They also have an additional benefit: keeping your employees motivated and decreasing your turnover.
Employee motivation
The average employee spends around 25-30 years of their lives working. Because they spend so much time at their jobs, they want to feel as if their work holds value.
It becomes harder for people to find satisfaction in their work when they don’t feel like they’re working toward a purpose. When you set goals, you give your employees something to accomplish. This motivates them to work hard. The key results portion of OKR goals allows them to see the results of their work.
When your employees reach your goals, recognize them in front of other staff members. This shows your appreciation for their hard work and fosters good morale within your company.
Decreasing turnover
People don’t want to spend their lives doing something unrewarding. If you don’t set goals, they might feel like their long hours don’t go toward any tangible results. This encourages them to seek employment elsewhere, where they sense their work matters more.
So, if you don’t want to lose your talent to your competitors, you need to set goals for your workers and allow them to see the results of their work.
Company expansion
A third benefit of using OKRs consists of company expansion and growth. When you set measurable objectives and then work on achieving them, you expand your business operations. This enables you to do more in the future.
After all, once you achieve one set of OKR goals, you can make new OKRs and try to achieve another! As such, using OKRs constitutes a good way to keep your business developing and evolving.
Ready to grow your business with OKRs?
Every company can use OKR strategies to set and accomplish its goals.
With OKRs, you have the ability to identify what you would like to do and then build ways to get there. As you go, you can check your progress by seeing whether you have produced any key results. As such, many businesses like to use OKRs.
Want to start creating your roadmap today? Waymaker allows you to define your objectives and shows you how to reach them. Try Waymaker for free today!
