Why OKR framework for Talbit?
Why OKR? Why did you choose it as the framework for Talbit? Questions I get asked frequently. That’s why I decided to blog about it.
Concrete. Transparent. Understanding on colleagues’ skills and work. The link between me and company strategy. Elements that I intuitively thought would need to be part of Talbit — the tool to help you grow your talent bit by bit.
The problem with my former Personal Development Plans was that all goals were always due on the last date of December. They were like empty maps with the destination set clearly but no paths, no milestones, no checkpoints, nothing to help me get there. Another thing they had in common was they included at least one strategic goal, linked to the company strategy. Very seldom was the strategy laid out in front of me, explained properly for me to actually get a grip of what my contribution could be and how it would be implemented into the big picture.
When the process of fixing this very clear problem; the inefficient and costly Personal Development Plans began, my first priority was to build something that would ensure that the plan was more than just a destination. The path had to have steppingstones leading to the destination. These steppingstones needed to be concrete and clear measures the employee would take, learn and do to reach the target.
Next, I needed to solve the missing transparency between colleagues, teams and employees in different departments. Creating transparency to skills, goals and how each and everyone’s plan connected to the vision or strategy was my way of ensuring a unified understanding, experience and way of working. I would know how my work effected my team’s progress and how my team’s goals would be part of the bigger picture.
How did the OKR-framework come into the picture?
One late spring afternoon, I met with a friend of mine to demo Talbit and to test the idea on him. In the midst of demonstrating how each employee builds his/her development path linking personal goals to the company objectives and making those paths transparent, he said to me: “Kaisa, this is called the OKR -framework.”
I had never heard about OKR, but I started digging, searching and learning. I ordered the Measure What Matters -book, read it. The more I read, the more I got fired up about it and it all made sense! I googled articles, blogs etc and picked out great ideas, turned and tossed them around with my team and at the end of the day, we created the Talbit G&T -way. If you want to learn more, go ahead and read Aleksi’s blog out it:
https://www.talbit.fi/2020/02/06/what-is-this-okr-thing-everyones-buzzing-about-and-what-about-gt/
As a result, with the help from the OKR framework and adding the concepts and designs of our own, we have Talbit — the employee driven talent management software. With the software, each employee can create a development plan that fits his/her learning rhythm in the best way, individuals are allowed to contribute to the team objectives and company strategy autonomously and understanding of skills and projects colleagues are working is improved — this creates a positive employee experience!
