“Increase customer activity in the messenger” is an abstract wish. If a team links it to key results (double the monthly active users, cut response time by 50%), it turns into a goal. That is the OKR method.

Why OKR Is Needed

OKR (Objectives and Key Results) is a system that helps teams and companies reach ambitious, transformational goals while keeping the focus on results. It works especially well when:

  • there is a need to experiment a lot and the outcome cannot be predicted in advance;
  • it is important not just to maintain processes, but to introduce changes to the product, the user experience, the way of working;
  • alignment between different directions and synchronization of team actions is necessary.

Each OKR includes:

  • Objective: an ambitious, inspiring statement that gives direction.
  • Key Results: measurable indicators that show whether the goal has been achieved.

What matters fundamentally: OKR is not about “completing 10 tasks”, but about the changes that need to be achieved.

How It Works in Practice

Below is an adapted version of OKR as it was used in a product team responsible for user interaction on a large recruitment platform: the messenger, notifications, and communication inside the personal account.

The goal structure looked like this.

1. Company strategic goals. For example: increase user satisfaction with the service.

2. Annual vision of the direction. Create a messenger with a high level of user satisfaction, a place where it is easy to establish contact, get a quick response, keep the message history, and use automation.

3. Key results that indicate the goal is achieved:

  • the monthly number of unique users (monthly active users, MAU) doubles;
  • the share of messages that receive a reply doubles;
  • the average response time decreases by 50%.

4. Major milestones:

  • basic functionality: message deletion, reactions, replies;
  • an assistant bot;
  • interface improvements;
  • better technical stability.

5. Quarterly goals and tasks. Goal: increase user activity in the messenger and satisfaction with it by improving the user experience and introducing auto reply bots.

Tasks:

  • implement chat search and message deletion;
  • update the chat screen and improve the structure of a conversation;
  • launch an MVP bot that answers frequently asked questions (where the interview takes place, which documents are needed, and so on).

6. Weekly monitoring and adjustment. Every week the team tracks progress, clarifies tasks, and analyzes what has become irrelevant and what new things have appeared. At the end of the quarter it sums up what was achieved, what was not, and how much of this actually moved the key metrics.

What Worked and Where the Difficulties Were

OKR did not only help structure the goals, it also became a tool for meaning making and engagement. There were difficulties too: not every task can be properly decomposed right away, so adjustments sometimes have to be made in the middle of the quarter.

Thanks to well set goals, the following results were achieved:

  • the share of applicants using the messenger doubled;
  • in 56% of cases, through a call or the messenger, the user is reached within the first 24 hours, while the market benchmark for this is 29%.

Tasks that remained open:

  • increase the share of automated replies;
  • reduce the time to first response by another 20 to 25%;
  • move more communication into the messenger and make it more effective.

Why It Is Useful

1. Every participant understands why they are doing their task. There is a visible connection: strategy, annual vision, quarterly goals, tasks. This provides context, reduces frustration, and creates a sense of contribution to a common cause.

2. Focus on the tasks that truly matter. If a task does not support any of the goals, it does not make it into the plan. This is a filter that protects against busywork for the sake of checking a box.

3. It is easier to synchronize with other teams. A single goal logic makes the work of colleagues from adjacent areas transparent. You see who is heading where and can align actions in advance.

4. A tool for assessing impact appears. At the end of the quarter you do not just count how many tasks were completed, you answer the question: how much closer did this bring us to the goal? That shifts the focus from completing tasks to achieving results.

When KPIs Are the Better Choice

If you work in a stable operational environment where processes are predictable and goals repeat, OKR may be excessive. In such cases KPIs fit better: a set of metrics that track efficiency.

An example is a customer efficiency direction. Its task is not to develop the product, but to help clients use the existing functionality effectively. Here the goal might be a KPI: “90% of clients know about the messenger and understand how to use it, within three months.” What matters is the result, the awareness percentage, not the path to it. This is a classic case for KPIs.

OKR or KPI: Between Two Fires

The choice between OKR and KPI does not depend on a fashion for flexibility or strictness, but on the nature of the tasks a particular area solves.

Choose OKR when:

  • something needs to be changed, developed, improved;
  • uncertainty is high;
  • engagement and cross team synchronization matter;
  • the goal is change and transformation.

Choose KPI when:

  • the efficiency of processes needs to be maintained;
  • the activity is stable and repetitive;
  • clear reporting and predictability matter;
  • the goal is a result and efficiency.

In practice, companies most often use both approaches. Different teams pick the goal setting system that matches their tasks and focus. Product and research areas more often build their work around OKR in order to move toward transformational goals, experiment, and adapt quickly. Operational and service departments, where stability matters, rely on KPIs as a tool for measuring and managing efficiency.

This creates a single management logic: each department sees its own goal, while the whole company moves in the same direction.