OKR Guide for Startups

OKR (Objectives and Key Results) is a goal setting system used by Google and other successful companies. OKR methodology can create alignment and engagement around ambitious goals. But OKR is not only for big and digital companies; can help startups to be agile, focused and move fast regardless of size or funding.   

Doerr’s formula is the best way to explain the structure of an OKR:  

“I will (Objective) as measured by (this set of Key Results)” 

OKR examples that can give you guidance 

 Defining well-structured OKRs and creating a system is not easy. Examples are the guidance for your organization’s OKRs. Different companies operate their OKR setting differently; you should use the examples for inspiration. Don’t forget every change in process, effort, time and commitment are needed to succeed. 

The Objective is an ambitious goal, sets a clear direction for everyone. It basically tells you where you want to go. 

Key results are a set of metrics that that need to be achieved in order to meet the objective. For each Objective, you should have a set of 2 to 5 Key Results. More than that it is difficult to focus. 

OKR examples that can give you guidance

Defining well-structured OKRs and creating a system is not easy. Examples are the guidance for your organization’s OKRs. Different companies operate their OKR setting differently; you should use the examples for inspiration. Don’t forget every change in process, effort, time and commitment are needed to succeed.

Sales

Objective: Skyrocket MRR

KR 1: Increase MRR from $220k to $300k

KR 2: Increase average monthly subscription size from $150 to $250 per month.

KR 3: Reduce monthly churn rate from 3.5% to 1.5%

 

Objective: Drive-up ARR to new levels

KR 1: Increase the retention rate from 95% to 105%

KR 2: Increase the company average deal size by 25% with upsells

KR 3: Decrease the sales cycle from 2 months to 1.5 months.

 

Objective: Grow our Corporate Global Business

KR 1: Win 20 new enterprise deals

KR 2: Recruit 6 new channel partners in EMA

KR 3: New 18 deals from partners

 

Objective: Decrease sales lifecycle

KR 1: Upsell product to 25% of existing customers.

KR 2: Decrease POC period 30 days to 15 days

 

Marketing

Objective: Win the Google Search Ranking Game

KR 1: Find SEO keywords that have a monthly search volume of at least 1000.
KR 2: Decrease website organic bounce rate from 72% to 48%

 

Objective: Turn content into a lead-generation star

KR 1: Reach a click-through rate of 60% for email newsletters

KR 2: Increase content click-through from 2.500 to 5.000 clicks monthly

KR 3: Boost e-book downloads by 40%

 

Objective: Increase social media reach

KR 1: Double social media reach from last quarter

KR 2: Increasing the number of daily Instagram comments from 20 to 35

KR 3: Increase the number of monthly leads from social media sources from 900 to 2.000

 

Product

Objective: Make successful product launch for 3rd version of Product X
KR 1: Increase the conversion rate sign-up to trial from 33% to 45%

KR 2: Increase the conversion rate trial to paid from 45% to 70%

KR 3: Get published product reviews in 10 publications

 

Objective: Improve first user experience

KR 1: Reduce the sign-up flow churn from 27% to 7%

KR 2: Improve NPS from 8.5 to 9.7

KR 3: Reduce bugs found after the release by 99%

 

People

Objective: Successfully implement OKR methodology

KR 1: 100% participation in OKR weekly check-ins

KR 2: 80%+ positive employee feedback after 3 months of implementation

 

Objective: Improve employee engagement

KR 1: 100% of team members receive feedback this quarter

KR 2: Implement 20% additional employee engagement activities

KR 3: 100% of team members receive feedback this quarter

 

Software Engineering

Objective: Improve product stability

KR 1: Reduce API response time to 2s

KR 2: Improve unit testing coverage from 70% to 90%

KR 3: Decrease TrackJS errors by %60

 

Objective: Improve speed of feature releases

KR 1: Increase length of QA testing phase before entering user testing phase by 2 weeks

KR 2: Reduce reported bugs by 50% a week prior to feature release

KR 3: Decrease of reported issues during development process by 25%

 

Objective: Improve User Experience

KR 1: Decrease New user signup time from 2 minutes to 1 minutes

KR 2: Increase NPS of clients by 20%

Download the OKR Guide for Startups

In the chaotic environment, OKRs help organizations prioritize and execute without losing focus. That’s why startups can benefit more by implementing OKR. Here's everything you need to know to Get Started!

Comments are closed.