How to Implement OKRs in a Company? How Can HR Help?

May 6, 2024 3 min reading

Implementing Objectives and Key Results (OKR) system in an organisation is a significant step towards achieving strategic goals and improving overall performance. This process requires careful planning, clear communication and strong support at all levels of the company. The key to success is about understanding that the aim of implementing OKRs isn’t just to set the goals, but also to create a culture of continuous improvement, transparency and cooperation.

Getting started with OKRs

The basis of successful implementation of OKRs is clearly defined mission, vision and strategy of the organisation. The mission explains why the company exists, the vision indicates the company’s direction and how big the goals are, and the strategy is a set of decisions and hypotheses about how to win and achieve the long-term goals. OKRs then work as a tool that help analyse this strategy into specific, measurable and traceable goals that are regularly reviewed and updated.

As for us, OKRs are a framework for achieving the strategy.

The role of management and HR

Successful OKR implementation starts at the top. Management‘s involvement and support are essential to spread the importance and value of OKRs throughout the organization. Management should be a good example of setting and monitoring their own OKRs. It demonstrates commitments to methodology.

HR plays a major role not only when selecting teams for a pilot deployment, but also in the broader context of the culture of change. HR can:

Provide training and educational materials for employees,
Monitor mood of the team and gather feedback,
Help teams adapt to a new system,
Support education in international communication and cooperation, that is crucial for the companies betting on expansion into foreign markets.

Pilot deployment and scaling

OKR pilot deployment in one or more teams allows an organisation to test and adapt the process to its specific needs. Choosing the team that is open to changes and interested in experimentation can help uncover potential obstacles and make OKR scaling easier across the company. After a successful pilot project and careful feedback evaluation, OKRs can be gradually introduced to other departments and teams. It’s really important to ensure that all levels of the organisation are involved and informed about the process and its benefits.

Monitoring and adaptation

One of the key advantages of OKRs is their flexibility and dynamic character. Regular checkpoints or “check-ins” allow teams to monitor progress, identify challenges and adjust key results to be in compliance with long-term goals. Collecting and analysing feedback from employees play a major role in continuous upgrading of OKR process.

The aim of OKRs is certainly not to set targets for a pre-defined period, nowadays, it’s a quarter (3 months) or a cycle (4 months). OKRs fit into the concepts of agile-managed organisations and their aim is to be as transparent as possible, ready for change and constantly working on themselves and their goals. Feedback and reflecting on it in the next weeks is an integral part of OKRs.

The importance of transparency and continuous improvement culture

The introduction of OKRs implies the need to build culture of openness, transparency and mutual trust. Management should be open to share their OKRs and results, as well as discussion about failures and lessons learned from them.

This approach supports a learning culture where failure isn’t taboo but it’s considered to be an opportunity to learn and grow.

To sum up, it’s important to mention that OKR implementing is a journey that calls for time, patience and resolution. This process can be strongly transformative with the help of continuous support, education and adaptation. It leads to a higher performance, improved employee involvement and closer cooperation within the organisation. The key to success is to improve and adapt OKRs to suit your company’s needs and goals.

Do you need help with the introduction and implementation of OKRs in your company? Or have you already tried OKRs but you think you couldn’t reach their full potential? Contact the experts with OKRs practical experience. They’ll be pleased to help you get OKRs to the next level at www.leapstones.cz. Or just click on mastermind and learn about experiences and recommendations from other companies using them in practice at www.okmastermind.cz.