Google OKR Target Management system learning

The OKR full name is "goals and key achievements" (objectives and keys Results). It's a target management system that Google introduced from Intel in the company's founding for less than a year, and is often considered a set of organizational assessment systems.

What the hell is OKR?

OKR is designed for companies, teams, and individuals, and it is a work compass for a company, team, or individual, but it is not a KPI for performance assessment. From the name point of view, including the goal (O) and key results (KR) two aspects. The company set goals from top to bottom, and these goals make the company work in one direction, reducing internal resistance, Wolidou, pulling hind legs and other behaviors.

Okr has three important points:

1. If quantifiable (time and quantity), especially the KR part. For example, you can't say "make Gmail successful" but "go online Gmail in September and have 1 million users in November." This is required in all target management methods, not OKR specific.

2. The goal is to be ambitious. That means there are some challenges to the target, some of which make you uncomfortable. Generally speaking, a score of 1 is better than 0.6-0.7, so that you will continue to fight for your goal, without the time limit to achieve the goal.

3. Everyone's okrs is open and transparent throughout the company. For example, everyone's introduction page contains their OKRS records, including content and ratings. This means that the company needs to have an open system to support the operation of OKR.

What are the benefits of OKR?

1. We are led to think that the main objectives will follow, especially the most important objectives;

2. Communication will be smoother, so that everyone knows what is the most important, reduce the cost of communication, communication is also because everyone knows other people's okr, also means that can quickly understand other people's work goals, content and difficult points.

3. A measure of the process can be found , which differs greatly from the KPI, which is basically a measure of the final result.

4. We can focus on the work of a certain thing, maintain the centripetal force.

What is the difference between Okr and KPIs?

Although most enterprises are not good at KPI application, or do some superficial, but undeniable KPI has been widely popularized, and familiar. So in the face of OKR this relatively new things, naturally think of OKR and KPI exactly what is the same or different?

There are at least two of the same points:

1. Both are based on goal management and require clear and quantifiable objectives.

2. Both the team and the individual can be evaluated, and the evaluation results are quantifiable.

The difference is:

1. The purpose is different. The main purpose of OKR is to help the company all staff to maintain a consistent direction of efforts to complete the task more effectively, not directly used to assess performance, and KPI's main purpose is to assess performance.

2. Different functions. The key results of OKR are quantifiable, but unlike KPIs, where a cap is set, a KPI is good, but it also means that there is no incentive to achieve it. OKR's key results are almost impossible to achieve, if divided into 1, then very few means the small universe explosion, the vast majority of cases is the KR made too easy.

3. The emphasis is different. KPIs are like a stopwatch, while OKR are like a compass. KPI values are very specific points, emphasizing the final outcome of the achievement rate, Okr stressed the actual output results and process , the score of 0.5 or 0.6 may not be the difference, but also do not struggle with 0.01 or even 0.1 of the score difference.

4. Individual participation varies. Although KPIs also consider individual wishes, but almost all are top-down, but okr very much emphasis on personal will, of course, this personal will is in line with the overall organizational goals as a prerequisite. For example, the team lists all the projects, selected by individuals, given priority, and then comprehensive consideration.

So essentially speaking Okr and KPI is opposite, the company or team that is suitable for KPI is generally not suitable for okr, and vice versa . And the same team can not adopt both the KPI system and implementation of OKR, because it is clear that with the KPI, it is impossible for someone to care about OKR. However, different departments in the same company should be able to use KPIs, and some use OKR, which see their actual business situation.

What are the OKR implementation steps?

From top to bottom, the goal should be set up in the order of the company to the department to the team to the individual.

What the individual wants to do, and what the manager wants him to do, is generally not exactly the same. Then he can look at the top of the goal, in the scope of what he wants to do to find the company's goals in favor of the part, he took out and his manager to discuss, make trade-offs. In some cases, it is possible that what you want to do will become the direction of the company's future change. (such as Gmail's example)

There are two ways to communicate OKR:

1. One-off communication, that is, the individual and his direct management communication. Especially at the end of the quarter, and at the beginning of another quarter, to negotiate what the key results are. Because not only the individual can explain what he wants to do, but also the above to express what he wants you to do, the best case is the combination of the two.

2. The company-wide meetings, in the form of a team, the team of Learder to participate in and introduce their team's okrs, and finally, we will be graded evaluation.

Some of the basic requirements in the implementation process are:

1. Up to 5 o, each o up to 4 KRS.

2. 60% of O originally originated from the bottom. the voices of the people below should be heard so that everyone will be more motivated to work. This is also absolutely different from KPIs.

3. Everyone must be in synergy and cannot appear in any form of command . This clearly gives team leader or project managers greater difficulty and challenges, and requires stronger communication and coordination skills.

4. It is best to finish one page, two pages is the maximum limit value.

5.Okrs is not a tool for performance evaluation . For individuals, it plays a very good role in retrospect. Can quickly and clearly let oneself see what I have done, the result is how. This is often distorted, which is why it is often used to compare with KPIs.

6. Score 0.6-0.7 is a good performance, so 0.6-0.7 will be your goal. If the score is below 0.4, you should think about whether the project should go on. It is important to note that 0.4 is not a failure, but a way of identifying what is unimportant and finding the problem. Fractions are never the most important, it is as a direct guide to the role.

7. It is only when the KRS is still important that it continues to work for it.

8. There is a consortium of organizations to ensure that everyone is moving towards the same goals. (In fact, you can get everyone's approval and help in the OKRS implementation process, which is very interesting thing)

What is the key to Okrs?

1. Each quarter and year has OKRS, and maintains such a rhythm. The okrs of the year was not hammered out in a moment. For example, in December you set the next quarter and the annual Okrs, and then focus on the implementation of the quarterly Okrs, after all, this is the immediate goal. And after a while, you can verify that the annual Okrs is not correct and keep revising it. The okrs of the year is instructive, not binding.

2. Quantifiable

3. At the individual, group and company level

4. Company-wide Disclosure

5. Each quarter is graded

What kind of company or team does OKR fit?

First of all, OKR is just a tool, whether it succeeds or depends on people. In addition, any tool can not be put in a universal, all have its preconditions and applicability. For Okr There is a lot of discussion, some think Okr and KPI no difference, some think okr to the domestic inevitable acclimatized, and so on. So what kind of company or team does OKR fit in? I think there are a few of these:

1. A company that uses OKR requires a corporate culture that advocates freedom, transparency, challenges, and respect for its employees. Google has a fully transparent internal file system, using Google Docs,google Sites. Each employee's personal basic information, weekly personal summary, done projects, meetings, etc. can be queried, everyone here including the CEO, which in other companies is unthinkable.

2. Companies with project-based organizations are more suitable, because traditional organizations, leaders are highly authoritative, difficult to be challenged, and often develop the style of obedience. The Project organization Manager authority is not so heavy, the team member is more independent.

3. Organizations that are difficult to measure with KPIs are better suited to OKR, such as research and development, marketing, and other companies ' support departments. And the Manufacturing department, sales department can be linked to orders, sales, profits, etc., they are more suitable for KPIs.

Summarize:

Okr is a way to help all of the company's staff to maintain a consistent direction, and more effectively to complete the task and assessment. Similar to KPIs, but Okr or KPIs are not suitable for all positions. For posts that pay more attention to continuous income, a rigid standard is required to ensure that indicators are completed and KPIs are better suited than OKR. In the company, the team, the management, the general Staff sets up the different level OKR goal, in each quarterly staff receives several OKR appraisal, these appraisal "the key result" is the specific, measurable goal. Scoring at 0-1 points, too high and too low is not good. Too high means that the goal is too simple, and if it's less than 0.4, you might think that employees are having problems at work. Quarterly OKR ratings in just a few minutes, everyone can see the okr of all employees in the employee database, such as Google engineers who can see the CEO's OKR. In order to keep all staff unison, it is important to maintain OKR transparency. But the OKR rating in Google does not serve as a promotion basis, only to understand the progress of the project to help understand.

Google OKR Target Management system learning