How do OKRs help Jumpstart Productivity at a Startup?

For any startup to grow and succeed, ensuring the teams are focused and connected is essential. Most of the time, startups fail because of a lack of alignment between teams or less focus on the goals that matter the most. And that is why startups need Objectives and Key Results (OKRs). Adopted by the tech giants like Google, Intel, Walmart, Amazon, and others, OKRs are now increasingly utilized by startups to trigger sustainable growth and unlock success.

John Doerr introduced the concept of OKRs at Google in 1999, and the leading organization has been using OKR as an effective goal-setting approach. Later in 2013, OKRs became more popular when Rick Klau, a partner at Google Ventures, showed a presentation on ‘How Google set goals: OKRs to many startups that want to adopt OKRs’ to drive business growth.

Objectives and key results serve as an effective goal-setting framework that enables successful strategy execution by keeping the team focused, agile, and aligned towards the same results. Let us see how OKRs for early-stage businesses can help jumpstart productivity and growth:

1. Aligning Teams to the Top-level Company Goals

When team objectives are directly aligned to the broader company objectives, employees feel more inspired and less myopic. When everyone publicly views OKRs, employees no longer feel working in silos and can focus more on their priorities that help accomplish the company’s vision and overall purpose. With proper alignment of employee activities with the top-level goals, you can see how each team member contributes towards improving the business growth.

Also Read: OKR Framework: Key Pillars to Meet your Business Goals

2. Encouraging Transparency at all Levels

There are several companies that combine the OKR process with annual performance reviews. But it is always wise for a small startup or even a big enterprise to separate OKRs from compensation. The employee goal-setting framework helps create alignment and focus on the right priorities, encouraging people to work together and remain productive. This further encourages a culture of transparency at all levels, keeping everyone accountable for what they do and how they measure success.

3. Driving Cross-functional Team Collaboration

The best way for startups to improve productivity is by setting cross-functional team OKRs that imbibe a ‘clarity of purpose.’ Building cross-team OKRs enable startups to achieve better outcomes through collaboration rather than working in silos. As a result, employees can commit to the defined objectives, engage with other teams, share innovative ideas, and ultimately accelerate their workplace performance.

Also Read: Importance of a Simple OKR Tool for your Small Business

OKRs are powerful when used to set, track, and implement audacious goals. To use them as a successful goal-setting approach for startups, make sure that everyone is aligned, focused, committed, and connected. When implemented successfully, OKRs for early-stage businesses help create a culture of transparency and agility, thus enabling startups to attain measurable results and improve growth. The key to success for startups is growth which can be accomplished with OKRs.

Do you want to introduce the OKR framework for your startup company? Then, try Unlock:OKR and book a free demo today to know more.