Summary - OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) and KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) are two effective methodologies for establishing and tracking business objectives.... OKRs are used to influence change (set goals and measure outcomes), whereas KPIs are used to track current performance and health of operations (measure what is happening).
Most organisations have programmes designed to support their development, change, and operational efficiency. Those efforts are critical for long-term success but can easily be lost in the day-to-day.
The term KPIs, or Key Performance Indicators, refers to ongoing indicators that monitor the performance of your organisation. KPIs measure how the business is performing now; OKRs tie a target outcome to the organisation’s mission. OKRs help bring direction, purpose, and context to your top priorities.
This article highlights the difference between these approaches, offers some practical OKR vs KPI examples, and demonstrates how a blended approach can optimise business performance.
Key Takeaways on KPI vs OKR Difference
- OKRs are meant to inspire and spark new initiatives and growth, while KPIs help track business as usual (BAU) and operational health.
- You don’t have to pick one or the other; high-performing organisations run the business with KPIs and change the business with OKRs.
- If a health-monitoring KPI does not perform as desired, it should become an opportunity to develop a strategic OKR aimed at solving the underlying problem.
- The outcomes of OKRs must be measurable, and the KPIs must have a target, a timeframe, and a clear data source.
- The combination of both approaches provides cross-functional alignment, especially when working with remote teams and emphasising the results rather than hours spent working.
What Is a KPI in Simple Terms?
A KPI (key performance indicator) is a quantitative metric that measures progress towards a specific business goal. KPIs monitor ongoing performance and operational health.
The metrics you select should be specific to each initiative. A KPI for a social media campaign isn’t the same as a KPI for an IT project; ensure you are tracking metrics that align with the goals of each.
Choose KPIs that:
- Relate to your strategic objectives, such as expanding professional career services into new territories
- Can be compared against benchmarks
- Inform resource planning
- Monitor an action you can control and influence
After establishing your KPIs, track them throughout the course of your initiative. This will help you to see whether you are “on track”, “at risk” or “off track” against where you want to be.
What Does OKR Stand For?
OKR stands for Objectives and Key Results. It’s a goal-setting methodology, combining an ambitious objective with a tangible set of key results that show progress towards it. OKRs help align teams on a common objective and clearly communicate how their efforts impact wider company goals. Alignment is usually driven by what a line manager does day to day.
Are OKRs Just Goals?
No, OKRs are not just regular goals; they are a dynamic framework that forces you to break a goal down into a direction and its measurable evidence.
It works like this: you set an objective, then measure it with a key result.
Objectives are the goals you want to accomplish, from small to big. Things such as:
- Improve customer retention
- Increase website conversions
- Attract more qualified leads
Key results are the measurable evidence that you are achieving your objective, and you can have more than one key result per objective. Every key result needs a metric, a starting point, and a deadline. Working from the objectives above, key results would look like this:
- Increase the repeat purchase rate from 22% to 30% by the end of Q3
- Lift website conversion rate from 1.8% to 2.5% within the quarter
- Grow marketing-qualified leads from 120 to 200 per month by the end of Q4
Note the difference between a key result and a task. “Establish a loyalty rewards programme” or “Upgrade the CRM” are initiatives — the work you do. The key result is the number that work is expected to move.
What Is the Difference between OKR and KPI?
OKRs and KPIs are both types of performance management, but they aren’t the same thing. Here’s a quick comparison table on objectives and key results vs key performance indicators:
| Distinctions | OKRs | KPIs |
| Primary Intent | Establish and reach aspirational targets | Oversee day-to-day business output |
| Core Priority | Catalysing evolution and progress | Sustaining organisational stability |
| Duration | Set every quarter or every year | Ongoing |
| Framework | One Objective + 3–5 measurable outcomes | Metric + benchmark + tracking source + reporting interval |
| Ideal Usage | Strategic breakthroughs, fresh projects, and team joined-up working | Gauging company vitality and spotting performance patterns |
KPIs are used by companies to measure something in a quantitative way on an ongoing basis. These metrics can be useful for:
- Business health monitoring: Keep an eye on revenue, customer satisfaction, and efficiency as time goes on.
- Assessing campaign performance: Analyse and measure the effectiveness of marketing, sales, or product efforts.
- Early detection of issues: Recognise when something is not working as it should.
- Making informed decisions: Use data to adapt strategy and resources appropriately.
You can establish any objective with OKRs. However, companies typically use OKRs to set bigger and more aggressive objectives.
OKR vs KPI Examples
The following examples will help you understand the difference between OKR and KPI better:
OKR Examples
If your company is establishing a high-level OKR, you can follow a top-down strategy to ensure the goal remains achievable by breaking it into departmental and personal OKRs. With this OKR structure, everyone’s OKR will align with the main objective.
For instance, if your e-commerce business OKR is expanding into international markets, you’d segment that into departmental OKRs. The logistics team may focus on building global shipping infrastructure, while the sales team may concentrate on local revenues. The company objective is the overall goal that links together each department’s OKRs.
Business goal: To become the top global e-commerce brand for sustainability products.
- Key Result 1: Launch localised storefronts in 4 new European countries
- Key Result 2: Generate €2M in international revenue by the end of Q4
Sales team objective: Establish a strong sales pipeline in the new European territories
- Key Result 1: Partner with 50 local sustainable brand influencers
- Key Result 2: Achieve a 3–4% conversion rate on international landing pages
The goal of the operations team: To create an integrated worldwide delivery system.
- Key Result 1: Reduce international shipping times to under 5 business days
- Key Result 2: Partner with 3 regional fulfilment centres in Europe
Within the respective departments, team members can create individual OKRs that support their departmental OKRs. This could be for localised advertising content or warehouse management software.
KPI Examples
KPIs are often referred to as performance metrics, like capacity utilisation rate or new inbound leads. There are four elements to an effective KPI:
- A measurable target
- A timeframe for reaching the target
- A data source for measuring
- A frequency of measurement
Without all four, you will not know why you are tracking that metric or how to determine success. Below are some KPI examples by department. Each includes the four components mentioned above.
1. Examples of Customer Support KPIs:
- Minimise average Ticket Resolution time to less than 4 hours by the end of Q2. Monitor resolution data via the support ticketing system on a daily basis.
- Keep the Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) score at or above 90% for Q2. Set up and follow weekly automated post-interaction surveys.
2. Human Resources KPI Examples:
- Reduce the average time-to-hire to 25 days by the end of Q2. Track the progress of recruitment activities using the applicant tracking system (ATS) on a fortnightly basis.
- Ensure 95% completion of areas of development for employees, such as required compliance training, before 31 May. Measure staff learning through the Learning Management System (LMS) on a weekly basis.
3. Examples of IT Operations KPIs:
- Ensure the system is up 99.99% of the time during Q2. Track performance logs from servers in real time using cloud monitoring tools.
- Resolve 85% of internal ‘high priority’ technical support requests within 24 hours during Q2. Utilise the internal IT help desk portal to track the status of tickets on a daily basis.
4. Sales and Marketing KPI Examples:
- Increase the volume of new inbound leads by 15% before the end of Q2.
- Monitor lead generation through the CRM on a weekly basis.
Which Is Better, OKRs or KPIs?
There’s no right or wrong option when choosing between OKRs and KPIs. If you aren’t sure which way to go, be clear about your intentions.
KPIs tell you whether an existing project is performing. You can tailor the metrics to your own requirements and keep track of your progress as you go.
An OKR is what you set when you want to improve that performance. OKRs work best for companies with larger objectives. These objectives can be segmented into smaller, actionable elements that anyone within the organisation can help with. With OKRs, your team remains motivated as you move towards your goals.
It is important to remember that you do not have to choose. The two methods of goal setting and measuring goals are complementary and can work together to support stronger business performance.
Can OKRs and KPIs Be Used Together?
Yes! Using OKRs and KPIs together at work tends to give teams clearer direction than either on its own. OKRs provide direction and catalyse change; KPIs measure current performance. This combined package gives you a clearer view of both destination and progress towards it.
Here’s how top tech companies use OKRs versus KPIs for performance management:
- Create OKRs from underperforming KPIs: If a KPI indicates underperformance (e.g. a drop in customer satisfaction), develop an OKR to address the root cause.
- Track OKR progress with KPIs: Assign relevant KPIs to each key result and track progress quantitatively throughout the quarter.
- Turn OKRs into KPIs: Once you’ve hit an ambitious goal, turn it into a KPI to stay at the new target.
When you use both, your team will have a clear idea of what to change (OKRs) and what to keep (KPIs).
How to Succeed with OKRs and KPIs – Best Practices & Mistakes to Avoid
Even experienced teams stumble when implementing goal-setting frameworks. Pairing what works with an awareness of common pitfalls helps your OKRs and KPIs drive meaningful results.
For Objectives and Key Results
- The first mistake is setting too many objectives. It dilutes attention and reduces impact. Therefore, limit objectives to 3–5 per quarter to keep the team focused on what truly matters.
- The next mistake is mixing up key results with tasks. For example: A key result is ‘Increase email open rates by 15%’, and a task is ‘Launch email campaign’. The solution is to set measurable key results and state the metric each one will move.
- The third mistake is formulating OKRs without collaboration. Remember, the best results come from OKRs that are shared throughout the organisation and linked to company goals.
- Reviewing OKRs quarterly is important. Frequent check-ins allow you to course-correct and acknowledge accomplishments.
- Avoid making low-level goals. OKRs should be a stretch. If you are hitting 100% each quarter, they aren’t challenging enough.
- Consider involving your team. Individuals tend to be better motivated by goals they have helped to establish, often through managing upwards.
For Key Performance Indicators
- Avoid keeping too many metrics in mind. Keep your scorecard to 15–25 KPIs. Establish ambitious but achievable goals.
- Do not choose disconnected KPIs. A KPI without a target, timeframe, data source, or measurement frequency is just a number.
- Each KPI should align with a strategic goal. If you’re not sure why you’re tracking it, eliminate it.
- Always set actionable KPIs. Track KPIs continuously (weekly or daily), unlike quarterly OKRs. If a KPI goes down, then your team should know what to do.
- Spreadsheets can quickly fall out of date. Dedicated goal-tracking tools such as Asana, Perdoo, or Weekdone are built to centralise goal progress in real time.
How to Set Effective OKRs and KPIs for Remote Teams?
Distributed teams don’t get the informal check-ins that an office provides, so combining OKRs for growth with KPIs for operational health helps reduce the gaps that distance creates. Set motivational OKRs and KPIs for remote teams to focus on results rather than hours worked, and ensure alignment across borders with a single, digital tracking system.
The Structural Blueprint: How They Work Together
Here’s how the two divide the work:
- KPIs (The Dashboard): These track the current health of the business and steady performance.
- OKRs (The Accelerator): These are used for strategic, time-boxed changes or improvements.
- The Link: A KPI turns into a Key Result when the baseline metric is in need of a strategic push.
Remote-First Example
Team Type: Growth & Performance Marketing (Paid Ads, Acquisition, and CV Writing Services)
KPI (Continuous Health)
- CAC: Keep the cost of acquiring a customer below £45
- ROAS: Keep overall Return on Ad Spend above 3.5x
- CTR: Have a click-through rate above 2.5% for key campaigns
OKR (Quarterly Growth Push)
- Target: Increase paid media diversification away from Meta ads
- KR 1: Generate 40% of total leads via LinkedIn and YouTube
- KR 2: Produce 150 quality UK leads on non-Meta platforms
- KR 3: Decrease Meta ad spend from 80% to 55% of the total budget while maintaining overall lead volume
What Are the Best Practices for Aligning OKRs and KPIs in Sales Departments?
The aspirational, growth-focused approach of OKRs and the baseline, health-focused approach of KPIs work best together when a sales team is chasing revenue growth. When properly aligned, KPIs are a measure of how your sales engine is functioning, and OKRs are a measure of how you’re improving your sales engine to achieve new strategic goals.
Here are the top three practices for making sure OKRs and KPIs are aligned in a sales department:
1. Map KPIs as “Health Metrics” that Feed OKRs
KPIs track BAU. If a KPI fails to meet expectations, it should prompt an OKR to resolve the problem.
The Practice: Identify performance gaps with KPIs and fill them with OKRs.
Example: When the Sales Conversion Rate KPI is stagnant at 15%, start an OKR to improve the team’s skill set.
- Objective: Improve our sales approach to capture high-value sales in UK corporate accounts.
- Key Result: Improve the Lead Conversion Rate KPI from 15% to 25% by Q3.
2. Drive Cross-Functional Alignment via RevOps
Sales isn’t a stand-alone endeavour. RevOps is an operating model that brings sales, marketing, and customer success metrics under one owner.
- The Practice: Take Marketing’s OKR output, e.g. 500 Qualified Leads, as the Sales Team’s KPI Input, e.g. New Leads in CRM.
- The Alignment: Ensure the handovers are managed effectively by establishing Service Level Agreements (SLAs).
3. Establish a Tiered Review Cadence
In fast-paced sales, frequent visibility is necessary to stay on track.
- Weekly (KPI Focus): Check operational activities (Demos booked, Pipeline value) during team huddles – ensuring baseline targets are met.
- Monthly/Fortnightly (OKR Focus): Ask whether the weekly activities are actually achieving the quarter’s key results. If there is no improvement, make some adjustments.
How Do Financial Services Firms Balance OKRs with KPIs for Compliance and Growth?
Financial services organisations use OKRs to “change the bank” (grow, innovate, and transform) while using KPIs to “run the bank” (stability, risk, and regulatory compliance). In financial services, both must run as one system rather than two competing methodologies — because regulatory execution has to be flawless even while growth targets are aggressive.
Practical Integration Example
As a retail banking firm expands, compliance and growth intersect directly within the same line of business.
Corporate Strategy: Market expansion into embedded finance/B2B2C.
Growth OKR (Product Team):
- Goal: Introduce an open banking API platform to collect third-party transaction volume.
- Key Result 1: Onboard 15 fintech sandbox partners in Q1.
- Key Result 2: Handle £50M of external transaction volume via the new gateway.
Compliance KPI Guardrail (Risk Team):
- Target: 100% of endpoints pass automated UK GDPR checks pre-deployment.
- Indicator: ≤2 unplanned service interruptions per quarter.
Conclusion
The key to doing business successfully in today’s world is to maintain stability and balance it with evolution. Combining OKRs and KPIs will help UK organisations track daily business performance and pursue their long-term goals. Both frameworks offer clarity and direction for long-term success, from improving sales conversion rates to expanding into new international markets. They work together to help keep your team aligned, motivated and measuring what actually matters for optimal performance.
Frequently Asked Questions about OKRs vs KPIs
How do you turn a KPI into an OKR?
To turn a KPI into an OKR, you embed the flat KPI metric into a broader narrative by wrapping it in an inspirational goal (Objective) and adding a target value with a specific deadline (Key Result).
Which cloud-based solutions offer combined OKR and KPI dashboards?
Some popular cloud-based solutions that offer combined OKR and KPI dashboards are:
- Perdoo
- Profit.co
- Weekdone
- Quantive
Can I export OKR and KPI reports from popular business intelligence tools?
Yes. You can export OKR and KPI reports from most popular business intelligence tools like Microsoft Power BI, Tableau, Looker Studio (Google), Qlik Sense, etc. Common export methods:
- Manual Download: You can click on the “Export,” “Download,” or “Share” icon directly from the dashboard interface.
- Automated Subscriptions: Create a subscription that automatically emails the exported report to team members.
- Embedded Live Links: Create secure links to embed the live and interactive report into an internal portal such as SharePoint, Notion, or Confluence rather than a static export.
Can I integrate OKR and KPI tracking into existing project management platforms?
Yes, it’s possible to embed OKR and KPI tracking into the daily project management workflow. It can be achieved via integrated goal tracking tools or by plugging in dedicated goal management software via native integration or APIs.
Do OKRs replace KPIs?
No, OKRs do not replace KPIs. Instead, they are complementary and function in very different ways.
Why do companies use OKRs instead of KPIs?
When a company needs to foster change, encourage innovation, and unite teams under a shared vision for the future, it uses OKRs instead of KPIs.
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