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For me, you have to make sure they understand the purpose behind them and how it can benefit not just the organisation but them as an individual too. If they see it as just another thing to do or perhaps feel that it’s micro-managing, you’re off to a bad start! Equally, you need to show how they differ from KPIs and how OKRs give you the “why” behind what you’re doing.
For most individuals, they prefer to spend their time doing things and achieving results rather than talking about achieving results. Explaining the concept of OKRs and focusing on alignment and reducing confusion/uncertainty is a good starting point, and then working with each member to create bespoke Key Results for them.
I try to show people that OKRs weave into existing business processes and will make reviews and updates more efficient and effective in the long-term. Yes there's a learning curve for sure but, if people are bought in, it can be a great journey to take together.
Once I've introduced them to the concept, I always ask people to create their own OKRs before we talk again. This helps them become more familiar with the process and, ultimately, more invested in the outcomes.
Especially as a leader, you often have some issues to translate the ideas and vision to every individual in your organization. Sure, you can explain it, draw some pictures but if not, everyone is directly involved, there is a lag of understanding how an individual can help the company to achieve these visions. By giving every person a connection to the company vision by visualizing the path helps them to engage more. At the same time, we’ve realized that we need to choose the period for the goals very carefully. If it’s a long-time goal with no specific requirement to make some check-ins, it’s not working. Within our company we use a 3-month period to avoid issues like this. We also use check-in requirements to make at least once per month.
Some users also use the integration of Microsoft Excel or Microsoft Planner with Viva Goals to make it easier to ensure the regular check-ins. So, this is not an additional step / task to complete, it’s an integrated part of the daily work.
