A painful truth is that we only know how to write OKRs and KPIs but not how to track and execute them properly…
OKRs and KPIs are management methods that many Vietnamese businesses have applied in recent years. Although these methods are well-known around the world, not all businesses have successfully implemented them.
There are many reasons for the failure of implementing a method, but one of the main reasons is that we spend a lot of time writing and issuing them but do not invest enough in the execution – reviewing and improving.
In today’s article, Simplamo shares with you a focus on clarifying the points that are causing discomfort in the execution process and providing specific, visual methods to help you successfully execute OKRs and KPIs and increase revenue growth.
1. Writing is not enough
Many businesses spend the first 2-3 months of the year creating a business plan for the new year, setting OKRs and KPIs then issuing it and letting it float. They only gather the team to review at regular meetings (usually at the end of the month or quarter), but by then, it’s too late.
Employees forget the set goals, metrics, and even OKRs and KPIs. These goals or metrics are no longer relevant due to constant changes in the market/company strategy. Too many issues arise during the execution process, but they are not addressed in a timely manner or are repeated multiple times.
Finally, the goals and metrics do not meet expectations, leaving both employees and managers exhausted after each meeting. Clearly, writing and issuing a plan or OKRs and KPIs is one thing, but whether it can be successfully executed depends on how we review and improve it.
2. Writing correctly and sufficiently
OKRs and KPIs are no longer unfamiliar to us, with many books, documents, and template samples for businesses to choose from. However, when writing their own set of indicators and objectives, businesses should pay attention to the following:
- Quality over quantity: choose truly important indicators and objectives for the business. A long list of indicators and objectives often does not bring efficiency to the team, they will be overwhelmed by a myriad of indicators, not knowing what to prioritize and where to start. The suggested number here is a maximum of 15 indicators for the entire business and 7 important objectives for each quarter.
- Short and easy to understand: ensure that the names of the indicators and objectives you set are easy to understand, even the lowest-level office employee can understand what you want. Simply put, they must understand to be able to do it correctly, verbose and flashy language only makes things more complicated, employees will not remember and not do it according to your intentions.
- Align with business operations and continuously improve: Each business is a unique entity, therefore, the metrics, goals, OKRs and KPIs will also differ. You should start with the important metrics and goals, and during the process, you and your team will realize whether they are suitable and worth pursuing in the future. Then, you adjust and continue to monitor them.
Nothing is perfect and fixed from the beginning, even your business metrics and goals will evolve with the development of the business, so let everything be natural.
3. Review correctly
After completing the target-setting process and releasing it. It is time for the business to conduct indicators in OKRs and KPIs regular and proper reviews to ensure that everything is always on track.
3.1. Regarding frequency
End-of-month or end-of-quarter meetings are not enough to ensure indicators in OKRs and KPIs smooth operations. Imagine if you only meet your team 12 times a year if you meet at the end of each month or only 4 times a year if you meet at the end of each quarter.
Many issues arise during a month or even a week, both internally and externally with customers. If you only meet at the end of each month, all you get are reports on the numbers, and you do not have the opportunity to address the issues that have hindered the team during the past month or make timely decisions. This is not to mention whether the targets and indicators of your OKRs and KPIs you set are still appropriate or not.
Therefore, hold weekly meetings on a fixed day and time so that the team can schedule their work and prepare the necessary information for the meeting. Weekly reviews are just enough connection; if you have more frequent meetings, the team will not have time to work and will not be proactive in their work.
3.2. Regarding method:
You have identified the importance of organizing a weekly meeting, so what should we do and say in this meeting to ensure that the team always adheres to the targets? Here are the principles of an effective weekly meeting:
- Start and end on time: set up a fixed weekly meeting so that the team can control their time and attend on time. A meeting should only last for 90 minutes; beyond that, people will not have enough energy and focus to come up with the best solutions to problems.
- Coordinators and secretaries: a meeting should have a main coordinator to ensure everyone stays on topic and focused on the issues discussed. The secretary will record important discussion points and action plans created to send to the team after the meeting ends.
- Ensure proper and complete review: review important content weekly, including your metrics, objectives, from top to bottom. This means your metrics should be measured weekly, your goals should be broken down into smaller pieces for implementation. Do not stop midway in this process, especially when you have just discovered a problem and want to solve it immediately, because you may miss larger issues in metrics, objectives that have not been considered.
- Problem-solving requires action (todo): for each problem, focus on solving it by developing specific action plans, assigning responsibility to someone, and then moving on to solve other problems. Be disciplined in this step, as nearly 80% of people have a tendency to “talk around” without focusing on a specific problem.
These are the principles of a properly organized regular meeting. To make this meeting truly effective, the coordinator must equip themselves with many other soft skills. But above all, it is training and discipline that are most important.
By regularly organizing weekly meetings, you will notice significant changes in the team: everyone knows their metrics, objectives, indicators in OKRs and KPIs by heart and focuses on achieving them; the team identifies and solves many emerging problems that are hindering progress; you can evaluate all activities taking place in the organization, adjust strategies and policies in a timely manner, and place expectations in the right place.
4. Simplamo – Helping you track and execute OKRs and KPIs the right way
Simplamo is a modern goal management software that combines OKRs and KPIs to effectively help you build and implement successful OKRs and KPIs. Instead of simply digitizing what you’re doing or providing you with a matrix of functionalities, Simplamo offers you the mindset and principles to ensure that you’re doing things right and sufficiently.
The mindset that Simplamo brings to you includes:
- How to build weekly KPI metrics: Providing company-level and department-level KPI dashboards to quickly identify issues and make accurate predictions.
- How to build quarterly OKR goals focused on what matters, with suggested methods for building them correctly and sufficiently. Breaking down quarterly OKRs into smart milestone checkpoints for easy progress measurement and issue identification.
- A 7-step intelligent weekly meeting framework, including reviewing key metrics and goals to easily identify issues.
- A role-responsibility organizational chart framework, ensuring that OKRs and KPIs are assigned to the right people for the right tasks.
- User-friendly software interface that focuses on displaying important information, making it easy to monitor team progress and identify impediments.
- KPI Scorecard review during weekly meetings.
- OKR goal board with smart milestone checkpoints.
The core essence that Simplamo brings to you is the operational mindset of a business, focusing on alignment, connection, and achieving goals.
Businesses that have used Simplamo have achieved impressive results within just 6 months of using the software. They have learned how to set the right goals, connect their teams, and work together to successfully execute their goals. Many businesses have experienced growth rates of over 30%, and some even achieved 200% growth within 6 months to 1 year of implementing Simplamo.
5. About Simplamo Simplamo aims to bring you real stories and true value.
We know that you are a great leader, a talented CEO with vast professional knowledge and excellent team leadership skills. However, that also means you are always busy, with numerous ideas that are not easy to convey and turn into reality. Your internal environment may become chaotic, and you may feel overwhelmed as your business expands.
Understanding your concerns, Simplamo was created as a crystallization of modern 21st-century management thinking, a century marked by the rapid rise of technology. The 21st century has no place for lengthy management theories and multi-layered approaches. Instead, management should be simple, practical, and effective.
Simplamo transforms modern management knowledge into user-friendly, understandable, and easy-to-follow tools. Amidst the daily flood of information, you and your team will know what needs to be done and how to collaborate to achieve your goals.
During the Simplamo feature demo session, the Simplamo team not only describes the features but also shares detailed insights about the mindset behind them. This way, you and your team can fully understand every aspect of running a business.
Only when there is shared understanding can your team row together in the same boat!
—————————————————
Simplamo is a modern and scientifically-based management software that uniquely combines OKRs and KPIs, making every aspect of operation simple and approachable for every employee. It relieves pressure for leaders, allowing them to focus on important missions and optimize work performance for the business.
Experience Simplamo and feel the change in just 4 weeks! Register for a Simplamo demo at: https://app.simplamo.com/sign-up
