Overview

To enable better performance across ad-hoc cross-functional teams, departments and functions, Quantive Results has created Shared OKRs, where multiple users can set up and work towards a common objective. This functionality should help banish siloes, improve collaboration and map dependencies and ensure timely delivery of outcomes through shared accountability and ownership.

When working in an ad-hoc team or on a particular project, it is imperative that objectives are created which capture all the outcomes for each accountable individual. If an objective is specific to an individual role or is not dependent on another user, then consider creating an individually owned OKR.

More information on creating objectives, as well as a walkthrough for Shared Objectives, can be found here.

Product and Product Marketing are working on improving a feature to gain 30 new customers and 80% usage from existing accounts.

While you could add these key results to separate OKRs, there is a large, shared dependency between Product to deliver the improvements and Product Marketing to promote them, in order for both to fulfill their KRs.

Using a name that conveys all accountable roles’ purpose is the key to unlocking aligned, cohesive teams who deliver united objectives.

Product and Product Marketing are trying to come up with an objective for their new feature update. Product suggests naming the objective ‘deliver new functionality’, but after some discussion, both roles realize that it doesn’t encapsulate Marketing’s role in promoting the new functionality.

Both teams agree to create an objective named ‘Deliver a world-class feature our customers and prospects will love’. This covers the whole spectrum of role outcomes, from existing customers using the new feature for Product and increasing new customers for Product Marketing.

As with Individual or Team OKRs, you should create a number of key results to measure the outcomes and success, as well as providing progress reports perfect for status meetings and updates. Key results can either be owned by an individual, a team, or multiple employees and teams.

Product and Product Marketing have agreed upon and created the ‘Deliver a world-class feature our customers and prospects will love’ objective. Owners for this objective are defined as the Product and Product Marketing teams. They have also agreed to implement individual KRs; 30 new customers for Product Marketing and 80% usage from existing accounts for Product. Since we have set the owners of this objective as the Product and Product Marketing teams the managers of these teams will be notified based on the individual owners key result progress.

If both employees share accountability and will contribute to the progress of a KR, then both should be KR owners. Where an employee is the sole contributor or the only one who is responsible, this should be an individual.

In the Key Results created below, we see the individual owners that are part of the Product and Product Marketing teams who are assigned and responsible for completing their assigned KRs.