Mission Impossible: A Planning Method with Unattainable Goals
A little over a year ago, we at Wrike started using the Objectives and Key Results (OKR) method for planning. It was invented and first used for at Intel, then it was picked up on Google, Oracle, LinkedIn and Twitter. The method is universal, it helps to focus on goals well, increases initiative and stimulates work between different teams in a company. Plus, it can be perfectly implemented using the tools of our service , which for us was one of the key requirements.
If you are looking for a suitable approach to planning and evaluating the effectiveness of teamwork or even personally for yourself, we suggest taking a closer look at OKR.
Method specifics
To begin with, OKR is a relatively aggressive goal-setting and planning technique. Initially, the method was used to set quarterly goals, but today most companies use it for annual planning. The bottom line is that for each given goal there must be a number of measurable results (metrics) that would show how much the goal has been achieved.
This helps, firstly, to achieve measurable progress in specific indicators, and secondly, not to blur the focus in everyday work. In order not to spray and avoid burnout, there is also a restriction on goals and metrics. You can create no more than 5 goals for the planning period and no more than 4 metrics for each of them.
The key feature of the method is that thesegoals should be fundamentally unattainable . If the goals are 100% achieved, they are considered insufficiently ambitious, and this should be taken into account in planning for the next period. Optimal will be the implementation of 60-75% of the results from each goal. It turns out that OKR from the very beginning provokes you to the notorious exit from the comfort zone and a bolder approach to planning.
Another feature of the methodology that distinguishes it from KPI and other methods of measuring performance is that OKR does not affect the employee’s assessment and the size of bonusesand other incentives. It is believed that OKR can only be used if the company consciously cultivates trust in employees. Without a stick and a carrot, it will be easier for people to set really complex goals without fear that they will be punished for not fulfilling them, and the tactics of setting simple goals to get a bonus at the end of the quarter will be meaningless.
From general to specific
OKR provides for mandatory detailing of goals from corporate to a specific person. It’s clear that it’s not obvious to the employees of the technical or, say, design department, where to start their day to help the company “increase sales” or “increase customer satisfaction”. And OKR requires “crushing” common goals to a tangible level. This allows you to coordinate the work of individuals and departments in a single direction. The method is used simultaneously at three levels:
- the entire company,
- the department or team,
- each employee.
The goals and metrics at each level differ in the degree of specificity, but they must be consistent with each other and contribute to the achievement of the general goals of the company. Annual goals are allowed to be adjusted at the end of each quarter, but quarterly goals cannot be changed in order to fully concentrate on their achievement.
Another limitation is how exactly the general goals and metrics are formulated. In contrast to traditional corporate planning, more than half of the goals should be formulated from the bottom up - at meetings of teams or several departments working on one project (for example, launching a site). The formulation process can include several iterations, so that the teams can discuss everything in advance and get a clear idea of the further coordination of work.
Examples
Let's say the company has set itself the following goal:
To get into the top three most downloaded applications on the App Store.
Key results:
- Increase the number of users of the application by 50%
- Increase app rating to 4.5 stars
- Get 100 positive reviews from users
- Release 3 New Features
At the level of the mobile development department, such a goal and key results may correspond to it:
Increase user satisfaction by 30%.
- Interview 1000 users and identify major complaints and requested functionality
- Conduct 10 UX tests with users to identify interface issues
- Allow at least half of the complaints received during the survey
- Release 3 New Features
On an individual level, an iOS developer can set himself the following goal.
Increase user satisfaction with the interface by 50%.
- New interface release
- Get at least 50 new interface reviews
- Close all release related bugs during the quarter.
As you can see, goals and results must be measurable. At the end of the quarter or year, each employee evaluates the achievement of their goals from 0 to 1 and calculates the overall progress. As already mentioned, 60-70% of each goal is optimal.
the effect
The good news is that there simply cannot be bad results in OKR! Therefore, if you are not happy with your results in other planning systems, you will definitely like this one. If one of the goals yields poor results, this is an occasion to overestimate its significance and either lower its priority, reformulate it, or abandon it altogether. On the whole, the list of concrete results achieved during the quarter clearly shows the distribution of time, achievements and gaps. This means that OKR helps make a more accurate plan for the future.
If you consistently adhere to planning with OKR, then the founders of the methodology guarantee us the following improvements.
- More consistent decision making at all levels. Before setting a new task, employees will think about how it relates to the overall goals of the company and the department.
- Clear metrics to measure progress. Since metrics are already incorporated into the goal setting, you will always rely on objective, not subjective criteria.
- More transparent communication between teams.
- Synchronization of team efforts towards a common goal.
After a year of using OKR at Wrike, we are ready to admit that these changes have occurred. With the very rapid growth of the company, a tool turned out to be extremely timely for us, which helped to improve work between departments and transform teams towards cross-functional groups that work on common goals. This turned out to be especially relevant when launching new product features.
We look forward to reading about your team planning experience and OKR impressions in the comments.