When to review OKRs

OKRs need to be reviewed:

1. Prospectively at the beginning of the period.  OKRs get signed off.  
2. Retrospectively at the end of the period.  Preferably monthly as compared to quarterly.

Most organizations create a process where they review the previous periods’ OKRs for learnings and apply those learnings to the next month’s OKRs in parallel.

Best Questions—Prospectively

Clarity and Right Focus?

1. Could another adult read and understand what you are working on improving and why from the Objectives?  
2. Do the Objectives look like a set of comparable high-level themes and inter-related actions?
3. Do the OKRs express your core responsibility plus change and improvement initiatives?
4. Would the Objectives stand the test of time?  Most Objectives are similar across several quarters. (e.g., Hit financial targets, improve talent, improve processes)
5. Why are your objectives the most important?  Would you weigh some differently?

Measurable?

1.  Key results are:

• • a critical action that can be confirmed.  (eg. Signed off or published document or process, such as a marketing campaign plan)
  • A measurement of an action (X % conversion rate from marketing campaign plan)

2. How do you measure that? Of course, everything is measurable, but it takes thought and work to figure out the measurement, especially leading indicators.
3. Are there any Key Results that aren’t measurable?  Make measurable or delete?
4. Do you understand how this set of key results will focus your execution?
5. Do you understand that these key results (measurements) are where the stretch comes from?  (Financial goals should be 100%.  Change and improvement goals should be 60-70%)

Achievable?

1. Is this achievable?   Less, performed to a higher standard, is more.
2. A repeat question would be….if you had to sacrifice one area for a higher result in another area, what would that be?  When would you know if you needed to do that?

Best Questions—Retrospectively

How did you do?

1. How did you grade (score out of 100) your OKRs, and why?
2. If you graded non-financial OKRs as 90 or100, do you understand that isn’t the point of OKRs?  The idea was to set more challenging key results (measurements)
3. What was the difference between high-success and lower-success OKRs?

What did you learn?

1. Was your OKRs good in retrospect?  What might you have changed/or did change?
2. Were your key results truly measurable?   What made them easy or hard?
3. What is your personal learning from OKRs as a growth-minded manager?
4. Where do you want to improve?

How have you adjusted?

1. How do your next period OKRs reflect this learning?
2. How will you be more effective at driving OKR improvement and results?