Managing and driving performance is crucial to every organization, particularly when it comes to aligning individual and collective goals. In 2023, our internal feedback revealed that achieving individual goals did not lead to fulfilling the company’s overarching objectives. Why? Individual goals were often short sighted and set to address specific short-term localised needs or fixes within the organisation. There were no long-term aspirational core purpose driving individuals to a common objective. Everyone was simply focused on improving their performance and that of their team. Well performing teams did not translate into the success of the organisation. We realised there was a need to work towards a common goal and have everyone drive in the same direction. This was the motivation behind our decision to adopt a more ambitious model: OKRs: (Objectives and Key Results).
The concept of Objectives and Key Results (OKR) originated in the 1970s at Intel, where it was developed by Andy Grove, one of the company’s founders and its then-CEO. Grove initially introduced OKRs to help align his teams and measure performance with greater precision. This goal-setting methodology was aimed at translating strategic objectives into actionable tasks, helping ensure that everyone in the organization understood not only what needed to be done, but also how success would be measured. OKRs were designed to bring focus, accountability, and transparency to team and individual goals.
OKRs gained widespread attention when John Doerr, who had learned about the methodology while working under Grove at Intel, introduced it to Google in 1999. Doerr, now a renowned venture capitalist, believed OKRs could help high-growth companies like Google maintain alignment and drive measurable results. Google’s success with OKRs popularized the framework across various industries, making it a key approach for organizations worldwide seeking to align team goals, enhance performance, and stay adaptable in dynamic environments. Today, OKRs are used by countless companies, both large and small, as a core component of their strategic planning and performance measurement systems.
Why OKRs?
While the SMART model is useful for setting measurable and attainable goals, it doesn’t necessarily push individuals to step out of their comfort zone or strive for more. With OKRs, the focus is on setting ambitious targets that encourage innovation, where failure is allowed and expected as part of the process of discovery or invention. OKRs need to be clearly measurable with tangible outcomes to provide direction, meaning and motivation in everything we do. In essence, OKRs enable a shift from a conservative work culture to an environment of aspiration and growth.
Key Steps in the Implementation Process
- Understanding the Concept of OKRs
The first step to adopting OKRs was to ensure the entire organisation was well-versed in the methodology. It was crucial for everyone to grasp the difference between ambitious, measurable objectives and key performance indicators (KPIs). Long-term OKRs were set at the corporate level to allow department, team and individual OKRs to follow suit. This ensured individual initiatives contributed directly to the company’s strategic goals.
2. Leadership Support
One of the critical factors for the successful implementation of OKRs was leadership buy-in. If this method isn’t championed by top management, its overall impact is limited. Introducing OKRs represented a significant change for all employees, as performance management is a key process affecting motivation, sense of belonging, retention, and personal development.
3. Setting Ambitious but Realistic Goals
Ambition is at the core of OKRs, but we quickly realized that it’s easy to get carried away. The staff launched several initiatives, showing great ambition and desire to positively contribute to the company’s performance. However, by the end of the first quarter, general fatigue had set in. While ambitious, the goals must remain realistic and focused to have the desired impact.
4. Regular Monitoring and Adjustments – Measure What Matters!
One of the greatest strengths of OKRs is the frequency of feedback and adjustments. Bi-annual performance reviews are a thing of the past! We introduced bi-weekly check-ins, allowing for quick and continuous realignment of objectives and activities. To support this process, we developed our own internal tracking tool, fostering transparency and open communication across the organisation.
To effectively contribute to NuRAN’s mission—empowering 50 million lives in emerging markets through accessible and efficient mobile communication, amplifying opportunities, unlocking potential, leveling the playing field, and breaking down barriers to growth in health, education, economy, and information access—we have structured our OKRs around four strategic pillars:
- Impacting 50 million lives by 2030
- Building accessible communication
- Fostering an ecosystem of innovation
- Being recognized as an agent of change
These pillars form the foundation of our objectives, acting as a roadmap to growth while continually reinforcing our identity and direction. Each quarter, employees align their individual OKRs with these four strategic pillars and the subsidiary OKRs set by the company at the beginning of the year. This alignment ensures that all initiatives contribute meaningfully toward our mission, amplifying opportunities, unlocking potential, and breaking barriers to growth in health, education, economy, and access to information.
Positive Outcomes and Challenges
The adoption of OKRs has allowed us to regularly recognise individual efforts and foster a culture of continuous improvement. Alignment of individual and corporate goals has improved, and employees have been able to see their work and effort contribute to the overall results. Personal initiatives were also built into the process, as it became evident that an individual’s wellbeing and frame of mind are directly correlated to their motivation and performance. We thus encouraged objectives such as health or personal development.
This first year also brought some challenges. One of the most significant was ensuring that objectives were easily measurable and maintained momentum throughout the year. Even at this stage, some employees still find it challenging to write measurable objectives, which increases the workload for managers. Furthermore, we encountered difficulties in maintaining adequate support during the third quarter due to staggered staff vacations, which delayed the implementation of initiatives and made tracking their progress more complex. Better planning is key to sustain support during these periods.
Conclusion: Toward Process Optimization
As we approach the end of our first year of OKR adoption and implementation, we are actively reflecting on how to adjust and improve the process. The goal is to strike the right balance between ambition and feasibility, while ensuring each team member stays motivated and aligned with the company’s overall objectives. Change is tough for an individual and even more so for an organisation. Persistence is key to ensure the entire organisation wholeheartedly embraces OKRs as our new work culture and environment.
