Ashish Kumar
Ultimate Guide to Objective and Key results – OKR Meaning and Examples
Do you dread setting goals for your organization as you don’t see useful results? […]
When considering the adoption of OKR (Objectives and Key Results) software, it is essential to approach your decision with a strategic mindset. Ben Lamorte, a world-leading OKR expert, outlines 24 critical factors that organizations should evaluate before making this investment. His insights highlight that the right OKR software can significantly enhance goal alignment and drive performance, but choosing the wrong tool could lead to inefficiencies and misalignment.
In this blog, we dive deep into essential criteria for choosing the right OKR software. This discussion builds on the foundational insights from Ben Lamorte’s original article, 24 Questions to Ask Before Buying a Dedicated OKRs Tool, where Ben shares his expert take on evaluating OKR tools. His perspective has been instrumental in shaping our own understanding of OKR tools and their impact.
Additionally, you’ll get to see how JOP, as an OKR software, not only addresses each of these 24 considerations but also stands out as a comprehensive solution that empowers teams to align their goals and track performance effectively.
But first, come let’s find out a bit more about Ben Lamorte!
Who is Ben Lamorte
Ben Lamorte is a leading authority in the world of OKRs, widely recognized for his expertise in helping organizations implement and optimize their Objectives and Key Results framework. With over a decade of experience in the field, Ben has worked with companies across various industries, from startups to Fortune 500 enterprises, guiding them through the intricacies of setting, tracking, and achieving strategic goals using OKRs.
He is also the co-author of the highly regarded book Objectives and Key Results: Driving Focus, Alignment, and Engagement with OKRs, which has become a foundational text for teams looking to adopt this goal-setting methodology. His work focuses on not just teaching the theory behind OKRs but on helping organizations integrate them into their culture for sustained success.
Importance of selecting the right OKR software
Choosing the right OKR software is a critical decision that can make or break your organization’s goal-setting success. Below is the importance of selecting the right software.
Drives Alignment and Focus: The right software ensures everyone works toward the same objectives, enhancing clarity and focus.
Improves Accountability: A good tool helps track progress transparently, promoting responsibility at all levels.
Boosts Collaboration: Effective OKR software facilitates seamless communication and teamwork across departments.
Provides Real-Time Insights: It offers up-to-date performance metrics, enabling quick adjustments and data-driven decision-making.
Fits Organizational Needs: The software must be flexible and adaptable to your company’s specific goals and structure.
Avoids Wasted Resources: A well-chosen tool maximizes efficiency, preventing misalignment or mismanagement of OKRs.
It’s not just about tracking goals—your OKR software must empower teams to collaborate seamlessly, provide real-time insights, and adapt to the unique needs of your organization.
24 essential factors Ben Lamorte says you must evaluate in an OKR Software and why JOP is the perfect fit
Now that we’ve established the importance of carefully selecting OKR software, it’s time to dive into the 24 key factors Ben Lamorte advises you to evaluate. From user experience to integration capabilities, each of these considerations plays a crucial role in ensuring the success of your OKR implementation.
1. Does the software support both bottoms-up origination of OKRs with individuals as well as tops-down?
JOP supports both bottom-up and top-down approaches to OKR creation. It allows individuals to set their own OKRs while ensuring alignment with the company’s broader objectives. At the same time, managers can define and cascade OKRs for their teams, creating a structured flow of goals from top-level strategy to direct reports. This flexibility ensures a balanced approach where both employee-driven initiatives and leadership-defined priorities can coexist harmoniously.
2. Can OKRs cross teams to enable horizontal alignment or flag dependencies across teams, or can they only be connected based on the organization’s reporting structure?
JOP enables OKRs to cross teams, facilitating horizontal alignment and flagging dependencies between different departments or teams. By aligning objectives and key results across various departments, JOP ensures that teams working on interconnected goals can stay aligned, share progress, and address dependencies proactively.
3. How easy is it to access and update OKRs? Are there mobility options?
Accessing and updating OKRs on JOP is straightforward. Users can update OKR progress by entering new metrics, adjusting progress bars, or adding comments, all in real-time. Additionally, JOP allows for integration with various tools already within your organizational ecosystem, including linking to spreadsheets, which helps streamline the process and reduce manual effort. This flexibility ensures that teams can easily access and update their OKRs, whether they are on a desktop or mobile device, enhancing overall productivity and engagement.
4. Does the system produce a chart displaying how OKRs are connected?
JOP offers powerful visual tools to display the hierarchy and connections between OKRs. The Alignment Map feature graphically shows how OKRs are aligned across teams, providing a clear visual hierarchy of goals. Additionally, the Constellation Module offers a broader view, displaying both aligned and unaligned OKRs across teams, departments, or organization-wide. These tools ensure that you can easily track and understand how objectives are connected and identify any gaps or misalignments, promoting better goal alignment and collaboration across the entire organization.
5. Can I see a history of how OKRs and the progress on OKRs change over time?
JOP provides a comprehensive Activity/History tab that allows you to track how OKRs and their progress have changed over time. This feature helps you identify any updates, ensuring transparency and preventing data manipulation or unauthorized changes. Notifications are also sent to objective owners and collaborators whenever any value is updated, keeping everyone informed in real time.
Additionally, JOP uses RAG (Red, Amber, Green) colour coding to visually represent the performance of OKRs based on time and progress. This makes it easy to quickly assess the status of objectives and key results, helping teams stay on top of their goals and take action when needed.
6. How does the software encourage frequent check-ins to keep goals and progress fresh?
JOP encourages frequent check-ins by allowing you to set up a cadence of weekly, biweekly, or monthly check-ins. Automated notifications are sent to users, reminding them to perform their check-ins and ensuring that goals and progress stay top of mind. Additionally, JOP provides an option to punch in check-in notes, allowing users to track their meeting minutes (MOM) for each check-in. This helps teams document discussions, progress, and next steps, making check-ins more structured and impactful.
7. How easy is it for colleagues to support, collaborate, encourage, and comment on one another’s goals?
JOP makes it easy for colleagues to support, collaborate, and engage with one another’s goals. Users can create KR-linked actions to collaborate directly on key results. Feedback and badges can be given or requested to encourage and motivate team members, fostering a culture of recognition. Additionally, each objective and key result has a comment box, allowing team members to leave comments, share insights, or provide updates. You can also tag colleagues using @mentions in the comment box, making it simple to involve others in discussions and progress tracking.
8. What examples of enterprise-scale deployments have been served by the software?
JOP has successfully served a wide range of clients across different industries and sizes, from startups to large enterprises. Some notable names associated with JOP include Fluxgen, Prescinto, and MP Birla Cement. These companies have chosen JOP as their exclusive strategy partner to drive goal alignment and organizational growth. Our case studies demonstrate how JOP has helped these enterprises streamline their strategy execution, leading to measurable success and business growth.
9. Does the software agreement specify that all employees must purchase a license?
The deployment of JOP for OKRs is flexible and entirely depends on the organization’s needs. Companies can start with a limited number of employees using the platform and scale up as needed, or they can choose to onboard everyone at once. There is no mandatory requirement for all employees to purchase a license, allowing organizations to tailor the rollout based on their size and strategy.
10. Is it possible to update and access OKRs from a mobile device?
JOP offers a dedicated mobile app available on both Android and iOS platforms. The mobile app provides access to most of the functionalities available on the web app, allowing users to easily update and access OKRs on the go. This ensures that you can stay connected and manage your objectives from anywhere, keeping your goals and progress up to date in real-time.
11. Can I pre-define scoring criteria for Key Results?
In JOP, you can pre-define scoring criteria for key results by assigning weightages based on their importance. This allows you to prioritize certain key results over others and ensures that progress is measured accurately according to their impact on the overall objective. By customizing the weight of each key result, you can better track performance and align efforts with your strategic priorities.
12. Can I create summary reports for the performance review meeting?
JOP allows you to create summary reports for performance review meetings. You can generate reports that include key metrics like potential and manager ratings, providing a clear overview of employee performance. Additionally, there is an export option available, allowing you to download and share these reports for further analysis or discussion during review meetings. This helps streamline the performance review process and ensures all relevant information is easily accessible
13. Is there a mechanism that ensures key results are measurable?
JOP ensures that key results are measurable by providing multiple options for quantifying them during setup. You can select from various measurement types such as currency, value, percentage, milestones, and more. This ensures that all key results are defined with clear, trackable metrics, making it easier to measure progress and success objectively.
14. Does the software vendor recommend or provide OKR coaching or training services?
JOP provides comprehensive OKR consulting services tailored to meet the needs of its users. They offer various plans, including 1, 2, or 3-month programs, as well as custom plans based on the number of users. Additionally, JOP offers fractional OKR services to help organizations make their OKR implementation sustainable over the long term.
To further support this, JOP has established a global partner ecosystem consisting of experienced OKR consultants. Companies can choose from this network of experts to receive specialized guidance and training, ensuring they have the resources needed for successful OKR adoption and execution.
15. Does the software support all types of key results?
JOP supports all types of key results, including quantitative, qualitative, and milestone-based key results. This flexibility allows organizations to customize key results according to their specific objectives and goals. By accommodating various measurement types, JOP ensures that users can effectively track and assess progress in a way that aligns with their unique strategic priorities.
16. Is there a “draft mode”?
JOP includes a “draft mode” feature that allows users to save their OKRs before finalizing them. This enables users to revisit and edit draft objectives and key results as needed, ensuring that they have ample time to refine their goals before submission. This flexibility helps in creating well-thought-out OKRs that align with organizational objectives.
17. Does the system support Single Sign On (SSO)?
JOP supports Single Sign-On (SSO), allowing users to log in seamlessly using their Google or Microsoft accounts. This feature enhances user convenience and security, making it easier to access the platform without the need to remember multiple passwords.
18. Can users pull data from external systems such as a CRM (e.g., salesforce.com)?
Users can pull data from various external systems, including CRMs like Salesforce, through Zapier or direct integration options. Additionally, JOP offers open APIs, allowing for smoother and faster data integration. This capability ensures that organizations can easily connect their existing tools and systems with JOP, enhancing the overall functionality and utility of the platform.
19. How easy is it for me to add or remove an employee?
Adding or removing employees on JOP is straightforward for administrators. Through the “User and Access” settings, admins can easily add, edit, or deactivate users. If an employee has left the organization but you wish to retain their information, admins can simply mark the user as inactive instead of deleting them. This flexibility ensures efficient user management while maintaining historical data as needed.
20. How does the system keep track of OKRs from prior periods?
JOP effectively keeps track of OKRs from prior periods by storing all previous OKRs and their progress within the platform. Users can easily select the specific quarters or years they want to view, allowing for straightforward navigation to past OKRs. This feature enables organizations to review historical performance, analyze trends, and gain insights for future planning and strategy development.
21. Can multiple users update progress on a dependent Key Result?
Multiple users can update the progress of a dependent Key Result if they are designated as collaborators on that specific KR. If they are not collaborators, only the Key Result owners or the Objective owners will have the ability to make updates. This collaboration feature fosters teamwork and ensures that all relevant contributors can play a role in tracking progress effectively.
22. Do individuals use the tool as a task-management system or just for OKRs?
While JOP is primarily designed to streamline the OKR process, it offers additional functionalities that can enhance your productivity and project management. Individuals can leverage JOP to:
- Manage Tasks: Create, assign, and track tasks directly within the platform, ensuring they align with your overarching OKRs.
- Link Tasks to KRs: Establish a clear connection between specific actions and your key results, providing a visual representation of progress.
- Manage Projects: Use JOP as a project management tool to organize and track the progress of initiatives related to your OKRs.
23. What frequency do employees use the tool?
While employees may initially use JOP once or twice a week to focus solely on OKRs, we encourage a more frequent and continuous engagement with the tool. By mapping projects and actions within JOP, users can gain a comprehensive overview of their work and ensure alignment with organizational goals.
To further enhance user engagement, JOP incorporates additional features such as:
- Surveys: Periodic surveys provide valuable insights into employee satisfaction, identify areas for improvement, and foster a culture of feedback.
- Social Wall: The social wall creates a collaborative space for employees to share updates, celebrate achievements, and connect with colleagues
24. Can individuals assign a standard status to Key Results, or does the software automatically derive the status?
JOP offers a flexible approach to managing Key Result statuses. Users can choose to let the software automatically determine status based on progress, or they can manually update statuses to reflect specific situations. This gives users control over how their Key Results are tracked.
While Ben Lamorte’s 24 questions provide a valuable framework for evaluating OKR software, there are two additional critical factors to consider: customer support and training resources. These elements play a significant role in ensuring a successful implementation and ongoing use of OKRs within your organization.
Customer Support
At JOP, we understand that implementing OKRs can be a journey, and we’re here to support you every step of the way. Our dedicated customer support team is readily available to assist you with any questions or challenges you may encounter. Whether you need help setting up your OKRs, navigating the platform, or troubleshooting technical issues, our experienced support representatives are committed to providing prompt and effective assistance.
Training Resources
To ensure your team is equipped with the knowledge and skills to succeed with OKRs, JOP offers a comprehensive suite of training resources. Our online documentation includes detailed tutorials, guides, and best practices for implementing and managing OKRs. Additionally, we provide webinars and workshops that cover various aspects of OKR implementation, from goal setting to progress tracking. Our goal is to empower your team with the tools and knowledge they need to achieve their OKRs with confidence.
Conclusion
By choosing JOP, you gain access to a powerful and user-friendly OKR software solution backed by exceptional customer support and comprehensive training resources. Our commitment to providing a seamless user experience and helping organizations achieve their goals sets us apart. Experience the benefits of JOP firsthand by signing up for a free trial or contacting our support team for more information.
