[Tuto] How to deploy the OKR method, simply and effectively, using technology?

For several years now, the classic "top-down" management model has been totally called into question. Employees want to be listened to more by their managers, to be involved in choices and strategies, and to receive regular feedback. And, above all, they want a job that has meaning and clearly contributes to the success and raison d'être of the company.

These days, it makes no sense to set objectives at the start of the year and only evaluate them at the end. The pandemic has shown us that companies and their employees need to be able to adapt quickly to new priorities, whether in the office or at home. That's why more and more companies are opting for a much more agile and modern management method: OKR (Objectives and Key Results).

This method gives meaning to everyone's role at every level of the organisation. It involves working together to define individual, collective and cross-functional objectives that are aligned with the company's strategy and raison d'être. The teams then decide how they are going to achieve these objectives in order to obtain the key, measurable results associated with them.

Where do I start with the OKR method?

Contrary to popular belief, the OKR method is a managerial approach that can be adapted to any department in the company: managers and their teams translate the company's strategic objectives into OKRs (often quarterly) by simply listing 3 to 5 individual and collective objectives to which they associate a maximum of 3 measurable key results.

The aim is therefore to ensure that employees' missions are aligned with those of the company, and then to be able to adjust them over time if necessary to keep in step with business priorities. The approach needs to be agile, and managers need to adopt a manager-coach posture to guide their teams in achieving these objectives, while giving them complete autonomy over the means chosen to make them more accountable.

The 6 steps to follow to properly define an Objective or OKR

1. Provide teams with a strategic framework

Sharing the company's strategic priorities with employees is an essential first step in the successful deployment of OKR management. They will be the starting point and the source of inspiration for the various departments when it comes to creating their OKRs, which they will align with these strategies.

These objectives (maximum 5) should be cross-functional or global in nature and aligned with the next management cycle (quarterly, half-yearly or annual).

2. Defining objectives

First of all, you need to identify and describe the Objective. This corresponds to what you want to achieve by mobilising the organisation, the team or the individual concerned.

The Objective must therefore be aligned with one of the company's strategic priorities and be achievable to avoid demotivating employees from the outset. But it must also be ambitious to boost everyone's commitment and enable teams to progress together.

3. Translate Objectives into Key Results

Once defined, the Objective must be translated into Key Results, which will then be used to measure the effectiveness of the actions taken to achieve this Objective.

These Key Results must, of course, be quantified in order to be measurable. You can use :

• a date
• a percentage
• an amount
• a number
• or any other data that will enable these key results to be measured and show whether or not the Objective has been achieved.

It is advisable to have a maximum of 3 key results per Objective. This allows you to focus on what is most important and simplifies the monitoring of all the OKRs at each level.

4. Involve the teams

It is essential to talk to team members at every stage of the objectives, from their definition to their final measurement, to ensure that they are the primary actors in the success of their OKRs.

The aim here is not to micro-manage but, on the contrary, to give managers and teams the choice of their strategy for achieving their OKRs and to let them decide for themselves how they want to translate their objectives into key results.

5. Putting management at the service of team success

Once the OKR plan has been defined, it needs to be implemented and adapted to any unforeseen circumstances, obstacles or even new ideas that may arise along the way.

Local management will then play a key role, and will have to move from a "command & control" posture to that of manager-coach. Regular monitoring will enable relevant and constructive exchanges to take place to find the best means and approaches, and make OKRs a success. Each manager or a member of the team will be able to quickly point out blocking points so that they can be discussed with management and progress made rapidly.

☝️ Given the significant growth in teleworking, it is essential to have a modern digital tool for communicating effectively at a distance and facilitating this ongoing conversation between managers and teams.

6. Taking stock and adjusting Objectives

Once the management cycle (quarterly, half-yearly or annual) has been completed, the OKR approach continues with a key stage which takes place in 2 stages and will help to prepare the next cycle:

1. The assessment: this is the evaluation of the achievement of the Objectives via the results obtained corresponding to each Key Result. It is also essential to analyse what helped or hindered performance, and to identify what did not work in order to be more effective in the future. A highly collaborative approach should be adopted in this analysis, and all successes should be celebrated to highlight the role played by each individual.
   
   
2. Alignment: this is the time to update the key results (KR) and adjust the objectives (O), making sure that these new OKRs are still aligned with the company's strategic priorities.

Tutorial: implementing the OKR method with the Zest solution

Using a web and mobile solution such as the Zest digital suite simplifies the operational deployment of the OKR method.

It is important that the application used is mobile first, meaning that it can also be accessed from a tablet or smartphone. This will make it possible to assign OKRs to employees in the field (in shops or warehouses, without a computer or professional email) and to involve them in the company's strategy and raison d'être.

In this tutorial, we'll show you how to use the Zest tool to :

• define objectives
• assign measurable key results
• involve employees,
• put management at the service of teams,
• evaluate and adjust objectives.

Let's imagine Viviane, HR manager in a medium-sized company. The HR department has decided that one of the objectives for the quarter will be to improve the commitment of the company's employees.

Viviane therefore needs to define the key actions that she will carry out with her colleagues to achieve this objective.

Step 1

To create her OKRs, she logs into her Zest account on her computer, or via the mobile application on her smartphone or tablet.

The OKR function is located in the menu on the left and is part of the 'Success' pillar of the Zest digital suite. She then obtains an overview of OKRs in progress (if any) and their status.

She clicks on "Create an OKR" to begin.

Next, she indicates the title of her Objective (O): "Increase the level of employee commitment". She then has the option of adding, or not, a description for her Objective. Then she must choose a start and end date (the time allowed to achieve her Objective).

Once the dates have been chosen, click on "Next step".

Zest tips" are available to guide Viviane and help her create a relevant Objective for herself and her team:

Step 2

To get her team involved, Viviane can add contributors. A contributor is an employee who will contribute to this OKR.

Each contributor receives a notification that an OKR has been assigned to them by Viviane.

In Zest, a ' contributor' can modify the tasks and progress of the OKR assigned to him or her. He or she is free to accept or refuse to participate in an OKR.

Step 3

Viviane must now choose the visibility of her OKR, i.e. select the people who will be able to access the information and activities relating to the OKR.

Three modes are available:

• Private: only Viviane and the contributors she has added to the OKR can access it.
  
  
• Shared: in addition to Viviane and her contributors, her manager and the administrators of her department can access the OKR to monitor it.
  
  
• Public: the whole company can access the OKR created by Viviane with the aim of aligning all OKRs.

Viviane decides to share her OKR with the heads of the various departments, in addition to the contributors she has chosen. She therefore selects the " Shared" option and then clicks on "Next step".

Step 4

Now it's time to define the Key Results (KR), which will enable her to measure whether her OKR has been achieved. Zest tips are also available for this stage.

Viviane defines 3 Key Results and indicates the collaborators (or contributors) who will be responsible for them. She then clicks on "Create" to finalise the creation of her OKR.

Her OKR is now visible from her user interface and Viviane, as well as the contributors, can follow its progress in real time.

Stage 5

The team works together to monitor the progress of the OKR.

The OKR progress can be easily modified and comments can be added. Zest experts recommend updating the Objectives and Key Results progress once a month.

These changes are then visible to everyone who has access to the OKR.

All set! Viviane and her team can now discuss the progress of their OKRs at regular updates in Zest.