OKR template: a free spreadsheet with a filled-in example.

What is an OKR

OKR (Objectives and Key Results) is a method for focusing a team over a short cycle, usually a quarter. It has two parts. The objective is a qualitative sentence that says where you want to go: "be the company that fixes the most on the first try." The key results are numbers that prove whether you got there: "85% of tickets resolved on the first visit."

The example above is from an HVAC services company with 20 employees, with two objectives and three key results each. Note that each result has a starting value, a target, a current value and an owner.

How to fill it in, column by column

Step by step to build yours

1. Choose few objectives. Two or three for the cycle. Ask: if only this worked out this quarter, would that be good?
2. Write the objective without a number. It should be clear enough for any employee to understand and remember.
3. Define two to four key results for each one. If the objective is met, these numbers change.
4. Write down the starting point. Without knowing where you are today (12% rework), the target (6%) means nothing.
5. Give each result an owner. One person, by name.
6. Schedule a short weekly check-in. Fifteen minutes: current value, what got stuck, what's next.
7. At the end of the cycle, review and start another. Without rewriting the past.

Common mistakes

• A key result that is a task. "Roll out the checklist" is an action; "100% of technicians using the checklist" is a result. The task stays in the project and the result stays in the OKR.
• Results the team doesn't control. If the owner can't influence the number, it's just a tracking metric.
• Too many OKRs. Fifteen results for a team of eight people scatter attention. Cut back until only what matters is left.
• Tying OKRs to bonuses in the first cycle. When the score turns into money, the target shrinks. Start with the method and only then discuss compensation.
• Never looking during the cycle. OKRs only work if the number is reviewed often, and the week's conversation changes the course.

When the spreadsheet template isn't enough

An OKR spreadsheet is simple to set up and hard to keep alive. The current value has to be updated by hand, the objective's progress is a calculation someone has to do, and there is no link between the number and the work that moves it. The KR "100% of technicians with the checklist" advances because someone trains technicians, but that action lives somewhere else, in another tool, and nobody sees the connection.

For the method in detail, with cycles and check-in best practices, read the OKR guide. And to see the link between goal and task in practice, the post OKRs linked to tasks shows an example.

How to use OKRs in Tasskee

Goals and OKRs are available from the Pro plan.

1. Add each objective as a goal and each key result as a result of that goal, with the target value and the owner.
2. Update the current value at each weekly check-in. The objective's progress is calculated from the results; you don't type in the objective's percentage.
3. Link tasks and projects to goals, so you know which actions move each result.
4. Use reports and dashboards to follow goals alongside the work.
5. Set up a reminder automation for the weekly check-in day.

If the actions behind the key results run in short cycles, see the backlog and sprint template. And to break an action down into dates and assignees, use the project schedule template.