How to Set and Track Goals with an OKR Tracker? (Easy Template)

In today's fast-paced business environment, setting clear and achievable goals is crucial for success. OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) have become a popular framework for goal setting and tracking, offering a structured approach to aligning individual and team objectives with company goals.

If you're just starting to adopt OKR framework, this OKR Template would be beneficial to help keeping all company and team goals organised and visible to all members. It includes two levels - one for company-wide OKRs, one for team-level OKRs (it's free to duplicate for unlimited teams or departments).

What is OKRs?

Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) is a powerful tool for setting and tracking goals in any organization. By providing a structured approach to goal setting, OKRs help align individual and team efforts with overall company objectives.

The OKR framework consists of two components:

  • Objectives: The qualitative goals you want to achieve.
  • Key Results: The quantitative measures used to track the progress toward your objectives.

Why Use an OKR Template?

OKRs are used by leading companies such as Google, Microsoft, Adobe, Amazon, Netflix, LinkedIn, and more to ensure everyone is working towards the same goals and to accelerate business growth.

Here are some of the great benefits OKR offers:

  • Clarity and Focus: OKR tools provide a clear framework for setting and tracking goals, helping teams stay focused on what matters most.
  • Alignment: Ensure that individual, team, and organizational goals are aligned for maximum impact.
  • Transparency: Foster a culture of transparency by making goals visible and accessible to all team members.
  • Adaptability: Easily adjust and update goals as business priorities change. 

Getting Started with OKR Tracker

Setting goals with an OKR tracker involves defining clear objectives and measurable key results to ensure alignment across the organization.

 

In this quick guide, we will walk you through the process of setting and tracking goals using a simple OKR tracker.

Step 1: Define Company OKRs

OKRs uses a top-down approach, where management start to defines company-wide objectives and key results first. This ensures that everyone in the organization is working towards common goals.

Hence, we will start by entering Company Mission Statement. This provides context and direction for the objectives.

In the Company OKR tab, enter the company's mission statement. 

Next, define Company OKRs (Objectives and Key Results): List 1-5 objectives and 1-5 key results. These should be ambitious yet achievable and aligned with the company's mission.

💡 Tip: Limit yourself to no more than 5 objectives to maintain focus. Spreading efforts too thin can dilute effectiveness and make it difficult to achieve meaningful progress.

Step 2: Set Up Team OKRs

Team OKR Tracking Spreadsheets (Google Sheets Template)
  • Name the Team: In the Team OKR tab, enter the team name in the header. To make the setup convenient for you, we have prepared 4 Team OKR tracker for you, you can duplicate for more teams as needed.
  • Define Team OKRs: Similar to how you define OKR for the organisation, define OKRs for each teams. Use one tracker for one team. Make sure the team OKRs are aligned with company vision and OKRs. 
  • For each team you can track up to 5 objectives and 5 key results for each objectives (total of 25).

💡 Tip: Use Google Sheets to share the template with all team members. This fosters collaboration and transparency, allowing everyone to stay informed and aligned.

Step 3: Set the Target

  • Assign Metrics: For each key result, determine the metric used to measure success. This could be percentages, numerical targets, or other quantifiable indicators. For example, for the key results "Increase sales", you can have Metric Name as "Total Sales".
  • Set Targets: Define specific targets for each metric to provide clear benchmarks for success. Target must be in numeric. For instance, you can set Target as $10,000. 

Step 4: Assign Ownership

Next, appoint an owner for each objective and key result. This ensures accountability and clarity on who is responsible for achieving each goal.

💡 Tip: This person could also be responsible to keep the actual performance updated on time.

Step 5: Track Progress

Update metrics on the "Actual" column for both team and company OKRs.

Progress auto-calculated! The progress will be calculated for each key results based on the actual and the target entered.

💡 Tip: Establish a schedule to update progress on key results. Regular updates help maintain focus and identify areas where adjustments may be needed.

Step 6: Review

Schedule regular reviews of goals and progress, both at the team level and company-wide. This allows for reflection, learning, and adjustment of objectives as needed.

How to customise OKR Scoring?

Our OKR Tracker helps you easily categorize the status of your objectives and key results.

With intuitive indicators, you'll know exactly which goals are at risk and off track. This allows you to take prompt action, adjust strategies, and ensure your team stays aligned and focused on success.

Tailor Your OKR Strategy

Our OKR Tracker allows you to select between two strategic modes: Conservative and Ambitious. This flexibility ensures that your goals align with your organization's current needs and capabilities.

  • Conservative Mode: Opt for this mode to prioritize stability and risk management. Ideal for projects with limited resources or where consistent progress is vital.
  • Ambitious Mode: Select this mode to set stretch goals and drive significant growth. Perfect for teams ready to push boundaries and innovate.

By selecting the appropriate mode, you can align your objectives with your team's current capacity and strategic goals, ensuring that everyone is working towards the same outcomes with the right level of challenge.

How to Select OKR Scoring Mode:

Go to Global Settings, and select your desired mode from the OKR Scoring dropdown.

The chosen mode with the corresponding scoring method will be displayed.

Progress Status and the Calculation

In general, we have 4 statuses:

  • Off Track
  • At Risk
  • On Track
  • Completed (when progress = 100%)

Objectives are classified according to the average progress percentage of all associated key results. This is determined by dividing the actual progress by the target for each key result and then averaging these percentages for the overall objective.

Benchmark

The percentage benchmarks for both Conservative and Ambitious mode can be adjusted to fit your preferences.

Simply edit the numbers in the tables for each mode.

 

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