OKR
GO
regan davis
VP of Product, Data @Jellyvision
Makers of ALEX, an interactive cartoon for explaining HR & benefits to employees
if you did all your tasks, is that success?
or is your action plan is just a series of hypotheses?
results focused culture
we want a
have goals
OKR
= goals + measurement
= objectives + key results
I will ______________ as measured by _____________.
measurement = numbers
If it does not have a number, it is not a key result."
—Marissa Mayer, former CEO of Yahoo
“
about outcome,
not output.
tips for good OKRs
Objectives:
- simple, short, easy to memorize
- shouldn't be boring
Key Results:
- Separate metrics from tasks
- Stick to a few—2 to 5 per objective
objective
create an Awesome Customer Experience
how would you know if the customer experience is awesome?
if they're likely to tell others about us?
[ ]
if they buy more things?
objective
create an Awesome Customer Experience
key results
Improve Net Promoter Score from X to Y
Increase Repurchase Rate from X to Y
objective
create an Awesome Customer Experience
is there something that we should be careful of?
key results
how much it costs to make them happy?
[ ]
Improve Net Promoter Score from X to Y
Increase Repurchase Rate from X to Y
objective
create an Awesome Customer Experience
key results
Improve Net Promoter Score from X to Y
Increase Repurchase Rate from X to Y
Maintain Customer Acquisition Cost under Y
the first time you try OKRs...
we set bad OKRs
1.
we set bad OKRs
1.
use OKR as a to-do list / a copy of the roadmap
create Key Results that aren't measurable / impossible to track
set too many OKRs; no focus
we create OKRs alone
2.
2.
struggle to align OKRs with company goals
don't tell others about your OKRs
teams don't align their goals, get conflicting OKRs
we create OKRs alone
new year's resolutions
3.
new year's resolutions
3.
no follow through or check-ins
even when tracking OKRs, we struggle to connect them to the work and work activities.
could we make this more confusing?
hell yes.
strategy and tactics
tactical OKRs
- set for each team
- short cycle (quarterly, monthly)
- review mid-quarter
- check-in weekly for tracking results
strategic OKRs
- set for the whole company
- high level
- long cycle (yearly)
tactical OKRs
answer 2 questions
- how can we contribute to the Strategic OKRs?
- which of the Key Results included in the Strategic OKRs can we impact?
tactical key results can be:
- a slice of a company key result
- ex: the company will sell 100, my team will sell 20
-
hypotheses or bets about how to contribute to the strategic OKR
- ex: We will reduce the number of customer complaints because we believe it will increase the repurchase rate
O
create an Awesome Customer Experience
KR
Improve Net Promoter Score from X to Y
Increase Repurchase Rate from X to Y
Maintain Customer Acquisition Cost under Y
O
Increase Repurchase Rate
KR
Increase new Prime subscriptions from X to Y
Interview 10 customers by end of Q1
Hold or improve MAU for prime members at Z%
but what about my features
?
objective
what we want to achieve
key results
initiatives
how we're going to measure our progress
what we're going to try: projects, tasks, or activities
O
Increase Repurchase Rate
KR
Increase new Prime subscriptions from X to Y
Interview 10 customers by end of Q1
Hold or improve MAU for prime members at Z%
objective
Increase Repurchase Rate
key results
Interview 10 customers by end of Q1
Increase new Prime subscriptions from X to Y
Improve MAU for prime members to Z%
initiatives
Subscribe and Save - create MAU without needing to login.
Prime Day - let's create our own holiday which will boost Prime Membership sales
Fire Phone - increase loyalty and MAU
objective
Launch an Awesome MVP
key results
Net Promoter Score (likely to recommend) of 8
40% of users come back 2x in one week
15% Conversion rate
initiatives
Email order receipt and related items
Streamline the checkout experience
Add post-checkout survey
Example - MVP
objective
Strengthen our sales approach
key results
All salespeople listen in to 10 product demos of other team members
50% of web signups contacted in first 24 hours
Achieve 300 demo calls per salesperson
initiatives
Assign backups for each region
Create shadow call calendar
Have team document best practices
Example - Sales
get uncomfortable
We set ourselves goals we can't reach yet because we know that by stretching to meet them we can get further than we expected."
“
stretching
is the goal
stretching
makes the team
- rethink they way they work
- ask hard questions
- have the difficult conversations that have been avoided
OKRs are not synonymous with employee evaluations, or bonuses.
They should encourage (thoughtful) risk-taking.
Punishing people for taking risks means no one will push themselves.
"moonshots"
Stretch goals
Just beyond the threshold of what seems possible
Success means achieving 60-70%
"roofshots"
Goals that are hard but achievable
Success means achieving 100%
setting one moonshot key result per OKR—the others are all roofshots
start using
roofshots only
to develop a results focused culture,
next:
the check-in
encourage
experimentation.
okrs
timing and reviews
- have tactical OKRs quarterly
- with a mid-quarter review
- and weekly check-ins for tracking results
- use annual, strategic OKRs for the entire company
monthly check-ins?
| OKR Progress |
|---|
| Confidence Levels |
|---|
With the info we have today, how confident are we that we will reach each Key Result?
What changed in the Key Results since the last check-in?
| Impediments |
|---|
check-in questions
What is slowing down the team?
| Initiatives |
|---|
What are we going to try to improve results?
proceed or pivot
check-ins give you time to
objective
Increase Repurchase Rate
key results
Increase new Prime subscriptions from X to Y
Improve MAU for prime members to Z%
initiatives
Subscribe and Save - create MAU without needing to login.
Prime Day - let's create our own holiday which will boost Prime Membership sales
Fire Phone - increase loyalty and MAU
interview 10 customers by end of Q1
let's recap
objective
simple sentence
key results
3-5 measurable outcomes (from X to Y)
strategic
tactical
need alignment
uncomfort-
able
check-ins allow for pivoting
that's it.
questions?
[appendix]
objective
Improve Retirement Experience
key results
Improve Understanding TTBS from 70% to 80%
Increase Helpfulness TTBS from 65% to 75%
Maintain Contribution Rate above 11% of salary (currently ~13%)
initiatives
Feature: Retirement Readiness Assessment
Creative Audit: Add more explainer moments
Onboarding: Ease users in at the start
UX Example
objective
Reduce overhead by Simplifying the pipeline
key results
- Reduce the effort to add a new product (visits & surveys) by 2/3 (~580 hours, based on 2018 numbers)
- Reduce pipeline support costs by 30%
- All deploys (not recodes) average < 1 day from the scheduled date to completion
- Recode deploys take less than a week
initiatives
buy a 3rd party solution (buy vs. build)
build new ETL pipeline (replatform)
Tech Example