OKRs: The essentials

If you are reading this, it’s because you are already interested in OKRs, and you know what they mean, the story behind them, and the importance of their application for global business growth.
At Axy7 we want to share the basic process of creating OKRs step-by-step. We have full manuals, demos, and videos, but the idea of this post is to summarize the essential information.

OK, let’s do this: I Love the OKRs idea, I use the Salesforce CRM, and I want to use OKRs. Now what?

Considering that you already installed Axy OKR, you must first define your Company Goal.
What is it?

– It sets the direction for the year and defines a target.
– It’s a single strategic view and a cycle that everyone must follow.

Second: define the main objectives (from 2 to 5, each annually):

– They will be the “North Star” for your team.
– They are created taking into account the company goal.
– The owners of the main objectives are the c-levels.
– You must define a period for the OKR execution and management. The quarter is most commonly used (short & long enough to focus and execute)

Third: remember to plan and wrap up!

– You must assign a planning cycle to define your OKRs. They won’t come out of nowhere, you need time to create them.
– You must also define a period for wrapping up. This is a very important step because everyone will see the reviews and results of all the hard work done (or maybe not done)

Last step: Defining the Key Results

– Key Results are the milestones to complete an objective.
– They can be measured in different ways (Boolean, number, percentage, currency, and TODO)
– You can BIND your key result progress to automate Salesforce Reports 😉

Don’t panic if there are too many steps, Axy OKR provides you with a wizard to guide you through these steps, and of course, our support team will help you if you have any questions.

Work is done. Which are the next steps?

– Check-in and Pulse
The real value of OKRs comes when each individual and team is frequently tracking the progress of their Objectives and the validity of their KRs. It is the only way to take corrective action and modify the KRs when necessary.
Adoption of regular OKR check-ins requires constant effort and team commitment. Weekly Check-ins are the most powerful tool to ensure your OKR practice delivers value.
Axy OKR provides a way to gently remind each user of the need to review their OKRs and facilitates this through a simple wizard.

– Axy OKR additional features
One of the greatest benefits of Axy OKR is that it includes great functionalities to grant a better methodology adoption and use.

• • Tree View: See the complete outline of OKR dependencies and objective owner’s contributions by browsing, filtering, and searching within the tree.
  • Dashboards and Reporting: Use a complete set of reports and dashboards to analyze your OKR progression in every phase and stage.
  • One on Ones: Schedule regular One on One meetings to assess and review your team’s OKR execution and ensure that there is consistent personal interaction even when working from home.
  • My Focus: Use My Focus as a launchpad for your users. This tab provides a unique 360 view of your OKRs and summarizes the most important information every user needs to know to stay focused.

Bonus: When organizations discuss OKRs, training is often not a part of the conversation. However, we cannot think of anything more critical for OKR success than making sure an organization and an OKR Champion are trained to implement, run and manage an OKR program.

Try now Axy OKR FREE for 30 days or take it for a spin on the Test Drive.

Need more information? Get in touch with our team for a custom demo!