Best OKR Software - 2023

Using OKR software allows you to:

• Continuously align to company goals: OKR software allows you to continuously align your team’s goals with your business goals. Managers use it to define goals and tweak them whenever necessary, and employees use it to work on said goals, reflect on their progress and track how it is contributing to the company’s overall vision.
• Promote teamwork: Through OKR software, both company and team OKRs can be visible to everyone (at least that's what we recommend). When that’s the case, your employees can learn what their coworkers are working on and assist one another while also completing their own personal goals. Encouraging collaboration and teamwork in such manner creates a positive work environment and contributes to a healthy company culture in the long run - who doesn’t want that?  
• Increase manager productivity: Using OKR software provides managers with a quick birds-eye view of what their team is working on and how far they’ve come in terms of progress. The ability to see such information very quickly from a single, organized dashboard saves managers a great deal of time; e.g. they won’t be needing to constantly check on each of their team members’ progress, which frees them to focus on other important tasks in their department. ‍
• Improve employee engagement, motivation, and performance: With OKR software, employees are always in the loop and can even be involved in the goal-setting progress. According to Gallup research, employees whose managers involve them in goal setting are 3.6x more likely to be engaged than other employees, and engaged employees are more motivated to keep and exceed performance expectations.

Buying software should never be a hasty decision. Meticulous research is required to make sure you don’t waste your tech budget on products that aren’t good or simply don’t meet your needs. If you don’t take the time to review what’s available on the market while carefully weighing in your needs and financial capabilities, you can easily fall for one of or all of the following mistakes:

• Buying an all-in-one suite when all you need is OKR software: Sometimes OKR solutions are sold as part of an HR or performance suite. While investing in an all-in-one is a great choice for companies that will put every single solution within the said suite to good use, it’s definitely not a wise financial decision for companies that only want a software solution to manage their goals and objectives. Always spend money on the functions you need and nothing more.
• Selecting an OKR product that isn’t scalable: Your business may see rapid growth. It may also experience financial hardships, requiring you to make the tough decision of downsizing your team. No matter what the future holds for your company, you’ll definitely need your OKR software to grow or shrink accordingly, without needing to switch to different providers every time you scale. 
• Getting into a long-term commitment with a vendor before thoroughly testing their product: Most software vendors will offer you a discount if you sign an annual agreement. Some will even try to tempt you to get into a two-year commitment. While such deals can save you a significant amount of money in the long run, you should only commit to a vendor after thoroughly testing their product and verifying that it works for you. This is to save you from the hassle of going back and forth with the vendor regarding their refund policy and incurring cancellation fees.  ‍
• Incorrectly using your OKR software: Remember, an OKR solution is only as good as the strategies you feed it with. If you use to set goals that aren’t attainable, you won’t be arriving at any meaningful results, which means you won’t benefit from the software’s ability to track progress and analyze outcomes. Similarly, if you use your OKR software to set goals that are too broad or vague, there will inevitably be some confusion among your team, resulting in delayed goal accomplishment.

Most OKR software vendors tier their pricing by offering between two to five pricing plans. This way, they’ll have the most coverage for businesses of different sizes, needs, and financial capabilities. Those plans usually vary in terms of features and either cost a flat monthly/annual subscription fee for an unlimited number of employees or have a per-employee-per-month pricing model, which could cost anywhere between $6 - $19 per employee per month. 

Do keep in mind that in all cases, extra fees may still apply for on-demand services such as product training, customization, compliance guidance, dedicated account management, and cancellation. Consult your chosen OKR software vendor on the exact breakdown of all of their fees, both recurring and non-recurring.

Another thing to watch out for is whether or not the vendor has a minimum price commitment. Vendors with a minimum price commitment won’t let you subscribe to certain plans (usually their best-value plans) unless your overall monthly or annual bill exceeds a predefined amount. 

For more information on software pricing best practices, check out our Ebook on getting the best pricing in HR tech.

The following are some of the most common features you can safely expect from OKR platforms.

• Goal setting: If OKR solutions only had one feature, this would be it. OKR software allows you to define company objectives and monitor progress towards those objectives until meaningful results are achieved. OKR software also allows you to create goal maps where all of your objectives are laid out and tiered either in terms of scale or priority, and a clear path is drawn towards your desired outcomes. 
• Task assignment: Objectives are your plan. Once you have a plan, you can go ahead and break that plan into tasks that you can assign to your team members with the help of your OKR software. You can also order tasks in terms of importance through your OKR software, and - if someone on your team is away for any reason, - reassign their tasks to other individuals with the capacity to take them on. 
• Progress tracking: Once tasks are assigned, employers can proceed by tracking the progress of their employees in their assignments. Seeing progress from a single interface and in real-time enables employers to immediately make informed decisions to boost performance, e.g. identify if certain employees could use some help in accomplishing their individual tasks or if they have too much on their plate, reassign a portion of their work to other team members.
• Performance reviews: Another feature of OKR software is the ability to conduct performance reviews, both formal and informal, whenever necessary without needing to wait until the end of the year or use a single piece of paper. You can create review templates and even automate reviews with the right software.  
• 1:1 meetings: OKR solutions allow you to conduct 1:1s as well as team meetings efficiently. Your team members can collaborate on a shared agenda, keep notes, receive feedback and new assignments where necessary. Most OKR solutions will also integrate with popular calendars for events to sync automatically, reducing your manual labor.
• Analytics and reporting: An important feature of any software product or online platform is analytics. Through accurate, real-time data, a good OKR software allows you to monitor how your team is performing against your pre-defined goals, both short and long term, as well as the average time it takes them to achieve the goals/milestones within goals. It should display this information neatly in graphs for quick reference as well as let you export the data in CSV and other formats.  
• 3rd-party integrations: The majority of OKR software tools offer integration options with your existing business tools such as those for recruiting, payroll, enterprise resource planning (ERP), team collaboration, and more to extend the functionality of your software, have your data synchronize automatically and eliminate duplicated effort.‍
• Additional features: In addition to the above, some OKR systems may also carry features for learning management and employee recognition.

As you’re vetting different OKR software products, we always recommend that you schedule demos with the top vendors on your list to make sure their solution covers your needs. Here are a few questions you can ask when you get in touch with sales representatives: 

• Besides OKR and goal management, what other functions does your software cover?/ Can your product replace other products in my tech stack?
• Can you show me what employees see through their accounts (if any)?
• Does your software leverage any Artificial Intelligence (AI) or machine learning for process automation?
• Is your software easy to implement, and would I be able to set it up myself?
• What business apps does your product integrate with?
• We use XYZ software for XYZ tasks, will your solution integrate with that? 
• What metrics have you used to prove the effectiveness of your software?
• What data protection laws is your software compliant with? 
• How much does your product cost for my team size?
• How will the current pricing change as our team grows or shrinks?
• Will you assign my business a dedicated account manager?
• Can you walk me through your Customer Support SLAs?
• Do you have a help center with articles and other documentation for self-service?

The shift to cloud computing has impacted many software types, including OKR software. The majority of products in this space are cloud-based, delivered through a software-as-a-service (SaaS) infrastructure. Getting started with cloud-based software is relatively easy. Once you’ve selected a vendor and purchased a plan that meets your needs, you can create an account and start configuring it right away, e.g import your employee data, invite your employees to sign up, define goals, etc. 

Although very few, you may come across OKR software solutions that are self-hosted (on-premise). Self-hosted solutions generally take longer to set up in comparison to their cloud-based counterparts. Depending on your chosen vendor, you may need to consult them regarding their product’s compatibility with your company’s hardware and installation process. You may even be able to have them send a representative to perform the installation on your behalf, which is always recommended for you to get up and running with the system as quickly and possible.

Note: Most of the software vendors we’ve listed in this guide provide step-by-step video tutorials and help docs that assist customers in implementing the product. For more information, you can reach out to your chosen vendor’s customer success or support team.

What are OKRs?‍

OKR is a framework commonly used in business planning and stands for “Objectives and Key Results”. First, companies define a set of measurable goals, i.e. objectives, that are in line with their vision, then track their team’s progress toward those goals until they are achieved, i.e., key results.

What is OKR Software?‍

OKR software (Objective & Key Results software) is a tool companies use to define and communicate measurable goals within their business. After goals are set, the software is then used to track progress towards those goals until they are achieved. 

What is the difference between OKRs and KPIs? ‍

KPIs (key performance indicators) are attainable goals representing the results of a process or project already in place (for example, social media impressions or sales conversion). On the other hand, OKRs  (objectives and key results) are more advanced and ambitious (though still achievable), requiring more alignment and effort to accomplish.

What are the features of OKR software?

OKR software commonly offers features for:

• Goal setting
• Progress tracking
• Performance review
• Team communication 
• Analytics and reporting
  

What to look for in OKR software?

Besides ensuring an OKR solution covers the features you need, make sure it is also user-friendly, scalable, can integrate with your favorite software products, and has an employee self-service portal.

How are OKR software solutions deployed?

Most OKR software solutions are cloud-based, meaning they are accessible through most web browsers, either on your desktop or mobile device - no installation necessary.