{"id":11235,"date":"2022-12-27T04:44:51","date_gmt":"2022-12-27T04:44:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.synergita.com\/blog\/?p=11235"},"modified":"2022-12-27T04:44:51","modified_gmt":"2022-12-27T04:44:51","slug":"why-is-manual-okr-planning-with-spreadsheets-not-a-scalable-solution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newtest.synergita.com\/blog\/why-is-manual-okr-planning-with-spreadsheets-not-a-scalable-solution\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Is Manual OKR Planning with Spreadsheets Not a Scalable Solution?\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Is your organization still managing its OKRs using spreadsheets? You need to read this article right away! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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With small organizations, spreadsheets are usually the go-to tool for OKR management. When the size of the company grows and aspirations increase, it is time for a transition from spreadsheets to OKR software. <\/p><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Do not get us wrong; we love our spreadsheets. Spreadsheets are excellent tools for data analysis and management. But when it comes to your OKRs, they may not stand a chance. OKRs stimulate growth, so having the right platform to track OKRs is very important. <\/p><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Evolution Of OKR Management<\/span><\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

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When a company starts employing Objectives and Key Results (OKRs), they typically use manual tracking tools such as Excel, Google Sheets, PowerPoint, and others. Given how rapidly a team could compile a set of goals and begin monitoring and documenting them, these manual approaches became the starting point for the earliest OKR users.\u202f <\/p><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u202f <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately, businesses began to delve into the underlying essence of the OKR technique and see that adoption of the framework extended beyond the basics of goal achievement. That is when the teams, managers, and senior leadership started to need help. They recognized that what began as “just great” was no longer good enough to enhance growth, promote adoption, or boost employee engagement. <\/p><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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By favoring spreadsheets over specialist OKR software, the goal of embracing the OKR methodology is defeated. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\"get<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Challenges Of Using Spreadsheets For OKRs<\/span><\/b><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

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Manual OKR tracking practices actually hamper many of the benefits that the OKR technique offers to an organization.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. Goals are siloed and are not incorporated into the everyday workflows of teams and people. As OKRs are observed in isolation, there is a lack of cooperation, a critical component. <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
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    1. Employees are less engaged, and measuring progress becomes more difficult\u2014especially if a company does not have the benefit of automated gentle reminders to seek weekly check-ins. <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
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      1. Tracking progress and compiling reports becomes a time-consuming and manual process prone to error. <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
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        1. It becomes challenging to determine the dependencies and contributions of each employee. <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
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          1. It is not possible to establish multi-directional alignment within the organization. <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
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            1. The process of cascading objectives and tracking progress becomes challenging. <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

              \u202f <\/p>\n\n\n\n

              How Can OKR Software Help Scale Your Organization?<\/span><\/b><\/h5><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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              A good OKR tool will assist you in scaling and growing 10x. It has been demonstrated that the OKR software will help the organization in many ways.\u202fThe following are the top five advantages of using OKR software: <\/p><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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              \u202f <\/p>\n\n\n\n

              1. Track Progress\u202f <\/span><\/b><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

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              The most challenging aspect of adopting OKRs is that individuals establish OKRs and then forget them. During OKR planning sessions, there is a lot of discussion and sharing of resources. <\/p><\/p>\n\n\n\n

              \u202fWhile so much time and effort have gone into developing OKRs, you must also track them. If you do not track and analyze the data, you risk losing out on all your planning and hard work. <\/p><\/p>\n\n\n\n

              \u202fOrganizations must maintain their vision and goals. Tracking OKRs helps teams and individuals understand where they are now and if they should iterate to achieve the objective or not.\u202f <\/p><\/p>\n\n\n\n

              \u202f <\/p>\n\n\n\n

              2. Aligns Goals <\/span><\/b><\/h5><\/p>\n\n\n\n

              \u202f <\/p>\n\n\n\n

              Spreadsheets are not very useful when organizations wish to better align their teams’ goals.<\/a> The aim of OKRs is defeated when a person or a department fails to align, and teams begin to work in silos. <\/p><\/p>\n\n\n\n

              \u202f <\/p>\n\n\n\n

              One of the primary reasons an organization uses OKRs is to create alignment across all organizational teams, vertically, bi-directionally, and cross-functionally. <\/p><\/p>\n\n\n\n

              \u202f <\/p>\n\n\n\n

              Because goal-setting and alignment are two of the most fundamental pillars of the OKR process, having software that supports them becomes essential. This guarantees that no one in the organization, regardless of team affiliation, loses sight of the big picture and realizes how their contribution matters to the company’s overall goal. <\/p><\/p>\n\n\n\n

              \u202f <\/p>\n\n\n\n

              3. Enhances Collaboration and Engagement<\/span><\/b><\/h5><\/p>\n\n\n\n

              \u202f <\/p>\n\n\n\n

              One of the crucial benefits of having specialized OKR software is collaborating and engaging with everyone at one location or platform. The OKR technique is a continuous process requiring regular feedback and reviews.\u202f <\/p><\/p>\n\n\n\n

              \u202f <\/p>\n\n\n\n

              An OKR tool enables multi-directional feedback and communication, increasing collaboration and responsibility inside the organization. Since OKR software gives a dedicated platform for employees to receive and provide feedback, everyone is more engaged.\u202f <\/p><\/p>\n\n\n\n

              \u202f <\/p>\n\n\n\n

              4. Helps Scale Smoothly<\/span><\/b><\/h5><\/p>\n\n\n\n

              \u202f <\/p>\n\n\n\n

              Using spreadsheets for OKRs is challenging for a growing business. The idea of efficiently managing all of the data on the spreadsheet may be pretty chaotic in and of itself, especially as the teams increase and the business grows. To make matters worse, if any data or information is lost, it might impede the growth of the company and its teams.\u202f <\/p><\/p>\n\n\n\n

              \u202f <\/p>\n\n\n\n

              So, breaking away from the frustration of handling several sheets makes perfect sense. OKR software guarantees that no one shoots in the dark and that the organization’s growth is not stifled. <\/p><\/p>\n\n\n\n

              \u202f <\/p>\n\n\n\n

              5. Provides Real-Time Insights<\/span><\/b><\/h5><\/p>\n\n\n\n

              \u202f <\/p>\n\n\n\n

              Organizations must make regular decisions on OKR progress. Otherwise, tracking or reporting OKRs becomes futile. You should see how you are doing every quarter, as well as by department and team. Real-time information helps with decision-making and action. These insights help steer the team on the proper path. <\/p><\/p>\n\n\n\n

              \u202f <\/p>\n\n\n\n

              The best OKR software should be able to deliver insights at both the individual and departmental levels. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

              \u202f <\/p>\n\n\n\n

              Are You Ready To Say Goodbye To Spreadsheets ?<\/span><\/b><\/h5><\/p>\n\n\n\n

              \u202f <\/p>\n\n\n\n

              Manually maintaining OKR spreadsheets creates a bubble that isolates goals from the daily tools and apps that employees use. When goals exist beyond the purview of teams or individuals, it is difficult for contributors to hold themselves accountable.\u202f <\/p><\/p>\n\n\n\n

              \u202f <\/p>\n\n\n\n

              If teams fail to interpret information manually, it can lead to a lack of visibility into annual and quarterly progress. The loss of these insights also affects employee morale or engagement and decreases adoption and participation throughout the OKR process. <\/p><\/p>\n\n\n\n

              \u202f <\/p>\n\n\n\n

              If you are looking for a better OKR template or solutions to enable a more straightforward tracking process, you can invest in a specialized OKR tool like Synergita<\/a>.  Our industry-renowned, proven solution makes it incredibly simple for users to incorporate OKRs into their daily workflow.  <\/p><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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              Do not just take our word for it. Sign up for a free trial<\/a> and test it out for yourself. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

              Related Blogs:<\/span><\/b><\/h6><\/p>\n\n\n\n
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              How Can We Tell The Difference Between a Challenging Objective and Unattainable One?<\/a><\/blockquote>