Running a business, either as an owner or a team manager, is difficult even during quiet periods. From human resourcing responsibilities like interviewing and rota scheduling, to marketing and accounting work, it’s easy to feel like there are simply not enough hours in the day. Factor in the development of your company and the achievement of organisational goals, and all of a sudden things might just feel like too much. However, there is a way to break your business goals down into manageable iterations that centre around your vision – OKR. In this guide, we’ll be discussing what OKR is and the importance of experienced consultancy for those new to the framework.

What Is OKR?

OKR stands for Objectives and Key Results, and is a strategy that was popularised by Google in the mid-2010s. By outlining an overall objective for a team or business, and then breaking the approach to that objective down into the key results that you wish to achieve from your work, you can structure the input of your teams into measurable tasks. These tasks then align with your organisational objectives to boost business growth and team engagement.

The Four Stages of the OKR Framework

The OKR framework can be adapted to the needs and working ways of your business, but typically most organisations will stick to the four stages of the framework when pursuing their business strategy. These stages are:

Planning

Before you introduce OKR to your colleagues and team members, make sure to undertake a thorough planning process in which you gather opinions and feedback on the reason for the change as well as the chosen objectives and key results.

Weekly

A weekly catch-up meeting with your team members gives you the best chance to analyse whether the OKR framework is working for your team, and which elements if any need some extra managerial input. Data surrounding the key results can also be tracked weekly, which will help to shape your understanding of whether OKR is the right choice.

Review

At the end of each OKR cycle, you should get together with your team to review the results. Was the objective achieved? How effectively was it completed? A review gives you the chance to pull apart the data and pinpoint what you should try to improve in the next cycle.

Retrospective

On top of an objective review, your business should conduct a thorough retrospective evaluation around whether the OKR cycle worked, and what can be done next time to improve the overall OKR process.

When Should You Consider OKR Consultancy?

There are some brilliant providers of OKR consultancy that you might wish to speak with if you’re interested in the strategy. But, how do you know when to consider consultancy as opposed to going it alone? If you have little to no experience with OKR, or you simply want to call in expert help that draws on professional experience, then it might be appropriate to choose a consultancy like 1ovmany to support your business throughout the implementation and review of this new framework.

Whether or not you invest in professional support is up to you; you can implement OKR changes to your organisation yourself but choosing a consultancy like 1ovmany to provide additional expert support will make a world of difference to your outcome. By implementing this exciting new framework, you’ll see immediate improvements to your organisational strategy.