The power of OKRs in HR teams: Driving business growth through focused outcomes

OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) have become a buzzword in the business world during the last years, but there's a lot more to them than just being a trendy acronym. In simple terms, OKRs help organizations shift their focus from output (the sheer quantity of tasks completed) to outcome (the quality and impact of those tasks).

Let's put it this way: would you rather have one unforgettable company party that everyone talks about for months, or a string of weekly drinks that only a handful of people attend? The difference between these two scenarios perfectly illustrates what OKRs aim to achieve. When it comes to HR, focusing on outcome over output creates a better employee experience and ensures that the HR team’s work is more relevant to the business. In essence, it fuels the business to achieve its goals.

First, I couldn’t really put the finger on it, what the difference was to previous measurements. Coming from Talent Acquisition, I am used to very specific metric goals. But seeing OKR’s in the general field of HR, especially combined with the HR project context, showed me the super power OKR’s can unleash in teams. It helps them to steer into the relevant direction without wasting scarce resources.

Why OKRs matter for HR teams

The role of HR is evolving. Gone are the days when HR was seen merely as the department that handled hiring, firing, and paperwork. Today, HR teams are strategic partners that drive business success. This is where OKRs come into play. The objective of OKRs is simple: remove internal growth barriers through increased result alignment, focus on outcomes, and improved communication and transparency across teams.

Let's break it down:

1. Increased result alignment: OKRs help ensure that everyone in the organisation is working toward the same goals. For HR teams, this means aligning their initiatives with the company’s broader objectives, whether its boosting employee engagement, reducing turnover, or developing a more inclusive culture.

   
   

2. Focus on outcome rather than output: It’s easy to get caught up in the numbers game—tracking how many interviews were conducted or how many training sessions were held. But OKRs encourage HR teams to look beyond these metrics and ask the more important question: what impact did these activities have? For example, rather than just counting the number of hires, an HR team could focus on the quality of hires and their fit within the company culture.

   
   

3. Improved communication and transparency across teams: OKRs foster a culture of open communication. By clearly defining objectives and key results, everyone knows what’s expected and how progress will be measured. This transparency helps teams work more effectively together, reducing misunderstandings and ensuring that efforts are complementary rather than duplicative.

   
   

A quick overview of the OKR framework

OKRs are more than just a goal-setting tool; they are a framework for achieving strategic objectives. Here’s a simple breakdown:

Objective: What you want to achieve. It should be significant, concrete, and action-oriented.

Key Results: How you’ll know if you’re making progress toward your objective. These should be specific, measurable, and verifiable.

OKR (Objectives & Key Results): Key to Achieving Your Goals by Ali Riza Kucuk

Difference between OKRs and KPIs

While OKRs and KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) are both used to measure performance, they serve different purposes. KPIs are metrics that indicate how well a team or organization is performing, often focusing on maintaining business as usual. In contrast, OKRs are about setting ambitious goals and pushing the boundaries of what’s possible.

KPI vs. OKR comparison by Ali Riza Kucuk

Different types of OKR’s

It is important to understand that concept of a learning and development focussed culture goes hand in hand with OKR’s. Every organization or department is different and the ability to take risks varies. That’s why it’s important to find the OKR’s that are right for your specific HR team that also fit with the current situation of the business.

OKR Type	Characteristic
Committed OKR’s	Objectives you need to achieve 100%: but that are more realistic to achieve
Aspirational OKR’s or “Moonshots”	Less predictable and pushing to think big, therefore 70% achievement are considered as good
Learning OKR’s	Useful when it’s not sure if the team is heading into the right direction: at OKR review, decision is made to either pursue or drop the idea.
Strategic OKR’s	Set at the exec level in order to achieve company goals
Tactical OKR’s	Helping individuals, teams and departments achieving their own goals

Best practices: OKRs in HR teams

To keep your OKRs on track, it’s essential to establish regular routines. This might include weekly check-ins to review progress, monthly updates to adjust key results if necessary, and quarterly reviews to reflect on what was achieved and what wasn’t. Consistency is key to keeping your OKRs clean and focused.

Top 5 benefits of using OKRs in HR projects

1. Clear alignment with business goals

   Whether it's HRIS implementation, increasing employee engagement or starting learning and development initiatives, OKRs ensure that HR projects are directly aligned with the overall business strategy. By setting clear objectives, HR project teams can focus on initiatives that truly move the needle for the company. For example, an HRIS project might have the objective to improve data accessibility, with key results focused on the percentage of users successfully adopting the system rather than having the # of data units accessible to the user.

   
   

2. Prioritisation and focus

   OKRs prevent HR project teams from getting side-tracked in unnecessary tasks. By defining a limited number of high-priority objectives, project managers can focus resources on the most impactful activities. OKRs ensure that time and effort are spent on tasks that drive meaningful outcomes, like ensuring a great employee onboarding experience (OKR) vs. number of employees onboarded through the tool.

   
   

3. Measurable progress

   One of the core principles of OKRs is measurability. For HR project work, this means project managers and teams can track their progress toward key results in real-time. Instead of simply completing project phases or ticking off tasks, OKRs keep the focus on the actual impact of those efforts, such as the system's adoption rate or a specific employee nett promoter score. This measurable progress is particularly useful as it keeps stakeholders informed about the effectiveness of the initiative and tells the project team if they are steering into the right direction.

   
   

4. Increased accountability across teams

   OKRs bring a sense of ownership and accountability to HR project teams. When objectives are clearly defined, each team member understands how their work contributes to the broader project goals. For instance, in a project about setting up the companies remote work policy, key results might include the usage of remote offices, working from abroad usages or sign up rates for working from abroad insurances. These key results make it easier to identify who is responsible for achieving each milestone, ensuring accountability at every step: e.g. the workplace team, HR IT or HR legal.

   
   

5. Improved cross-departmental collaboration

   OKRs foster better communication and transparency across departments, which is essential in HR project work. HR teams often need to collaborate with IT, finance, and other business units during various HR initiatives like employee benefits set up, employee engagement or HRIS implementation. OKRs ensure that all stakeholders are aligned with the project's goals, leading to smoother collaboration and reducing the risk of misunderstandings or misaligned priorities. For example, an objective could be to streamline payroll processes, with key results tied to both HR and finance teams’ contributions.

Example HR OKR Template

To help you get started with OKRs in your HR team, I created a simple template for you. Just subscribe and you can download it.

By focusing on outcomes rather than outputs, HR teams can not only enhance the employee experience but also make a more significant impact on the business. Whether you're a HR Manager, HR Business Partner or HRIS project manager integrating OKRs into your HR strategy can be a game-changer.

Do you need support for your HR team? Please feel free to contact me. I can support you as interim HR lead and take your HR processes to the next level - effectively and optimally tailored to the needs of your company. 

Sources and further reading

Books	TED Talks / Video	Experts	Articles
Measure What Matters  John Doerr	OKR (Objectives & Key Results): Key to Achieving Your Goals by Ali Riza Kucuk	John Doerr	Google's re:Work Guide to OKRs
OKR for All Vetri Vellore	Why the secret to success is setting the right goals - John Doerr	Christina Wodtke	How Google sets goals: OKRs by Rick Klau
Radical Focus: Achieving Your Most Important Goals with OKR Christina Wodtke	How Google sets goals: OKRs / Startup Lab Workshop by Rick Klau	Ben Lamorte	HBR: Use OKRs to Set Goals for Teams, Not Individuals by Jeff Gothelf
OKR: Objectives & Key Results by Paul R. Niven ve Ben Lamorte	What it takes to be successful with OKR with Felipe Castro
High Output Management by Andy Grove