Microsoft Viva Goals

OKR Cheat Sheet:

Simple Formulas and
Real-World Examples
How to write effective OKRs that inspire
action and deliver results
OKR Cheat Sheet: Simple Formulas and Real-World Examples 2

Both leaders and employees agree … having aspirational, measurable,

and easy-to-understand goals drives focus on the work that matters,
helps teams align to strategic priorities, and leads to measurable results.

Using a goal framework based on OKRs (Objectives and Key Results)

serves as a powerful tool to structure and guide the process of setting and
achieving your goals.

While the OKR framework isn’t complicated, it’s helpful to start with a few
simple best practice formulas for writing and refining OKRs, and reference
real-world examples for inspiration.
OKR Cheat Sheet: Simple Formulas and Real-World Examples 3

Objectives:
What your team wants to accomplish. They are 3-5 clear, inspiring
goals shared across teams and organizations.

Key Results:
How the team will measure results. They should be 3-5 measurable
outcomes which contribute to the achievement of an objective.

Initiatives:
Actions that help the team achieve outcomes. They are focused
efforts that will help you define the path to impact for each OKR.

How the pieces fit together:

We will Objective as measured by Key Results via Initiatives

 OKR Cheat Sheet: Simple Formulas and Real-World Examples 4

How to write Objectives Key Results Initiatives:

good OKRs: Questions to ask:

• What is the most important area of our
Questions to ask:
• What metric would let us know that we
Questions to ask:
• What do we need to do in order to be
business that we need to focus on? were successful? successful?
• Why does this objective matter to us? • Do we currently measure that metric? • What can we get done in this period?
• How would we write our objective into • What is our target and baseline? • Who needs to be involved?
a statement that inspires our team?

Formula to follow: Formula to follow: Formula to follow:

Verb + what you’re going to do + so that / Verb + what you’re going to track / Verb + what you’re going to do
in order to count + from x to y

Example: Example: Example:

Deliver a “must-have” product in order to Increase our NPS score from 40 to 50 Conduct market research initiative to
delight customers and grow our user base identify “customer delighters”
 OKR Cheat Sheet: Simple Formulas and Real-World Examples 5

Take your OKRs Questions to ask as you review your OKRs:

• Do our OKRs go beyond “business as usual” to strive for ambitious outcomes and reaching for what’s possible?

from good to • Have we limited both Objectives and the Key Results below them to 3-5 at most?
• Can our team directly impact the results or are we reliant on stakeholders? If the latter, can we make it a shared OKR?
great: • Do we have the right owners identified who will feel accountable for driving progress?
• Will we be able to see progress on each Key Result in the current time frame?

Using the “necessary and sufficient” test to finalize your OKRs:

• In looking at an OKR, ask yourself, "Are all these Key Results necessary to achieve my Objective?"
o If the answer is yes, then it passes the necessary test.
o If the answer is no, then remove what isn't needed.
• Next, ask yourself, "Will accomplishing my Key Results be sufficient enough to achieve my Objective?"
• If yes, then it passes the sufficient test and you're good to go.
• If no, then modify existing Key Results to make them stronger, and add any Key Results to achieve your Objective.

Questions to ask as you enter OKRs into Viva Goals:

• Where can we set up integrations to enable faster and better decision making based on dynamic real-time data and insights?
• Have we aligned our goals from the top down, bottom up, and across teams to ensure everyone is driving towards the same
purpose, across the organization?
• Are our OKRs public for all team members to see in order to create accountability and surface dependencies and roadblocks?
OKR Cheat Sheet: Simple Formulas and Real-World Examples 6

Example 1 (Rollout) Example 2 (Engagement)

Objective: Deploy Viva Goals in order Objective: Drive broader Viva Goals
to sharpen focus, align teams, and drive adoption and engagement in order
measurable results to deliver business value

Key Result 1: 100% of senior leaders have Key Result 1: 100% of teams have
established OKRs in Viva Goals established OKRs in Viva Goals
Key Result 2: At least 75% of OKRs have Key Result 2: At least 80% of team
had a check-in in the last 30 days OKRs are aligned to company OKRs

Key Result 3: At least 50% of the Key Result 3: At least 50% of

organization has viewed and interacted employees have logged in over
with org OKRs within the first quarter the past 90 days

Initiative 1: Configure Viva Goals to meet Initiative 1: Create a standardized

the needs of our team format for OKR check-ins and monthly
business reviews
• Task 1: Configure settings and
notifications within the admin • Task 1: Host listening sessions
dashboard with people managers to
• Task 2: Import teams and users understand check-in
into Viva Goals requirements

• Task 3: Enable integrations at • Task 2: Align all departmental

the admin level MBRs with new fiscal year
calendar
 OKR Cheat Sheet: Simple Formulas and Real-World Examples 7

OKR Examples Example 1 Example 2 Example 3

for Organizations Annual Objective: Create a profitable

and sustainable company in order to
Annual Objective: Build a world class
company culture to attract and retain
Annual Objective: Elevate our brand
presence in order to attract new

at the annual and increase annual revenue the best employees prospects and create a fiercely loyal
customer following

quarterly level
Annual Key Result: Increase ARR from Annual Key Result: Reduce voluntary
$12m to $24m attrition of our employees from 25% Annual Key Result: Achieve 5000
to 10% positive G2 reviews
Quarterly Objective: Increase
revenue and optimize sales Quarterly Objective: Improve our Quarterly Objective: Increase brand
processes to ensure we reach double DEI commitment to better reflect the presence among major channels in
annual revenue local community that we serve order to attract new prospects

Quarterly Key Result: Increase new Quarterly Key Result: Improve Quarterly Key Result: Get 60K
product sales from $12m to $15m in the ratio of female applicants from signups by launching new features
Q1 20% to 30%
Initiative: Develop new social
Initiative: Develop new sales Initiative: We are committed media campaign
enablement materials to increase diversity through
recruitment at universities in
3 new geographic regions
 OKR Cheat Sheet: Simple Formulas and Real-World Examples 8

OKR Examples Example 1 Example 2 Example 3

for Marketing Objective: Improve our brand presence

through media channels to strengthen
Objective: Improve our marketing
funnel to become the vendor of choice
Objective: Improve quality of blog
content to establish ourselves as
brand as a leader in the industry thought leader in the space

Key Result 1: Increase monthly Key Result 1: Gain 5% of new Key Result 1: Gain 1,500 new blog
website visitors by 10% customers from top competitors subscribers

Key Result 2: Grow social media Key Result 2: Acquire 950 new Key Result 2: Increase content
followers from 50,000 to 75,000 MQLs for sales shares and mentions from 200
to 500
Key Result 3: Grow NPS score Key Result 3: Drive $10M in
from 7 to 8 marketing generated pipeline Key Result 3: Increase avg. Time
on page from 3:00 to 4:00
Initiative 1: Develop a social media Initiative 1: Update marketing
campaign materials Initiative 1: Develop a blog content
strategy plan
Initiative 2: Develop a NPS survey
 OKR Cheat Sheet: Simple Formulas and Real-World Examples 9

OKR Examples Example 1 Example 2 Example 3

for Sales Objective: Drive record-breaking

growth in Q4 to increase financial
Objective: Diversify our sales channels
in order to increase global revenue
Objective: Move to a territory-focused
sales model in order to expand
stability footprint
Key Result 1: Close $500k in new
Key Result 1: Increase weekly sales enterprise (ENT) deals1 Key Result 1: AE and SDR pairings
calls from by 25% per AE create 10 outbound-generated
Key Result 2: Close $300k in new
opportunities in their territory
Key Result 2: Generate 3.5M in new mid-market (mm) deals
mid-enterprise sales pipeline Key Result 2: 100% of AEs complete
Key Result 3: Close $200 in new
their territory strategy presentation
Key Result 3: Reduce closed/lost small and medium-sized business
opportunities from 100 to 25 (SMB) deals Key Result 3: Leads per territory are
within 20% variance
Initiative 1: Create AE job
description Initiative 1: Create new territory-
focused sales enablement materials
 OKR Cheat Sheet: Simple Formulas and Real-World Examples 10

OKR Examples Example 1 Example 2 Example 3

for Business Objective: Provide best-in-class

revenue operations in order to support
Objective: Decrease cash burn QoQ
in order to keep the company
Objective: Scale company operations
efficiently and effectively in order to

Operations the GTM teams financially stable better serve our customers and
employees
Key Result 1: Increase pipeline Key Result 1: Consolidate internal
velocity from $30,000 to $45,000 work tools to decrease monthly Key Result 1: Double supply chain
spend from $12,000 to $8,000 capacity from 10,000 to 20,000 units
Key Result 2: Increase customer and
user data unified between Marketo Key Result 2: Increase employees Key Result 2: Improve profit margin
and Salesforce from 80% to 90% working full time from home from from 12% to 16%
20% to 50% of workforce
Key Result 3: Decrease weekly hours Key Result 3: Increase employee
of subscription management manual Key Result 3: Decrease variable NPS score to 80%
effort from 3 to 1 expenses from 8% to 6%
Initiative 1: Build capacity model
Initiative 1: Adjust company-wide report for each department
audit process from quarterly to
monthly
 OKR Cheat Sheet: Simple Formulas and Real-World Examples 11

OKR Examples Example 1 Example 2 Example 3

for Customer Objective: Scale and improve

implementation and adoption process
Objective: Drive customer expansion in
order to increase profit margins
Objective: Optimize training process in
order to increase product adoption

Success in order to accelerate time to value

Key Result 1: Increase customer Key Result 1: Increase key account
Key Result 1: 90% of all customers expansion revenue from $1M to MAU from 250,0000 to 350,000
live in 4 weeks $2M
Key Result 2: Increase customer-
Key Result 2: 90% of customers Key Result 2: 100% of key accounts facing knowledge base articles from
reach their engagement threshold have a QBR this quarter 25 to 100
within two weeks of going live
Key Result 3: Increase referral Key Result 3: Double participation
Key Result 3: Increase pipeline from 20 to 50 opportunities at success office hours from 500 to
implementation CSAT from 1,000 people
Initiative 1: Complete success plan
60% to 70%
for 100% of key accounts Initiative: Outline customer events
Initiative 1: Build implementation calendar for next two quarters
Initiative 2: Finalize new QBR deck
infrastructure, reporting, and help
documentation

Initiative 2: Refine and document

account handoff process with sales
 OKR Cheat Sheet: Simple Formulas and Real-World Examples 12

OKR Examples Example 1 Example 2 Example 3

for Product & Objective: Deliver a “must have”

product in order to delight customers
Objective: Launch 2.0 version of
product in order to fix bugs, refine UI
Objective: Ensure a reliable, scalable,
and secure online platform to enable

Engineering and grow our user base and drive user engagement successful operations for internal teams
and external customers
Key Result 1: Increase our NPS score Key Result 1: Reduce number
from 40 to 50 of support tickets from 120/month Key Result 1: Increase database
to 30/month security and integrity risk mitigation
Key Result 2: Increase daily active
metrics by 10%
users (DAUs) from 1,200 to 1,500 Key Result 2: Reduce number of
steps in check out process from Key Result 2: Ensure all new hires
Key Result 3: Achieve 1,000
9 to 6 take Security Awareness training
downloads in the app store
and have deployed Mobile Device
Key Result 3: Increase user time
Initiative 1: Launch mobile version Management solutions within
spent on site from 2:37 per session
of product 30 days
to 3:45 per session
Initiative 2: Develop bug tracker for Key Result 3: Reduce average
Initiative 1: Perform a click study
mobile complaints response time to customer security
Initiative 2: Compile bug report and compliance requests from
3 business days to 2

Initiative 1: Obtain Service

Organization Control 2 Type 1
certification

Initiative 2: Enable sales team

to secure deals
 OKR Cheat Sheet: Simple Formulas and Real-World Examples 13

OKR Examples Example 1 Example 2 Example 3

for Human Objective: Increase employee retention

in order to do our best work
Objective: Launch a comprehensive
diversity and inclusion program in order
Objective: Revamp our employee
hiring portal in order to attract the best

Resources Key Result 1: Reduce voluntary

to enhance our culture talent

attrition from 30% to 10% Key Result 1: 90% of our employees Key Result 1: Reduce time to hire
give a score of 4 + when asked “our from 2 months to 1 month
Key Result 2: Increase ratio of open
company embraces DEI as part of
positions filled internally vs Key Result 2: 100% of job postings
our DNA”
externally from 30% to 50% in Q1 pass the gender-neutral test
Key Result 2: Increase company before going live
Key Result 3: 100% of our
diversity by 10 percentage points to
employees have a standardized Key Result 3: Increase candidate
reflect the local community we
career plan approved by HR satisfaction score from 30% to 50%
serve
Initiative 1: Offer 5 new courses for Initiative 1: Replace current ATS
Key Result 3: Score 80% or above on
internal career development with a modern vendor
our third-party DEI audit
Initiative 2: Revamp our exit Initiative 2: Train all hiring
Initiative 1: Hire a Director of DEI
interviews to better capture reasons managers on the new interview
for leaving Initiative 2: Research and select process
consulting partner to deliver
4 DEI events
 OKR Cheat Sheet: Simple Formulas and Real-World Examples 14

OKR Examples Example 1 Example 2 Example 3

for Finance Objective: Focus on controlling cash

burn in order to improve operational
Objective: Improve book-keeping and
accounting operations in order to
Objective: Rebuild company’s salary
structure in order to promote equity
efficiency provide timely and error-free financial and fairness across our workforce
results
Key Result 1: Increase company Key Result 1: Increase employee
runway from 4 months to 6 months Key Result 1: Reduce time to salary satisfaction rating specifically
complete final month-end numbers for compensation from 50% to 75%
Key Result 2: Reduce budget
from 15 days to 10 days
approval process from 30 days Key Result 2: 95% of employees are
to 20 days Key Result 2: Ensure 100% of confirmed into their appropriate
customer purchase data is salary band
Key Result 3: 95% of customers pay
synchronized between Salesforce
their invoices within 30 days Key Result 3: Reduce discrepancies
and Stripe
of salary within same job level from
Initiative 1: Audit past 4 quarterly
Key Result 3: Reduce average 10% to 7%
budgets to improve future
number of required changes to
budgeting process Initiative 1: Conduct industry salary
month-end financials after close
research for latest comparison
Initiative 2: Create new employee from 4.1 to 1.5
ranges
reimbursement process and
Initiative 1: Provide training to all
playbook Initiative 2: Present company-wide
customer support agents on Stripe
the new salary structure for
Initiative 2: Create a standardized transparency
process for account executives to
collect account payable in a more
secure way
 OKR Cheat Sheet: Simple Formulas and Real-World Examples 15

OKR Examples Example 1 Example 2 Example 3

for Designers Objective: Revamp website in order to

increase customer engagement
Objective: Support all requests from
marketing and sales
Objective: Develop customer
enablement materials in order to ease
product adoption
Key Result 1: Increase website traffic Key Result 1: Increase infographic
from 10k to 25k daily visitors downloads by 25% Key Result 1: Increase number of
downloadable assets from 10 to 25
Key Result 2: Reduce clicks between Key Result 2: Update ad design to
major pages from 5 to 2 increase clicks on ads by 30% Key Result 2: Rebrand 85% of
material in resource library
Key Result 3: Increase average time Key Result 3: Decrease average
on home page from 52 seconds to time to completion on new sales Key Result 3: Increase accessibility
120 seconds enablement asks from 4 weeks to 5 new business verticals
to 2 weeks
Initiative 1: Add 5 product videos to Initiative 1: Develop rebranding hex
website Initiative 1: Complete 1 e-book for guide for all new material
marketing
Initiative 2: A/B test landing page Initiative 2: Compile list of existing
design layout Initiative 2: Complete 15 material for rebranding
infographics