Setting and tracking objectives (OKRs)

An objective describes what a person must achieve over a review cycle; its key results (the “KRs” of the OKR method) say how progress is measured. This article explains how to read the Targets tab, create an objective and its key results, track progress and have an objective declared achieved approved. It is for managers, HR and administrators who set objectives, and for employees who view them.

Before you start #

• The Objective permission (PERFORMANCE section of the role matrix) opens the tab at the Access level, read-only. Creating, editing and deleting an objective or a key result requires the Execute level. By default, administrators, managers and HR hold Execute; employees view their objectives without being able to change them.
• At least one review cycle that is not closed must exist: an objective always belongs to a cycle. Cycles are created in Settings › Performance › Review cycles (see Setting up a review cycle and campaign).
• The person must belong to the population your role covers. If your role has the Exclude the employee themselves setting, you cannot write to your own objectives.

The Targets tab #

Open the person’s profile, then Performance › Targets. The tab, headed Objectives, shows from top to bottom:

• the Roadmap by period: one card per period (for example a quarter), with the average progress and the number of objectives achieved. Clicking a card filters the list to that period; clicking it again removes the filter;
• four summary cards: Objectives (with the number ongoing), Avg. progress, Achieved and High priority. They cover all the objectives displayed, regardless of filters;
• the Recurrence filters (All, Annual, Half-yearly, Quarterly, Monthly) and Status filters (All, Ongoing, Achieved), and the Search an objective… magnifier, which also searches key result names and comments;
• the list of objectives, grouped by recurrence.

Each row shows the progress percentage, the title, the type, the priority, the period, a progress bar, the status, the due date, the number of key results achieved and the parent objective. Click the row to expand it: you see the detail of each key result and the attached Sub-objectives.

The list follows the cycle chosen at the top of the screen and, if the person holds several contracts, the contract chosen in the profile header.

Creating an objective #

1. On the person’s Targets tab, check the contract shown in the profile header: the objective will be attached to that contract.
2. Click + New Objective.
3. Enter the Objective title (required). Below the field, Rephrase and Fix the tone ask the artificial intelligence assistant for a suggestion; it appears next to your text and only replaces it if you click Replace the text. Read it through: the assistant saves nothing.
4. Choose the Review cycle (required). Only cycles that are not closed are offered; their dates appear below the field. The objective’s recurrence and period come from the cycle.
5. If needed, fill in the Priority (High, Medium, Low), the Objective type (Business, Product, Technical, Development), the Status, the Due date and the Parent objective: “None (root objective)” or another objective of the same person. Clicking an option that is already selected clears it.
6. Click Add a key result for each key result (see below).
7. Click Create Objective. The message “Objective created.” confirms the save.

The Bonus distribution and Bonus at 100% fields concern the bonus linked to the objective: see Objective-based bonus: preparing and sending to payroll.

Key results #

Each key result has a name, a type, an optional Comment and a Weight in the achievement rate.

The Summary block of the form calculates the objective’s Achievement rate: the average of the key results weighted by their weight. With no weight entered, every key result counts equally. Only the ratio between weights matters: 50 and 50 give the same result as 1 and 1.

Keep the Total weight at 100 or less: above that, the save button stays greyed out. For example, three key results weighing 50, 30 and 20.

An objective’s status #

• You can choose a status: Ongoing, Achieved, Late or Abandoned.
• Left empty, the status is derived from progress: Achieved at 100%, Ongoing otherwise (except when achievement approval is active, see below).
• Two statuses are observed rather than chosen: Pending approval and Approval refused.

Updating and deleting #

• Updating progress: click the row’s pencil, change the key result values in Edit Objective, then click Save.
• Deleting a key result: expand the row and click the key result’s bin. It is deleted straight away, with no confirmation.
• Deleting an objective: click the row’s bin, then confirm in “Delete this objective?”. Its sub-objectives are detached, not deleted.

An objective is frozen (pencil and bin greyed out) when its cycle is closed (Period closed badge) or when it has been sent to payroll or is being sent.

Having an objective declared achieved approved #

The Target achievement approval workflow is delivered inactive. An administrator turns it on in Settings › Manage Employees › Workflows. Once it is active:

1. A person who sets the Status of their own objective to Achieved and clicks Save does not apply the status: a request goes to their manager (the manager of their contract, otherwise the one on their record). The message “Your declaration has been sent to your manager for approval.” confirms it.
2. The row shows “Achievement declared — pending approval”, the approver’s name and the request date.
3. The manager decides in Workflows › Performance: Accept, Reject (with a required Rejection reason) or Delegate.
4. Once accepted, the request moves the objective to Achieved. If rejected, the objective stays as it was; the row shows “Approval refused by the manager”, the reason, and the person can declare it again.

Approval only applies to declarations on yourself: a manager or HR member who sets a team member’s objective to “Achieved” applies it directly. As employees only have read access by default, it mainly concerns the objectives of managers and HR themselves.

The “Your objectives” widget #

On the dashboard, the Your objectives widget summarises your objectives in progress, that is, those whose period includes today, whether annual, half-yearly, quarterly or monthly: the number of objectives in progress, the average score, then for each one its progress, its key results achieved and its due date (the end of its period). The History button opens your Targets tab. With no objective in progress, the widget offers Define my objectives if you hold the Execute level.

Good to know #

• No objective can be created in a closed cycle, or moved into one.
• The parent objective must belong to the same person; an objective cannot be its own parent.
• The “Your objectives” widget only shows objectives whose period includes today: an objective from a past or future period is found in the Targets tab.
• If an approval request is already pending, a new declaration is refused. If nobody can approve (no manager set, or a manager without the right to decide), the save is refused with a message saying what is missing: ask an administrator to fix it.

FAQ #

Can employees enter their own objectives? #

Not with the default permissions: the “All employees” role holds the Objective permission at the Access level only. The administrator can grant it the Execute level in the role matrix; then turn on the “Target achievement approval” workflow so that achievement declarations go through the manager.

Why does an objective at 100% stay “Ongoing”? #

Because the “Target achievement approval” workflow is active: an objective with no status entered is then never derived as “Achieved” from its progress alone. Choose the Achieved status: on your own objective, this sends the request to your manager; on a team member’s objective, the status applies directly.