Ever wondered how successful companies get everyone aligned to reach a common goal? And why should you care as a gaming company? You got other things to worry about, raising money, building the best game possible, marketing,… The list goes on and on.
Should you really care about the alignment of your team and take the time to implement an OKR framework? The short answer is yes, you should take the time. Let’s quickly break down what OKR’s are all about.
If you already got a good knowledge of what OKR’s are all about, just skip to the section “Why do you need OKR’s as a gaming company” way down this article.
What are OKRs?
OKRs are a goal-setting framework that helps organizations define objectives and track their outcomes. Here’s a breakdown:
- Objective: A clearly defined goal, providing direction and inspiration. It answers the question, “What do we want to achieve?”
- Key Results: Specific, measurable outcomes that indicate progress towards the objective. They answer the question, “How will we measure success?”
This framework fosters transparency, alignment, and engagement across all levels of an organization.
The Benefits of OKRs
- Clarity and Focus: OKRs ensure everyone is clear about the priorities, helping to concentrate efforts on what truly matters.
- Alignment: By cascading OKRs throughout the organization, everyone’s efforts are aligned with the company’s strategic goals.
- Engagement and Motivation: Setting ambitious goals and tracking progress can motivate teams to perform at their best.
- Transparency: OKRs create a culture of openness where everyone can see each other’s goals and progress.
- Agility: Regular check-ins and reviews allow teams to adapt and pivot as needed, maintaining relevance and responsiveness.
Real-World Success Stories with OKRs
1. Google
Google’s adoption of OKRs is legendary. In 1999, John Doerr introduced OKRs to the young company. At the time, Google had fewer than 40 employees, and its founders were eager to establish a strong goal-setting culture. The implementation of OKRs helped Google maintain its focus and alignment even as it scaled rapidly.
Objective: Increase the market share of Google Search. Key Results:
- Achieve a 90% user satisfaction rate.
- Grow the number of searches by 50%.
- Improve search result relevance by reducing errors by 20%.
The structured approach provided by OKRs enabled Google to prioritize and achieve these ambitious goals, contributing significantly to its dominance in the search engine market.
2. Intel
Intel’s transformation under the guidance of Andy Grove is another compelling example. Grove, often referred to as the father of OKRs, used this framework to steer Intel through challenging times and intense competition in the semiconductor industry.
Objective: Transition to become the leading supplier of microprocessors. Key Results:
- Increase production yield of microprocessors by 30%.
- Secure partnerships with top 5 PC manufacturers.
- Achieve a market share of 80% in the microprocessor segment.
The OKR system helped Intel focus on critical metrics, driving significant improvements in productivity, partnerships, and market position.
3. Spotify
Spotify, the global music streaming giant, also leveraged OKRs to navigate its growth phase. The company used OKRs to align teams around key product development goals and customer satisfaction metrics.
Objective: Enhance user engagement on the platform. Key Results:
- Increase daily active users by 25%.
- Reduce churn rate by 15%.
- Launch 10 new features aimed at improving user experience.
With OKRs, Spotify could maintain a laser focus on user engagement, leading to substantial growth in its user base and retention.
Implementing OKRs in Your Organization
To successfully implement OKRs, follow these steps:
- Define Clear Objectives: Ensure your objectives are ambitious, inspirational, and aligned with your company’s vision.
- Set Measurable Key Results: Identify quantifiable outcomes that will help you track progress toward your objectives.
- Cascade OKRs: Align individual and team OKRs with the organization’s overarching goals.
- Regular Check-Ins: Conduct frequent reviews to assess progress and make necessary adjustments.
- Foster Transparency: Make OKRs visible to everyone in the organization to promote accountability and collaboration.
Why do you need OKR’s as a gaming company?
If you that you understand what OKRs are all about, you should come to the conclusion that this could help your company grow and help you reach your goals faster. If not, you are probably not in a growth mindset yet, that’s fine, game development is not always about growing a company.
Start your journey as fast as possible
Starting with OKRs in an early stage will give you the following advantages:
- They are easy to set in the beginning : Setting up OKRs means you have to have the buy-in from the whole company. If you are only with a few, this process is a lot simpler.
- It will help you focus in tough times: Building a game company can be tough, you will have good and bad days. Being able to see how you are progressing and knowing you are progressing in the right way will give you ease of mind.
- Investors and Publishers know this system: When someone hands you a bag of money, they want to be assured that this money will go in the direction is should. Having the OKR system implemented shows them clearly what path you are progressing in and shows them you are serious. It breathes professionalism.
- (new) employees know what they sign up for: showing what you stand for and communication in an open way is a must for most employees. The new workforce wants to know how they can help build the company, as a team. Giving them the tools to show them that they help build a better company. This helps in retaining and attracting talent.
- Faster progression: When you know what to do, you go faster. There is less doubt and less discussion. It means you and everyone around you can put in more an better focussed time.
Feeling like the examples given in this Blogpost are way to generic and not applied to the gaming industry?
Check out how Zynga implemented the OKR system