OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) in Zoho People help your organization focus on what truly matters by setting clear goals and tracking measurable progress. Objectives define what your organization, team, or individual wants to achieve and should be short, inspiring, and aligned with the organization’s strategy. Key Results specify how success will be measured and must be specific, measurable, and time-bound, with each objective typically having 2–5 Key Results to maintain focus. Sub-Key Results break down Key Results into smaller, actionable steps, making complex goals more manageable and providing clarity on milestones.

You can define the objective, and your employees, department heads, or location-based admins can set the Key Results aligned to it. These Key Results guide their efforts and help track progress toward achieving the common goal.

Elements of OKR

Objective

An Objective is a clear, purposeful goal that an individual, team, department, location, or organization strives to achieve within a defined timeframe. It sets the direction, highlights priorities, and defines what success looks like in qualitative terms. Objectives are aspirational yet aligned with the overall business strategy.

Key Result

A Key Result is a measurable outcome that reflects progress toward an Objective. It defines how success will be quantified, making it easier to track achievement. Key Results are specific, actionable, and time-bound, providing clear benchmarks to evaluate performance.

Sub-Key Result

A Sub-Key Result further breaks down a Key Result into smaller, actionable steps. It allows teams or individuals to manage complex goals more effectively by tracking intermediate milestones or detailed actions. Sub-Key Results ensure that large objectives remain actionable and measurable at a granular level.

OKR Example:

Objective: Increase overall company revenue in Q3.
      Key Result 1: Close 30 new deals with high-value prospects.

           Sub-Key Results:

            - Identify and qualify 50 potential high-value leads.

            - Conduct 30 product demos with qualified prospects.

            - Send 25 customized proposals to interested leads.

      Key Results 2: Increase upsell revenue from existing customers by 15%.

            Sub-Key Results:
            - Identify 20 customers with strong upsell potential.
            - Launch a targeted upsell email campaign.
            - Conduct 10 account review meetings to propose upgrades.

Set up OKR Service

Organization OKRs

Location OKRs

A Location OKR includes objectives created for a specific work location. These OKRs address location-specific goals while supporting broader organizational priorities. Any objective added at the location level appears under Location OKRs.

To add Location based OKRs, enabled location based OKR in OKR settings, and navigate to OKR > Location OKRs from the left-side tab. 

If aligned, this location objective becomes a Key Result for a Department or Organization Objective.

Department OKR

A Department OKR includes objectives created for a specific department such as Sales, Marketing, HR, or Finance. These OKRs help drive functional excellence and departmental performance. Any objective added at the department level appears under Department OKRs.

To add Department based OKRs, navigate to OKR (left-side tab) > Department OKRs.

Who can add department objective?
Administrators and Department head based on permission configured in OKR settings.

To whom do the department objectives apply?

Employees who are part of that department

Department OKRs can be aligned to an Organizational Objective as a Key Result, strengthening alignment between teams and company-wide goals.

Individual OKRs (My OKR)

Add Objective

To add an Objective:

1. Navigate to OKR from the left-side menu.
2. Click the required tab (My OKRs / Team OKRs / Department OKRs / Location OKRs / Organization OKRs) where you want to add the objective.
3. Click Add Objective.
4. Enter the objective name, achievement period, description, weightage, and visibility.
   
5. Visibility Options allow you to choose who can view the objective. These options are available only for Department, Location, and Organization OKRs.
   1. Only Me: The objective is visible only to you.
   2. Department: Visible only to users in the selected department.
   3. Location: Visible only to users in the selected location.
   4. Organization: Visible to all users in the organization.
      
6. Click Submit,
   
   
   
   
   

Note:

1. If you are adding a Location Objective, select the location to which the objective applies.
2. If you are adding a Department Objective, select the department to which the objective applies.
3. The weightage field is available only if objective weightage is enabled in Settings.
   

Add Key Results to Objective

Key Results are specific, actionable, and time-bound goals providing clear benchmarks to complete an objective.

- Employees can check in Key Results on a timely basis, and the parent Objective value will be updated accordingly.

- You cannot add a Key Result to an objective once its completion period has ended.

1. Navigate to OKR from the left-side menu.
   
2. Click the required tab (My OKRs / Team OKRs / Department OKRs / Location OKRs / Organization OKRs) where you want to add the Sub-Key Result to a Key Result.
   
3. Hover over the Key Result.
4. Click on the Add (+) icon to add Sub-Key Result.
   
   
   
   

   Adding a new Sub-Key Result after progress has already been made on the Key Result will reset the Key Result’s completion percentage to zero and update the Objective’s completion percentage.
5. Select the Progress Type as either Percentage or Metric:
   
   Percentage: The Key Result progress is updated using a value between 0–100%.
   
   Metric: The Key Result progress is updated using numeric values within the defined From and To range, it can be 0–9999 or 9999–0, based on your configuration.

   Read more about metrics

   If you choose Metric, you can specify whether progress should be tracked as an increase or decrease in the metric to achieve the Key Result.

   Example (Increase in Metric)

   Sub-Key Result: Increase monthly website sign-ups

   Progress Type: Metric

   From: 1,000 sign-ups

   To: 2,500 sign-ups

   Metric Direction: Increase

   As the number of sign-ups increases toward the target, the Sub-Key Result progresses based on the check-in value.

   Example (Decrease in Metric)

   Sub-Key Result: Reduce customer support ticket backlog

   Progress Type: Metric

   From: 500 tickets

   To: 100 tickets

   Metric Direction: Decrease

   As the number of pending tickets decreases toward the target, the Sub-Key Result progresses based on the check-in value.
   
6. Enter the sub-key result.
   
7. Select the achievement period.
   
8. Select any employee as owner of the Sub-Key Result. Only these selected employees can check-in Sub-Key results.
   
9. Enter the Sub-key result description.
   
   
   
10. Select the check-in interval. This option lets you set how frequently employees can update the Sub-Key Result progress.
    Weekly: You can select all days or a specific day of the week for Sub-Key Result check-ins.
    Monthly: You can select specific days of the month when Sub-Key Result check-ins are allowed.
11. Enter a weight percentage for the Sub-Key Result.
    A Sub-Key Result with a higher weight contributes more to the overall completion of the parent Key Result compared to one with a lower weight.

Objective Alignment in OKRs

1. Navigate to the OKR service from the left-side menu in your application.
2. Open the appropriate tab depending on where the objective is located. You can choose from:
1. My OKRs
2. Team OKRs
3. Department OKRs
4. Location OKRs
   
3. In the list of objectives, hover over the objective you want to align.
   
   
4. Click the Align option.
5. A window will open. Select the Objective you want to align with. You can choose from:
1. Department OKRs
2. Location OKRs
3. Organization OKRs
6. After selecting the objective, click Align to complete the process.
7. Your objective is now successfully aligned with the chosen Department, Location, or Organizational OKR.

How to Complete Objectives and Key Results

Objectives are marked as completed only when all Key Results linked to that Objective are completed. Employees must check in the Key Result to which they are assigned as owner and periodically update its values to show progress toward completing the objective.

Objectives cannot be marked as completed directly.

Similarly, Key Results are marked as completed only when all Sub-Key Results linked to that Key Result are completed. Employees must check in to each Sub-Key Result and update progress regularly.

1. Navigate to the OKR service from the left-side menu in your application.
2. Click on My OKRs.
   
   
   
   
3. Select the tab form where you would like to update Key result or Sub-key result progress.
   
4. Hover over the Key result or Sub-Key result.
   
5. Click Check-in.
   
6. Enter the check-in value and comment.
   
   
7. Click Submit.
   The key result progress will be updated, and the parent objective’s progress will be updated accordingly.

View Objective and Key Result Details

To view objective details such its description, weight, associated Key results, and alignment to other objective, click on the objective

To view the Key Result or Sub-Key results details such as description, weight, check-in history, and frequency, click on the Key result or Sub-Key result.

To view OKR reports, click Reports > Organization Reports in the bottom-left corner of the page:

Check-in History Report