OKR - Settings - Zoho People
The OKR service is not enabled by default for all accounts. It is currently in its beta phase and can be enabled upon request for Premium and Enterprise plan accounts. To enable it for your organization’s account, please contact support@zohopeople.comOKR Settings allows you to enable and configure the OKR service for your organization. You can set up OKR cycles, customize progress statuses, and enable location-based OKRs.
You can also define objective access permissions, enable approvals for adding and aligning objectives, manage objective and key result weights, and choose whether key results can be assigned only to reportees or to all employees.
Enable OKR
- Navigate to Settings > OKR.
- In the Getting Started page, select the start month of your organization Calendar year or your can select preferred OKR start month.

- Click Next.
- If necessary, enable module administrators to select any user with an admin role as an OKR administrator. OKR administrators will have full access to OKR data and settings, while other administrators will not have administrative permissions and will be switched to the selected role for the OKR service.

- Click Set Up OKR.
OKR Configuration
General
To configure OKR:
- Navigate to Settings > OKR > Configuration > General tab.

Choose the OKR start month based on your organization’s financial year or calendar year to ensure effective tracking and evaluation of organizational goals. The OKR tracking for your organization will follow a 12-month period based on the selected start month, as shown in the following screen.
For example:

Select OKR progress status based on your organizational preference, you can either select Progress or Deviation:
Progress: Progress indicates how much of an OKR has been completed compared to its target value. For example, if an objective is 80% complete out of the planned 100%, its progress is recorded as 80%. Selecting this option will categorize OKR statuses based on their completion percentage, helping you understand how close each objective or key result is to being achieved.
Deviation: Deviation measures the gap between planned progress and actual progress. For example, if an OKR is 80% complete out of a planned 100%, the deviation is 20%. Selecting this option will categorize OKR statuses based on deviation percentage. For instance, if a 20% deviation is defined as “On Track,” any OKR within that range will be marked accordingly.
Based on your status selection, customize the status names according to Progress or Deviation.

- Enable OKR administrators, to select any admin role users as OKR administrators who will have full access to OKR data and settings. Other administrators will not have administrative permissions.

- Enable location based OKR to define and track OKR for specific work location of your employees.

Objectives
Objectives are clear, broad goals that guide your team or organization toward a desired outcome. You can define who can add objectives, enable approval for adding or aligning them, and assign weights to indicate their importance. For example, an objective with a weight of 90 is more important than one with a weight of 30.
To configure OKR objective settings:
- Navigate to Settings > OKR > Configuration > Objectives.
- In the Access Permission section, set the required permissions for who can add objectives:
- Employees (Self): Can add objectives only for themselves.
- Reporting Manager: Can add objectives for themselves and their direct reportees.
- Department Head: Can add objectives for themselves, and their department.
- Location Administrator: Can add objectives for their assigned work location. For details on location admin permissions, please refer to Location Admin.

- Enable Approvals:
- Adding Objective: When enabled and configured, approval will be triggered whenever an employee attempts to add an objective.
- Aligning Objective: When enabled and configured, approval will be triggered whenever an employee attempts to align an objective with a department, location, or organization-level objective.
To configure approval workflow, refer to Approvals - Overview & Use Cases

- Enable Weight: This option allows you to assign a weight to each objective. Objective weights help differentiate the importance of objectives within your organization. For example, an objective with a weight of 90 is considered more important than one with a weight of 30.
Key Results
Key results are measurable outcomes that indicate progress toward an objective. They break the objective into specific, actionable steps. You can enable or disable weights, require approvals for adding and checking in key results, and set permissions on who can assign key results to employees.
Enable Weight: This option lets you assign a weight to each key result. The weight shows how important a key result is compared to other key results. For example, a key result with a weight of 90 is more important than one with a weight of 30.

Approvals: Enable approvals to trigger the approval workflow when a key result is added to an objective or when an employee checks in a key result.
Permissions: You can allow employees to assign key results that are added by them to their reportees or other employees in the organization.
OKR Administrators
Select any admin role users as OKR administrators who will have full access to OKR data and settings. Other administrators will not have administrative permissions and they will be switched to selected Zoho People roles.
To set OKR administrators:
- Navigate to Settings > OKR > Permissions, and enable Module Administrators.

- In the OKR Service Administrators field, select any admin-role users as OKR administrators. They will have full access to the OKR service in Zoho People.
- In Role for other administrators, select the role to which the other administrators should be switched.
Automation
Automation in OKRs enables you to set up workflows that trigger actions such as email alerts, checklists and tasks, webhooks, and custom functions. You can also create and manage email and letter templates, as well as view detailed workflow logs for better tracking and control.

Learn more: