Background and timeline
OKRs, short for Objectives and Key Results, are a goal-setting method where a team states what it wants to achieve and the measurable results that show it got there.
Andy Grove developed the approach at Intel in the 1970s, and John Doerr introduced it at Google in 1999, after which it spread across the technology industry. Each objective sets a direction, and a few key results attached to it carry a baseline, a target, and a score at the end of the cycle, usually a quarter. Most first rollouts stall on how those scores feed into performance reviews, which is the focus of this checklist.
A first OKR cycle works when the review policy is decided before anyone writes an objective. This checklist covers one quarter, from six weeks before kickoff to the review conversations after it ends, for the HR or People leader running the rollout.
Work through the phases in order. Each item is a task you can assign and tick off, and you can click an item on this page to mark it done. The timing assumes a 13-week quarterly cycle; stretch or compress it to fit your calendar.
| Phase | When | Lead owner | Output |
|---|
| 1. Before kickoff | Weeks -6 to -1 | HR and executive sponsor | Review policy, scope, training plan |
| 2. Draft OKRs | Weeks -3 to 0 | Executives, then managers | Approved company and team OKRs |
| 3. Launch and check in | Weeks 1 to 12 | Managers | Weekly updates, monthly reviews |
| 4. Score the cycle | Weeks 12 to 13 | Managers and HR | Scores and retrospective notes |
| 5. Connect to reviews | Weeks 13 to 15 | Managers and HR | Review ratings backed by OKR evidence |
Phase 1: Before kickoff
Decide how OKRs relate to reviews first, because every later choice depends on it. Skipping this step is the most common reason employees treat OKRs as a second, competing scorecard.
Sponsorship and scope
Name one executive sponsor who will present the company OKRs and attend monthly reviews.
Name one program owner in HR who runs the calendar, templates, and training.
Decide which teams join the first cycle. Pilot with three to five teams if the company has more than 100 people.
Pick the cycle length. Quarterly is the default; use a shorter cycle only for teams whose work changes monthly.
Review policy (decisions for the sponsor)
Decide whether the first cycle's OKR results count toward review ratings, count as one input among several, or are excluded entirely. For a first cycle, most companies treat them as an input and not a rating.
Write down what managers may and may not say about scores. For example: a 0.7 is a good result on a stretch goal, and a score is never a rating on its own.
Separate OKR achievement from compensation decisions in writing, and tell employees which cycle that separation ends, if it does.
Confirm how OKRs will be recorded in your review form or HRIS, and who edits that record.
Tools and training
Choose one place where all OKRs live and are visible to everyone in scope.
Build a one-page OKR template with an objective, three to five key results, a baseline, a target, and an owner.
Run a 60-minute manager training covering how to write a key result, how to score, and the review policy above.
Publish a short FAQ with the review policy answers, since this is the first thing employees will ask about.
Weeks -3 to 0Phase 2: Draft OKRs
Write company OKRs first, then team OKRs, then let individuals draft theirs. Individual OKRs written before team OKRs are usually a task list in disguise.
Company and team level
Executives draft three to five company objectives for the quarter, each with no more than four key results.
Check that every key result is a measurable outcome with a baseline and a target, not an activity such as "launch the new onboarding flow."
Hold a 90-minute session where team leads draft OKRs that point to a company objective. Reject any team objective that supports none.
Limit each team to three objectives. More than that dilutes attention and makes scoring unreadable.
Agree which key results are committed (expected to hit 1.0) and which are aspirational (0.7 is a good result). Label each one.
Individual level
Ask each employee to draft one to three personal OKRs that connect to their team's, within one week of team OKRs being approved.
Have each manager review drafts in a 30-minute one-on-one and agree on the final version.
Make sure at least one individual key result per person covers growth or development, so OKRs do not crowd out the skills conversation in reviews.
Alignment and sign-off
Publish every OKR in the shared tool before kickoff so anyone can see how their work connects.
Run a dependency check. List the key results that need another team to deliver something, and get that team's agreement in writing.
Get sponsor sign-off on company and team OKRs. Lock them for the first month.
Weeks 1 to 12Phase 3: Launch and check in
The check-in rhythm is what produces review evidence later. If managers record progress as it happens, the review conversation draws on notes instead of memory of the last two weeks.
Launch
Hold a company-wide kickoff where the sponsor presents company OKRs and explains the review policy in plain terms.
Send managers a one-page guide to running a weekly OKR check-in in 15 minutes or less.
Set up a reminder so every owner posts a confidence rating (red, yellow, or green) and one sentence of context each week.
Weekly and monthly rhythm
Managers review team key results in a weekly meeting and flag any rated red.
HR checks participation at weeks 2, 4, and 8. Follow up with teams where fewer than 80% of key results have a recent update.
Hold a monthly leadership review of company OKRs. Record decisions on any key result to change, drop, or add.
Allow mid-cycle changes only through a short written request to the program owner, so edits stay visible.
Mid-cycle pulse (around week 6)
Survey managers and employees with three questions: are your OKRs clear, are they the right size, and do you know how they will be used in your review.
Review the results with the sponsor and fix the top two issues before the cycle continues.
Ask managers to start a running log of notable results, obstacles, and contributions for each direct report. This feeds Phase 5 directly.
Weeks 12 to 13Phase 4: Score the cycle
Score each key result on the same 0.0 to 1.0 scale, using the baseline and target written in Phase 2. Scoring tells you how the work went. It does not tell you how the person performed.
Close the cycle on a fixed date. Owners enter a final value and score for every key result within three working days.
Have managers review each score for evidence. A score with no data behind it gets sent back.
Ask owners for a short note on each objective: what happened, what changed along the way, and what they would do differently.
Compare scores to the committed and aspirational labels from Phase 2. A committed key result at 0.5 needs a conversation; an aspirational one at 0.5 may not.
Run a 45-minute retrospective per team covering key results that were too easy, too hard, or poorly measured.
Roll team scores up to company objectives and share the results with everyone, including the misses.
Collect the program owner's own notes on what to change in the process for cycle two, and send them to the sponsor.
Weeks 13 to 15Phase 5: Connect OKRs to performance reviews
Use OKR results as evidence in the review, not as the rating itself. A manager who can say what was achieved, how, and under what constraints gives a fairer review than one who reads a single number.
Prepare
Add a section to the review form for OKR evidence: results, context, and contribution beyond the stated key results.
Brief managers on the policy decided in Phase 1, with two worked examples: a high score on an easy target, and a low score caused by a changed priority.
Tell managers which outcomes they must not infer from a score alone, such as a promotion decision or a rating band.
Give managers their running logs from Phase 3 and the final scores from Phase 4 before they start writing.
Write and calibrate
Managers draft each review using three inputs: OKR results, behaviors and values, and feedback from peers or stakeholders.
Run calibration sessions. Look for managers who treat any high score as high performance, and for managers who rate everyone the same.
Adjust for factors outside an employee's control, such as a key result that depended on another team or a priority that changed after week 4.
Check for patterns by team, level, and manager. A team that scored low on every key result may have set targets too high, which is a process issue and not a performance issue.
Hold the conversation
Each manager walks the employee through their OKR results and the context first, then moves to the rating and the development plan.
Employees leave with their OKR scores, the review rating, and a draft of next-cycle OKRs.
Collect feedback from employees on how the OKR process felt in their review, using two or three questions.
Close the loop
Report to the sponsor: participation rate, score distribution, manager calibration notes, and employee feedback.
Decide what changes for cycle two, including whether OKR results move from an input to a weighted part of reviews.
Schedule the cycle two kickoff within three weeks, while the first cycle is still fresh.
Common first-cycle mistakes
- Too many objectives. Teams with more than three objectives rarely score any of them well. Cut the list before kickoff.
- Activities written as key results. If the key result can be finished without changing a number, rewrite it.
- No decision on reviews. When employees do not know how OKRs affect them, they set safe targets. Settle the policy in Phase 1.
- Check-ins that stop in week 3. Without notes through the quarter, managers write reviews from recent memory.
- Scores used as ratings. A 0.6 on a stretch goal can be a strong result. Keep scoring and rating as separate steps.
Next step
Take the four review policy decisions in Phase 1 and assign each an owner this week.
Peoplelogic helps People teams see how goals, check-ins, and review data connect across a cycle. If you want to look at your first OKR cycle with us, request a demo.
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