WHAT ARE OKRS?

OKR is an acronym for Objectives and Key Results, which is a goal setting framework for defining and tracking objectives and their outcomes. The Objective is the clearly-defined goal, while the Key Results are the specific benchmarks to ensure achievement of that goal through concrete, specific and measurable actions. OKRs are known to be used by high flying silicon valley companies but they’re also a very relevant way for SMEs to track company objectives too.

According to research, simply writing your goals down and regularly checking in to review them actually gives companies a 95% higher chance of achieving desired outcomes. The OKR methodology actually lends itself to this very well as you can not only track overall goals, but link these into team and personal goals visually using OKR or goal tracking software.

THE BENEFITS OF TRACKING GOALS REMOTELY

An key benefit of using OKR software when working from home is that it allows you to not only track your company objectives but also allow you to link them to measurable key results, allowing you to quantify your objectives to easily see where you’re finding success and what areas need improvement. From a management perspective by easily seeing, in your software dashboards, if your goals are on track to be completed by the end of the month or quarter, this can also help you to see which departments, or members of staff, could do with more personal encouragement. Having regular check-ins on the goals leads to more valuable leadership helping both your managers, teams and individual employees work better together and strive to reach these goals.

When setting your OKRs from home at the start of the quarter or financial year, involving your employees in what they’re going to be working towards, ie the goal, is important. Making sure you listen to your employees and teams and involve them in setting these goals is very important to the success of using OKRs. Employees are 3.6 x more likely to be engaged if their manager involves them in goal setting for performance management purposes. This should be for team and personal goals but also getting input on company goals is very important. When working remotely, this kind of key interaction can really motivate and engage your staff members to stay on-track with goals and objectives.

Being transparent about what is going well within the business and what is not going so well, during times of uncertainty, allows employees to feel more trusted when working from home. According to the Harvard Business Review, there are some astounding figures on how trusting employees can help motivate your employees. “Compared with people at low-trust companies, people at high-trust companies report: 74% less stress, 106% more energy at work, 50% higher productivity, 76% more engagement, 40% less burnout.” Each and every one of those stats shows that trust is key to motivating employees to reach their goals. Therefore, during periods of remote working, you need to make sure your goals are visible and accessible from wherever your employees are working.

Finally, within this goal tracking software, having the ability to motivate employees via publicly praising them can also have a very positive impact on motivating your employees to keep your goals on-track. Shout-outs are a great way to show employees that you appreciate them and meaning they're more likely to stay employed with you for the long-term due and even perform their job even better. Public appreciation for a job well done key to truly engaged employees, meaning you can get a higher level of performance out of them, all contributing to a happy workforce and an increase in business performance.

Our OKR module is available as a standalone product Appogee Goals or, through our advanced HR software, Appogee HR Success. Find out how they can help drive business success through OKRs, when working from home by signing up for a 14 day free trial today.

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