• Alignment with team/company goals: Your OKRs should always tie back to your team’s and the organization’s broader goals. It’s not about solely your tasks but how they contribute to the bigger picture.
  • Focus on impact: Individual OKRs should emphasize the outcomes or value you aim to create rather than just a list of activities. How does your work make a difference?
  • Stretch goals: OKRs are meant to be aspirational. Setting challenging goals that push you to grow and achieve more is okay. Typically, hitting about 70% of your key results is a success.
  • Flexibility: Individual OKRs can be iterated upon and changed more frequently than team or company-wide OKRs.Review and adjust as needed.

Example OKRs for Individual Contributors: Software Engineer Link to heading

  • Objective: Improve customer onboarding experience.
    • Key Result 1: Decrease average onboarding time by 20%.
    • Key Result 2: Increase onboarding completion rate to 90%.
    • Key Result 3: Achieve a customer satisfaction rating of 4.5/5 for onboarding.

Tips for Setting Effective Individual OKRs Link to heading

  • Collaborate with your manager: Your OKRs should support your manager’s goals and the team’s focus. Open communication is essential.
  • Specificity is critical. Key results must be measurable and clearly defined. Avoid vague goals or task descriptions.
  • Limit the number: Try to stick to 1-2 objectives with around three critical results per objective. Focusing on fewer goals provides more profound clarity.
  • Regular check-ins: Review your OKRs with your manager continuously, discussing progress and making necessary adjustments.

Important Considerations Link to heading

While OKRs can be very useful for individual contributors, it’s essential to acknowledge some potential concerns:

  • Focus on Outcomes, Not Output: Don’t get overly tied to completing tasks. OKRs are ultimately about impact.
  • Avoid Individual Performance Reviews: OKRs should not be used as the sole basis of performance evaluations. Consider them one tool along with other forms of feedback and assessment.
  • The Risk of Tunnel Vision: Ensure individual OKRs don’t lead to employees working in silos and neglecting collaborative opportunities.