What are OKRs?

Most companies set goals, but OKRs are the goal-setting framework of choice for some of the highest-performing teams in the world, including Google, Amazon, Dropbox, Microsoft and Slack. You might be wondering how OKRs work and what makes them different to other goals. Well, if you’re looking for a simple OKRs definition, you’ve come to the right place!

What are OKRs?

OKRs stand for objectives and key results. OKRs refer to the goal-setting framework that many leaders use to help people across the organisation stay aligned on goals. Through personal and team goals, they help people measure their progress and connect their work to the company’s success.

We use the OKR framework in our platform Frankli to help teams digitise the goal-setting, tracking and reporting process, and to help teams create greater visibility and clarity on their goals, and the company goals.

What’s the difference between an objective and a key result?

An objective is a goal, while a key result is a measurable step that you need to take in order to achieve that goal.

Think of it like this:

Objective: where do I want to go?

Key Results: how will I get there?

Here's another way to think about the difference between objectives and key results:

Objectives are always qualitative and aspirational. They are something that you, your team, or your company aim to achieve (and should not contain numbers!)

Key Results are always quantitative. They will tell you if you have achieved your objective, so they should be clearly measurable to avoid any doubt.

Where can I learn more about OKRs?

• Get started with OKRs using our handy OKR goal templates

• Read our 6 pitfalls to avoid when creating OKRs

• Learn more about the benefits of digitising the goal-setting process

• Learn how Frankli helps teams achieve their goals faster and boost engagement by digitising the goal-setting process through OKRs

• Read our 10 tips for maximising the potential of OKRs on your teams