When you think of the word OKR, what springs to mind? Do you have a general idea of what it is or do you no idea? Well, here’s the ultimate guide to using an OKR for your business. Here’s you’ll learn what an OKR is, what the benefits are of using an OKR system and how to get started with it. Once you know what an OKR is, and how it works you’ll be wanting to get one as soon as you can for your business.

The acronym OKR stands for Objectives and Key Results and is a popular goal management framework that helps companies implement strategy. If this is something that sounds of interest to you, then it would be a good idea to check out this OKR Software by Profit to help give you a better idea of how it could benefit you. There are many benefits of an OKR system, but let’s delve into this further and help you get a really good idea of what it is!

A Brief History

OKR can be traced back to 1954 when Peter Drucker invented MBO (Management by Objective). Drucker is referred to as the greatest management guru of all time, and he was the one who sparked the idea that manager’s goals are important. He helped to increase output, as well as proposing MBO. So, it is thanks to Drucker that this all started, of course, there is a bit more to it then this though.

But what we do know is that in recent times, almost every organisation utilises a goal-setting strategy which involves placing much emphasis on setting objectives to achieve exceptional results. So, there are some companies out there that set goals twice a year, whilst others might only do so four times per year. It wasn’t until Andy Grove in Intel (who was also the co-founder of Intel and the former CEO), introduced it as Objectives and Key Results.

Benefits of Using an OKR

There are many benefits of using an OKR, but to make things easier we can describe them through the impact that they would have on the business, and the cultural benefits that an OKR would have. When we think of the business impact, we can see that from current research, when we compare groups of employees who used OKR against those who don’t were much more effective at their job. They performed better and increased sales for the business.

In fact, the group who didn’t use an OKR actively asked to be involved in one for future business things. To them, it was clear that the goal management was more efficient, as an OKR creates focus, transparency, and alignment for all the work in an organisation. This makes things a lot easier for people working together, and helps increase employee engagement, something which all businesses should be aiming for.

Getting Started with an OKR

If you’ve never used an OKR before, then it’s important that you have a good understanding of why you are using it – what is the challenge that you want to resolve, or to put it another way, what Business Objective are you hoping your OKR will help with? For most businesses, an OKR helps solves challenges of executing business strategy in a way that is clear to all its employees, transparent and measurable.

If you are planning on using an OKR, then it’s important that you have someone in charge of it. They can ensure that everyone who is using an OKR is trained, engaged, and has on going help and guidance. This will help the OKR be a success for your business and will help your business grow. Of course, there is much more that you will need to think about when it comes to running a successful business, and there are many things that you need to do. If you would like to know more about this, then make sure you check out this article here about what goes into starting a small business?