How to create a personal OKR for an Employee
In this lesson, we will look at how you can assign a personal OKR to an employee. Objectives within the platform can become quite complex with several different variables so we would recommend that you look at the various objective-related lessons in the University to make sure that you are getting best use of the platform.
This lesson focuses on creating an OKR which is a collection of objectives which can be of different value types. Whereas SMART objectives are a singular objective with one value of measure.
Objectives can be created from scratch, or from a pre-defined template (if your StaffCircle administrator has configured these for your platform). This lesson will cover both methods.
Creating an OKR from Scratch
Step One
Navigate to the Objectives and Reviews area using the side-bar navigation on the left-hand side of your screen. This is usually displayed as a clip board icon. Opening this page will display all your open personal objectives.
If you are using our new menu feature, hover over the Objectives and Reviews section of the side-bar, then navigate to:
Manage ➡️Objectives
Select the ➕ next to Objectives and skip to step four of this guide.
Step Two
Select the MANAGE button in the top right-hand corner of your screen to access the Manager functions of the objective area.
Remember that the MYSELF mode will display all of your own objectives, however the MANAGE mode will allow you to configure and manage objectives on behalf of other employees (including the employees that you manage) and allow you to perform actions for objectives where you are the Reviewer.
Step Three
This is the Objective Manager screen and will display a list of objectives, including the objectives of the employees that you mange.
To start the progress of creating a new objective, click on the ‘Add’ button to the right of your screen. This will open up the Add Objective pull-out drawer.
Which objectives you are able to see in the list will depend on how your platform has been configured, and which permissions are associated with your account. For example, you may be able to view all of your objectives assigned to employees within your downline, or this may be restricted to your direct reports.
Step Four
Within the Add Objective drawer, you will see a collection of tiles. Click the Objective Key Results tile.
Step Five
Under the type of objective, select the ‘Personal’ tile as indicated by a single-person icon. This is because you are assigning this SMART objective at an individual/personal level.
Step Six
Select a competency for the objective. If this does not apply, or you company is not using the Competency feature then simply select the ‘No competency required for this objective‘ tile.
Step Seven
You will now need to assign the objective to the employee or employee(s) from the ‘Select one on more people‘ drop-down menu.
The Reviewer will default to the employee’s manager, however you can select another name from the drop-down menu if you wish to change this to another individual.
Select the NEXT button at the bottom of the page to move on to the next screen.
Step Eight
Now select the start and end dates for the objective, this will determine when you would like the OKR to be started, and when you would like the OKR to be achieved by. Use the date picker to amend the ‘Date starts‘ and ‘Date ends‘ fields.
Step Nine
You can now start to add your individual key results to the OKR. These are the smaller objectives which sit within the OKR.
Select the value type – this is how the key result will be measured: percentage, number, financially, or as a yes/no.
Step Ten
You will need to give the key result a title and description to the Objective. The title of the objective should briefly summarise what the objective as about.
Then enter the start and target value for the objective. For example, for a percentage objective you may choose 0 as your start point, and 100 as your end point (0-100%). You may wish to refer to the table below as a guide.
| Measure Type | Objective Example | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Number | Make 150 outbound calls | 0 – 150 |
| Percentage | Complete an online security course | 0% – 100% |
| Financial | Make £10k in revenue | £0 – £10,000 |
| Yes/No | Read Employee Handbook | Yes/No |
An objective does not need to start at 0, for example if your customer satisfaction rating was at 57% and you were looking to raise this to 85% then we would recommend putting 57 as the start value, and 85 as the target value. StaffCircle will calculate the range between these two numbers as 100%, and this will be illustrated in the progression bar as the objective progresses.
Step Eleven
If you wish for the key result to be shared with another individual within the business then you can toggle on the ‘Share this key result (sub objective) with someone.’ This will allow two or more employees to work towards the objective collectively.
You may also toggle on the ‘Link Objective’ button to link this personal key result to a Departmental objective – this can be a key result from a Departmental OKR, or a Departmental SMART objective. Use the drop-down to select the departmental objective/key result.
If you are linking objectives, the value type for both objectives must be the same. For example, if the personal objective/key result is measured financially, then the departmental objective/key result must also be measured financially.
In order to link the personal key result to a departmental objective, your departmental objective must already exist within the system.
Step Twelve
Click the ‘Add Key Result’ button to add the key result to the OKR. To add further key results – repeat steps nine, ten, and eleven.
You can add more key results to the OKR after the OKR has been created, however at least one key result must exist in order to create the initial OKR.
Once you have added all of your key results to the OKR, click the NEXT button at the bottom of the page to move on to the summary page.
Step Thirteen
This is the final page of the Add Objective pull-out drawer where you can give a title and description to the OKR. The title of the OKR should briefly summarise what the objective as about , whereas the description should provide more context if required.
On this screen you can also set a priority for the objective, however, this is not a mandatory field.
Step Fourteen
Click the ‘Save’ button in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen to add the OKR to the platform.
The employee(s) will be notified and this will be viewable to them under their Personal objectives. This objective will also be viewable in your ‘Manage’ objectives screen if you are the Reviewer, or have permissions to view this employee’s objectives.
Creating Objectives from a Template
Step One
Navigate to the Objectives and Reviews area using the side-bar navigation on the left-hand side of your screen. This is usually displayed as a clip board icon. Opening this page will display all your open personal objectives.
If you are using our new menu feature, hover over the Objectives and Reviews section of the side-bar, then navigate to:
Manage ➡️Objectives
Select the ➕ next to Objectives and skip to step four of this guide.
Step Two
Select the MANAGE button in the top right-hand corner of your screen to access the Manager functions of the objective area.
Remember that the MYSELF mode will display all of your own objectives, however the MANAGE mode will allow you to configure and manage objectives on behalf of other employees (including the employees that you manage) and allow you to perform actions for objectives where you are the Reviewer.
Step Three
This is the Objective Manager screen and will display a list of objectives, including the objectives of the employees that you mange.
To start the progress of creating a new objective, click on the ‘Add’ button to the right of your screen. This will open up the Add Objective pull-out drawer.
Which objectives you are able to see in the list will depend on how your platform has been configured, and which permissions are associated with your account. For example, you may be able to view all of your objectives assigned to employees within your downline, or this may be restricted to your direct reports.
Step Four
Within the Add Objective drawer, you will see a collection of tiles. Scroll to the lower half of the drawer and select the ‘Existing Template’ tile.
From here you can select from a number of templates, all of which have been created by your system administrator. Select the objective template you wish to use from the list – OKRs will contain an OKR tag within the title.
If you have any queries regarding which template should be used, please contact your system administrator.
Step Five
Update the fields within the form, taking in to consideration that most of the fields will be pre-populated from the template. For further information on populating the fields within the form, please refer to the table at the bottom of this lesson.
You will not be able to create the individual key results within the pull-out drawer and the prepopulated fields will apply to the OKR only.
Scroll to the bottom of the drawer and click the blue ‘SAVE’ button to add the objective.
Step Six
You will now need to add the key results to the objective. Open the objective by clicking on the title of the objective in the Manager grid. This will open up the Objective Details page.
Step Seven
Within the KEY RESULTS header, click on the plus (+) button to open the ADD KEY RESULT pull-out drawer.
Step Nine
Select the value type – this is how the key result will be measured: percentage, number, financially, or as a yes/no.
Step Ten
You will need to give the key result a title and description to the Objective. The title of the objective should briefly summarise what the objective as about.
Then enter the start and target value for the objective. For example, for a percentage objective you may choose 0 as your start point, and 100 as your end point (0-100%). You may wish to refer to the table below as a guide.
| Measure Type | Objective Example | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Number | Make 150 outbound calls | 0 – 150 |
| Percentage | Complete an online security course | 0% – 100% |
| Financial | Make £10k in revenue | £0 – £10,000 |
| Yes/No | Read Employee Handbook | Yes/No |
An objective does not need to start at 0, for example if your customer satisfaction rating was at 57% and you were looking to raise this to 85% then we would recommend putting 57 as the start value, and 85 as the target value. StaffCircle will calculate the range between these two numbers as 100%, and this will be illustrated in the progression bar as the objective progresses.
Step Eleven
If you wish for the key result to be shared with another individual within the business then you can toggle on the ‘Share this key result (sub objective) with someone.’ This will allow two or more employees to work towards the objective collectively.
You may also toggle on the ‘Link Objective’ button to link this personal key result to a Departmental objective – this can be a key result from a Departmental OKR, or a Departmental SMART objective. Use the drop-down to select the departmental objective/key result.
If you are linking objectives, the value type for both objectives must be the same. For example, if the personal objective/key result is measured financially, then the departmental objective/key result must also be measured financially.
In order to link the personal key result to a departmental objective, your departmental objective must already exist within the system.
Step Twelve
Click on the ‘Add’ button in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen to add the key result to the OKR.
This will now display under the KEY RESULTS section of the OKR details page.
Useful Terms
| Field Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Title | The name or title of the objective. Ensure that this clearly summarises what the individual needs to achieve. |
| Description | A brief description to explain what the objective is about. This can include hyperlinks to specific web pages/online courses etc. |
| Tag | Allows objectives to be categorised, this is pre-populated from the template and does not need to be changed. |
| Type | The type of objective. For the purpose of this lesson, this should be a personal SMART objective. |
| Priority | Assign the priority level for the objective (i.e high, normal, low) |
| Competency | Link the objective to one of the company’s competencies. This will feed in to the employee’s success circle. |
| Person assigned to | The employee(s) who will be given the objective to work towards. Selecting multiple employees allows the objective to be duplicated or shared. For the purpose of this lesson, select ‘Duplicate’. |
| Reviewer | Will default to the individual’s line manager, but can be changed. The Reviewer oversees the progress and completion of the objective. |
| Date Starts | The date that you want the employee to start working towards the objective. |
| Date Ends | The date that you want the employee to complete the objective by. |
| Value Type | This cannot be changed and is linked back to the objective template. The Value type indicates how the objective can be measured (Percentage, Number, Financial, Yes/No). |
| Start Value | The value the objective will start from. For example, 0%. |
| Target Value | The target value for the objective. For example, 100% |
| Link Objective | Covers functionality to link departmental objectives to company objectives, and personal objectives to departmental objective. Please refer to the appropriate lessons for further information on creating linked objectives. |
| Documents attached to this objective | Ability to upload supporting documents to the objective for the attention of the assignee/Reviewee. |
| Allow manual progress changes | Allows the assignee/Reviewee to update the progress of the objective themselves. |
| Allow conversation feature | Ability for the assignee/Reviewee to leave comments against their objective using the conversation feature. The conversation occurs only between the Reviewee and the Reviewer. |
| Objective Should Recur | Allows the ability to create a recurrence for the objective. This can repeat in intervals of days, weeks, months, and years. Toggling this on will mean that the objective will duplicate at that recurrence. |