Motivating Your Organization to Use OKRs: Steps & Tips

Choosing a management tool is only part of the task, getting people to go along with it is another important aspect. Although, people can achieve the needed results faster when the proper management tool is in place. In this regard, OKRs might just be the best thing you’ve ever done for your organization even if some employees don’t think it is or that it is even worth trying out. 

When faced with a challenge such as this, what do you do? Do you let the doubters have the final word and allow your organization to lose its focus? Or do you impose the management tool on your employees? 

All these questions are some of the things that a manager must navigate – it is part of the job description. Being a manager is work and it does not always go according to plan. However, how you tackle these difficult moments send critical messages throughout your organization – up and down the chain of command. 

It never ends well when you have to force people to do things, but you can help them make the right decisions and go along with you when they see the benefits from your perspective. It’s all about strategy. Below are some steps you can follow to push your OKRs game up the ladder.

Steps on How to Motivate Employees to Use OKRs

• Explain the benefits of using OKRs

Patiently explaining your point of view and understanding your employees’ can inspire much-needed motivation. Below are some of the benefits of OKRs that you can use to get your employees on your side. 

• OKRs offer employees clarity of the nature of work and the expected results at the end of the day.

• OKRs offers employee alignment. This helps them see the relevance of their work and how it affects the entire team. 

• Productivity is bound to increase when OKRs are used. When productivity increases, the organization grows.

• It helps to identify employees that are due for praise at the end of the day when results are achieved. The management can throw in increased paychecks and incentives. 

• Employees enjoy job fulfilment. The feeling that you’re serving a purpose is enough to keep the whole process going.

• Set goals with the workforce

Always carry your team along when setting goals and making decisions. A person is more likely to work well when he/she knows he/she is involved in one way or another. When they know that they have a say in the decisions made, they will work towards them without any reservations. When this happens, productivity is bound to improve.

• Make a habit of setting and tracking your OKRs

Cultivate the habit of always requesting that employees review and update their progress. Ensure that you use tracking software that you trust. It will enable you to set OKRs, keep track of progress and manage employees to reach your target.

• Make the gradual shift from being a boss to being a coach

Sometimes all it takes is just a little coaching. People tend to fear bosses but they love coaches. To get to your employees, you should aim at inciting love rather than fear. Fear in a workplace is counter-productive. In contrast, people thrive in environments based on love. 

Start by teaching your employees what is expected of them. Encourage them when they are not getting it right and show them where they missed. If your employees can come freely to you with their challenges then you’ve made the shift to becoming a coach. There is no greater motivation to work than having a coach as a boss. Employees will quickly align to their OKRs and work effectively towards them. Why? Because the coach says so!

Tips on How to Motivate Employees to Use OKRs

• Encourage your team to set individual OKRs both for themselves and company goals.
• Break down objectives into small steps and even into smaller steps. That way, it doesn’t look so much like a big task.
• Set OKRs to align department by department. That way, everyone is responsible for everyone. When there is a problem, everyone pauses to fix it. 
• Get personal with employees. Try to know them outside the workplace. This can help you understand them better to know how best to motivate them.
• Get big on incentives and rewards for results achieved. When people know there is a reward at the end of the day, they tend to give their best.

Conclusion

OKRs are a good goal-setting tool. However, OKRs cannot get the work done in isolation. Employees are the greatest asset of an organization & they must get the job done using OKRs. Therefore, much care is to be taken to ensure that these core processes go as planned. Human beings are dynamic but with the right approach, anything is possible.