Creating OKRs

Creating Objectives and Key Results (OKRs)

OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) are a powerful framework for defining and tracking ambitious goals and their outcomes. Elairo makes it easy to set up, manage, and align your team's OKRs to drive clarity and focus. This guide will walk you through the process of creating Objectives and their associated Key Results within Elairo.

Understanding the OKR Structure

Before diving into creation, it's helpful to remember the fundamental structure of an OKR:

• Objective: What do we want to achieve? (Qualitative, inspiring, time-bound).

• Key Result: How do we know if we've achieved it? (Quantitative, measurable, verifiable).

You'll define your Objective first, then add one or more Key Results to measure its success.

Step-by-Step: Creating an Objective

To create a new Objective in Elairo:

1. Navigate to the OKR Section: From the Elairo dashboard, click on 'OKRs' in the left-hand navigation bar.

2. Start a New Objective:

   • If you're creating your first Objective, you'll see a prominent "Create Your First Objective" button.

   • If Objectives already exist, click the "+ New Objective" button, usually located in the top right corner or above the list of existing OKRs.

3. Define Your Objective Title:

   • Enter a clear, concise, and inspiring title for your Objective. This should state what you want to achieve.

   • Tip: Good Objective titles are ambitious but not impossible. They motivate your team.

   • Example: "Deliver a World-Class Customer Onboarding Experience"

4. Add a Description (Optional but Recommended):

   • Provide a brief description that elaborates on the Objective. This is where you can add context, strategic rationale, or further detail behind why this Objective is important.

   • Example: "Our goal is to ensure every new customer successfully integrates Elairo into their workflow within the first week, leading to higher satisfaction and reduced churn."

5. Assign Ownership:

   • Select the individual or team responsible for this Objective. Use the search bar to find and assign the appropriate owner.

   • Tip: While multiple people may contribute, an Objective should ideally have a single owner who is ultimately accountable for its success.

6. Set Time Period:

   • Choose the quarter or time period this Objective applies to. Elairo organizes OKRs by timeframes, typically quarters.

   • Tip: OKRs are most effective when tied to a specific, shorter timeframe (e.g., a quarter) to maintain focus and allow for regular review.

7. Align Your Objective (Crucial for Company-Wide Clarity):

   • This is a critical step for ensuring that individual and team efforts contribute to broader organizational goals.

   • Click on "Align to" or "Parent Objective" and select the higher-level Objective this new Objective supports.

   • You can align an Objective to:

     • A Company Objective

     • A Department Objective

     • Another Team's Objective

   • Tip: Alignment helps visualize how everyone's work contributes to the bigger picture. Avoid "cascading" OKRs where every objective has an identical child; instead, aim for alignment where a lower-level OKR supports a higher one, even if it's not identical. Refer to OKR Best Practices for more on alignment.

8. Set Visibility:

   • Determine who can view this Objective. Options typically include company-wide, specific teams, or private.

   • Tip: Promote transparency by making OKRs visible across the organization whenever possible.

9. Create Objective:

   • Once all details are entered, click "Create Objective."

Step-by-Step: Adding Key Results to an Objective

After creating your Objective, the next step is to define how you'll measure its success.

1. Select Your Objective:

   • From the OKRs list, click on the Objective you just created (or an existing one you wish to add Key Results to).

2. Add a Key Result:

   • On the Objective's detail page, you'll see a section for Key Results. Click the "+ Add Key Result" button.

3. Define Your Key Result Title:

   • Enter a clear, measurable statement describing how you will achieve the Objective.

   • Tip: Key Results should be quantitative and verifiable. Can you assign a number to it?

   • Example Key Result for "Deliver a World-Class Customer Onboarding Experience": "Increase new customer activation rate from 60% to 90%."

   • Another Example: "Reduce onboarding support tickets by 50%."

4. Specify Key Result Type:

   • Elairo offers various Key Result types to track progress:

     • Increase By / Decrease By: For metrics that need to go up or down (e.g., increase revenue by $X, decrease churn by Y%).

     • Maintain At: For metrics that need to stay at a certain level.

     • Complete Task / Milestone: For completion-based Key Results (e.g., launch new integration).

     • Achieve A Value Of: For reaching a specific target value.

   • Choose the most appropriate type and enter the starting and target values.

   • Example (Increase By): "Start Value: 60%", "Target Value: 90%"

5. Assign Ownership:

   • Similar to Objectives, assign an owner responsible for driving this specific Key Result.

   • Tip: Key Result owners are often the individuals or teams doing the work to move the needle on that metric.

6. Add Context/Description (Optional):

   • Provide any necessary context or details for the Key Result.

7. Create Key Result:

   • Click "Create Key Result."

You can add multiple Key Results to an Objective. Typically, 2-5 Key Results are ideal for each Objective. Once created, you can track their progress directly within Elairo. Learn more about tracking progress in Key Results Progress.