Article

The 5 Steps to OKR Planning (With Examples)

November 14, 2024

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Emily May

Are you in charge of leading results within your organization? If so, you know that strategic planning is a non-negotiable. If you haven’t tried OKR planning, you should consider it.

Tracking OKRs has been at the center of progress for the ICAgile marketing team. The framework provides a simple structure to set outcome-based goals and align our work to those priorities. 

This article covers everything you need to know about OKRs and outlines the five key steps to successful OKR planning.

What are OKRs?

Let’s first answer the question, what does OKR stand for? 

  • O: Objective
  • KR: Key results

An objective is the big-picture goal that you want to work toward. The key results are the measurable outcomes you need to meet to achieve that objective. 

Initiatives are the projects teams plan and implement to meet their objectives and key results. Teams must identify both objectives and key results first to ensure their initiatives are targeted. 

The OKR framework was invented in the 1970s by Andy Grove, the CEO of Intel. It was adapted from Peter Drucker’s MBO framework, or “management by objectives.” OKRs are still widely leveraged across industries and job functions to achieve strategic goals. 


The major benefits of the OKR framework include:

  • Targeted goals and efforts
  • Continuous metric tracking
  • Vision and mission alignment
  • Enhanced results
  • Accountability
  • Adaptability

“Using OKRs has been transformative for our marketing team, bringing clarity to our priorities and helping us stay aligned with broader company goals. They keep us focused on impactful work and foster accountability, allowing us to measure our progress and continuously improve. This structured approach has not only driven results but also empowered each team member to contribute meaningfully to our shared success,” says Emily McGee, Senior Marketing Manager at ICAgile. 

OKR vs. KPI: What’s the difference?

One common misunderstanding is the difference between an OKR and a KPI. A KPI, or key performance indicator, is a type of metric that measures business performance in various areas. Examples of KPIs include employee retention rate or customer acquisition rate.

On the other hand, the OKR framework is a two-part goal-setting and measurement system. OKR planning requires an objective, key results, and specific initiatives that connect the two. 

While KPIs track broad business performance and are generally more ongoing, OKRs are designed to help teams plan and monitor more targeted efforts. OKRs make it easy for teams to identify work that will make the most measurable impact on their goals and stay motivated throughout the tracking process. 

The 5 Steps to OKR Planning

screenshot of an example of OKRs for a company that is trying to gain followers on social media with different initiatives to try to accomplish this

OKR planning supports the agility of the ICAgile marketing department, but any team within an organization can implement the framework. 

To help illustrate the steps of OKR planning, let’s use a fictional OKR example that we can revisit. 

Example: 

NomadPassport is a fictional online business that curates temporary co-living experiences for digital nomads. The company is in its introduction stage, with an existing website and social media presence. The NomadPassport team wants to utilize the OKR framework to develop a targeted plan toward their goals. 

1. Set Your Objective(s)

The first step in the OKR planning process is setting objectives. What is the big-picture goal or goals that your team wants to accomplish? 

The number of objectives you commit to will depend on the size of your team. However, a general best practice is three to five objectives for targeted, impactful efforts.

Be sure that your objective is straightforward and clear. You should be able to communicate your goal in a few words so that the team and organization can easily understand.

Example: 

The NomadPassport team started with one objective: improving brand awareness. The company has a website and social media presence, but most people don’t know they exist. The goal is to spread the word about NomadPassport and encourage engagement from their target audience. 

2. Decide on Your Key Results

Group of cartoon people discussing ideas

The second step is defining key results for each objective. Key results are the target metrics you hope to achieve that directly connect to your goal. The number of key results will vary for each objective, but on average, a team may have 2-5 key results for an objective.

To decide on a key result, consider using the SMART goal-setting method. SMART stands for:

  • S: Specific
  • M: Measurable
  • A: Achievable
  • R: Relevant
  • T: Time-bound

Example: 

The NomadPassport team chose two key results to pair with their objective of improving brand awareness:

  1. Gain 5,000 Instagram followers in the three-month quarter.
  2. Gain 500 email subscribers in the three-month quarter.

The identified metrics adhere to the SMART criteria, providing a focused and healthy challenge for the team to work toward. 

3. Outline Initiatives for Each Key Result

Group of cartoon people writing down a checklist

The third step is to outline initiatives for each key result. Now that you have the goal metrics your team wants to achieve, you must determine the actions to drive those results. 

It’s important not to overload initiatives, which can lead to team burnout. Further, with too many initiatives, isolating the success of each tactic can be challenging. Only commit to what your team can handle and measure to easily determine which initiatives make the most impact.

Example: 

Below are the initiatives that NomadPassport identified for each key result.

Key result: Gain 5,000 Instagram followers in the three-month quarter.

  • Initiative 1: Publish daily Instagram posts
  • Initiative 2: Run an Instagram ad
  • Initiative 3: Engage with the Instagram community

Key result: Gain 500 email subscribers in the three-month quarter.

  • Initiative 1: Develop a lead magnet
  • Initiative 2: Organize a contest with email capture
  • Initiative 3: Add email opt-in forms to website

To boost Instagram followers, the team decided to publish on the platform regularly. Further, they will identify the post with the highest engagement and turn it into an Instagram ad. Finally, they will prioritize driving engagement with their target audience by following relevant accounts, responding to comments, and participating in relevant discussions.

The team will develop a lead magnet to build their email list. To gain access to the free resource, website visitors will input their email addresses, and the file will send to their inbox. Additionally, they will organize a contest through Instagram that requires email sign-up to win. Lastly, the team will add email opt-in forms in strategic locations on the NomadPassport website.

4. Set Timeframes

Group of cartoon people looking at different charts

The fourth step is to set timeframes for your key results. This step is crucial to track the efficiency of each initiative and progress toward your key results. The set timeframe also creates a sense of urgency and offers a pre-determined time to evaluate efforts.

Remember to allocate enough time to see the full potential of your initiatives. However, a timeline that’s too long can cause results to lag. Finding the ‘sweet spot’ provides the right amount of time to analyze initiative performance and adapt if something isn’t working. 

Example: 

Like many other companies that utilize objectives and key results, the NomadPassport team decided on a three-month timeframe for their OKRs. At the beginning of each quarter, they will review their OKR results and establish new objectives, key results, or initiatives if necessary.

5. Monitor & Reflect

The fifth step is monitoring your OKR results for further improvement, crucial for effective prioritization of team efforts. Regularly track progress throughout the OKR cycle, updating numbers at specific milestones. 

At the end of the OKR timeframe, teams should meet to discuss the progress toward the objective. Similar to a sprint retrospective, it’s a space to discuss what worked and what didn’t. Teams can apply these learnings as they plan for the next OKR cycle. 

Example: 

NomadPassport set a three-month timeframe for their OKRs. The team will update the results of their efforts each month. When the OKR cycle is complete, they will analyze progress toward key results, and decide how to move forward. The final step is creating their new set of OKRs for the next quarter, ranging from new objectives, key results, or initiatives to no changes at all.

Conclusion

The OKR framework helps teams and organizations strategically plan, measure, and evaluate results at frequent intervals and make continuous improvements. Adhering to the five steps outlined above can set your team on a focused path to measurable success. 

Consider bookmarking this article so you can easily refer back to the five steps of OKR planning, how to write OKRs, and the practical OKR examples.

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TAGGED AS:
Agility in Marketing, Adaptive Strategy

About the author

Emily May | ICAgile, Marketing Specialist
Emily May is a Marketing Specialist at ICAgile, where she helps educate learners on their agile journey through content. With an eclectic background in communications supporting small business marketing efforts, she hopes to inspire readers to initiate more empathy, productivity, and creativity in the workplace for improved internal and external outcomes.

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