Microsoft Viva Goals
OKR Cheat Sheet:
Simple Formulas and
Real-World Examples
How to write effective OKRs that inspire
action and deliver results
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 2
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
good OKRs:
Objectives
Questions to ask:
• What is the most important area of our
business that we need to focus on?
• Why does this objective matter to us?
• How would we write our objective into
a statement that inspires our team?
Formula to follow:
Verb + what you’re going to do + so that /
in order to
Example:
Deliver a “must-have” product in order to
delight customers and grow our user base
Key Results
Questions to ask:
• What metric would let us know that we
were successful?
• Do we currently measure that metric?
• What is our target and baseline?
Formula to follow:
Verb + what you’re going to track /
count + from x to y
Example:
Increase our NPS score from 40 to 50
Initiatives:
Questions to ask:
• What do we need to do in order to be
successful?
• What can we get done in this period?
• Who needs to be involved?
Formula to follow:
Verb + what you’re going to do
Example:
Conduct market research initiative to
identify “customer delighters”
OKR Cheat Sheet: Simple Formulas and Real-World Examples 5
Take your OKRs
from good to
great:
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?
• 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?
• 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)
Objective: Deploy Viva Goals in order
to sharpen focus, align teams, and drive
measurable results
Key Result 1: 100% of senior leaders have
established OKRs in Viva Goals
Key Result 2: At least 75% of OKRs have
had a check-in in the last 30 days
Key Result 3: At least 50% of the
organization has viewed and interacted
with org OKRs within the first quarter
Initiative 1: Configure Viva Goals to meet
the needs of our team
• Task 1: Configure settings and
notifications within the admin
dashboard
• Task 2: Import teams and users
into Viva Goals
• Task 3: Enable integrations at
the admin level
Example 2 (Engagement)
Objective: Drive broader Viva Goals
adoption and engagement in order
to deliver business value
Key Result 1: 100% of teams have
established OKRs in Viva Goals
Key Result 2: At least 80% of team
OKRs are aligned to company OKRs
Key Result 3: At least 50% of
employees have logged in over
the past 90 days
Initiative 1: Create a standardized
format for OKR check-ins and monthly
business reviews
• Task 1: Host listening sessions
with people managers to
understand check-in
requirements
• Task 2: Align all departmental
MBRs with new fiscal year
calendar
OKR Cheat Sheet: Simple Formulas and Real-World Examples 7
OKR Examples
for Organizations
at the annual and
quarterly level
Example 1
Annual Objective: Create a profitable
and sustainable company in order to
increase annual revenue
Annual Key Result: Increase ARR from
$12m to $24m
Quarterly Objective: Increase
revenue and optimize sales
processes to ensure we reach double
annual revenue
Quarterly Key Result: Increase new
product sales from $12m to $15m in
Q1
Initiative: Develop new sales
enablement materials
Example 2
Annual Objective: Build a world class
company culture to attract and retain
the best employees
Annual Key Result: Reduce voluntary
attrition of our employees from 25%
to 10%
Quarterly Objective: Improve our
DEI commitment to better reflect the
local community that we serve
Quarterly Key Result: Improve
the ratio of female applicants from
20% to 30%
Initiative: We are committed
to increase diversity through
recruitment at universities in
3 new geographic regions
Example 3
Annual Objective: Elevate our brand
presence in order to attract new
prospects and create a fiercely loyal
customer following
Annual Key Result: Achieve 5000
positive G2 reviews
Quarterly Objective: Increase brand
presence among major channels in
order to attract new prospects
Quarterly Key Result: Get 60K
signups by launching new features
Initiative: Develop new social
media campaign
OKR Cheat Sheet: Simple Formulas and Real-World Examples 8
OKR Examples
for Marketing
Example 1
Objective: Improve our brand presence
through media channels to strengthen
brand as a leader
Key Result 1: Increase monthly
website visitors by 10%
Key Result 2: Grow social media
followers from 50,000 to 75,000
Key Result 3: Grow NPS score
from 7 to 8
Initiative 1: Develop a social media
campaign
Initiative 2: Develop a NPS survey
Example 2
Objective: Improve our marketing
funnel to become the vendor of choice
in the industry
Key Result 1: Gain 5% of new
customers from top competitors
Key Result 2: Acquire 950 new
MQLs for sales
Key Result 3: Drive $10M in
marketing generated pipeline
Initiative 1: Update marketing
materials
Example 3
Objective: Improve quality of blog
content to establish ourselves as
thought leader in the space
Key Result 1: Gain 1,500 new blog
subscribers
Key Result 2: Increase content
shares and mentions from 200
to 500
Key Result 3: Increase avg. Time
on page from 3:00 to 4:00
Initiative 1: Develop a blog content
strategy plan
OKR Cheat Sheet: Simple Formulas and Real-World Examples 9
OKR Examples
for Sales
Example 1
Objective: Drive record-breaking
growth in Q4 to increase financial
stability
Key Result 1: Increase weekly sales
calls from by 25% per AE
Key Result 2: Generate 3.5M in new
mid-enterprise sales pipeline
Key Result 3: Reduce closed/lost
opportunities from 100 to 25
Initiative 1: Create AE job
description
Example 2
Objective: Diversify our sales channels
in order to increase global revenue
Key Result 1: Close $500k in new
enterprise (ENT) deals1
Key Result 2: Close $300k in new
mid-market (mm) deals
Key Result 3: Close $200 in new
small and medium-sized business
(SMB) deals
Example 3
Objective: Move to a territory-focused
sales model in order to expand
footprint
Key Result 1: AE and SDR pairings
create 10 outbound-generated
opportunities in their territory
Key Result 2: 100% of AEs complete
their territory strategy presentation
Key Result 3: Leads per territory are
within 20% variance
Initiative 1: Create new territory-
focused sales enablement materials
OKR Cheat Sheet: Simple Formulas and Real-World Examples 10
OKR Examples
for Business
Operations
Example 1
Objective: Provide best-in-class
revenue operations in order to support
the GTM teams
Key Result 1: Increase pipeline
velocity from $30,000 to $45,000
Key Result 2: Increase customer and
user data unified between Marketo
and Salesforce from 80% to 90%
Key Result 3: Decrease weekly hours
of subscription management manual
effort from 3 to 1
Example 2
Objective: Decrease cash burn QoQ
in order to keep the company
financially stable
Key Result 1: Consolidate internal
work tools to decrease monthly
spend from $12,000 to $8,000
Key Result 2: Increase employees
working full time from home from
20% to 50% of workforce
Key Result 3: Decrease variable
expenses from 8% to 6%
Initiative 1: Adjust company-wide
audit process from quarterly to
monthly
Example 3
Objective: Scale company operations
efficiently and effectively in order to
better serve our customers and
employees
Key Result 1: Double supply chain
capacity from 10,000 to 20,000 units
Key Result 2: Improve profit margin
from 12% to 16%
Key Result 3: Increase employee
NPS score to 80%
Initiative 1: Build capacity model
report for each department
OKR Cheat Sheet: Simple Formulas and Real-World Examples 11
OKR Examples
for Customer
Success
Example 2
Objective: Drive customer expansion in
order to increase profit margins
Key Result 1: Increase customer
expansion revenue from $1M to
$2M
Key Result 2: 100% of key accounts
have a QBR this quarter
Key Result 3: Increase referral
pipeline from 20 to 50 opportunities
Initiative 1: Complete success plan
for 100% of key accounts
Initiative 2: Finalize new QBR deck
Example 1
Objective: Scale and improve
implementation and adoption process
in order to accelerate time to value
Key Result 1: 90% of all customers
live in 4 weeks
Key Result 2: 90% of customers
reach their engagement threshold
within two weeks of going live
Key Result 3: Increase
implementation CSAT from
60% to 70%
Initiative 1: Build implementation
infrastructure, reporting, and help
documentation
Initiative 2: Refine and document
account handoff process with sales
Example 3
Objective: Optimize training process in
order to increase product adoption
Key Result 1: Increase key account
MAU from 250,0000 to 350,000
Key Result 2: Increase customer-
facing knowledge base articles from
25 to 100
Key Result 3: Double participation
at success office hours from 500 to
1,000 people
Initiative: Outline customer events
calendar for next two quarters
OKR Cheat Sheet: Simple Formulas and Real-World Examples 12
OKR Examples
for Product &
Engineering
Example 1
Objective: Deliver a “must have”
product in order to delight customers
and grow our user base
Key Result 1: Increase our NPS score
from 40 to 50
Key Result 2: Increase daily active
users (DAUs) from 1,200 to 1,500
Key Result 3: Achieve 1,000
downloads in the app store
Initiative 1: Launch mobile version
of product
Initiative 2: Develop bug tracker for
mobile complaints
Example 2
Objective: Launch 2.0 version of
product in order to fix bugs, refine UI
and drive user engagement
Key Result 1: Reduce number
of support tickets from 120/month
to 30/month
Key Result 2: Reduce number of
steps in check out process from
9 to 6
Key Result 3: Increase user time
spent on site from 2:37 per session
to 3:45 per session
Initiative 1: Perform a click study
Initiative 2: Compile bug report
Example 3
Objective: Ensure a reliable, scalable,
and secure online platform to enable
successful operations for internal teams
and external customers
Key Result 1: Increase database
security and integrity risk mitigation
metrics by 10%
Key Result 2: Ensure all new hires
take Security Awareness training
and have deployed Mobile Device
Management solutions within
30 days
Key Result 3: Reduce average
response time to customer security
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
for Human
Resources
Example 1
Objective: Increase employee retention
in order to do our best work
Key Result 1: Reduce voluntary
attrition from 30% to 10%
Key Result 2: Increase ratio of open
positions filled internally vs
externally from 30% to 50%
Key Result 3: 100% of our
employees have a standardized
career plan approved by HR
Initiative 1: Offer 5 new courses for
internal career development
Initiative 2: Revamp our exit
interviews to better capture reasons
for leaving
Example 2
Objective: Launch a comprehensive
diversity and inclusion program in order
to enhance our culture
Key Result 1: 90% of our employees
give a score of 4 + when asked “our
company embraces DEI as part of
our DNA”
Key Result 2: Increase company
diversity by 10 percentage points to
reflect the local community we
serve
Key Result 3: Score 80% or above on
our third-party DEI audit
Initiative 1: Hire a Director of DEI
Initiative 2: Research and select
consulting partner to deliver
4 DEI events
Example 3
Objective: Revamp our employee
hiring portal in order to attract the best
talent
Key Result 1: Reduce time to hire
from 2 months to 1 month
Key Result 2: 100% of job postings
in Q1 pass the gender-neutral test
before going live
Key Result 3: Increase candidate
satisfaction score from 30% to 50%
Initiative 1: Replace current ATS
with a modern vendor
Initiative 2: Train all hiring
managers on the new interview
process
OKR Cheat Sheet: Simple Formulas and Real-World Examples 14
OKR Examples
for Finance
Example 1
Objective: Focus on controlling cash
burn in order to improve operational
efficiency
Key Result 1: Increase company
runway from 4 months to 6 months
Key Result 2: Reduce budget
approval process from 30 days
to 20 days
Key Result 3: 95% of customers pay
their invoices within 30 days
Initiative 1: Audit past 4 quarterly
budgets to improve future
budgeting process
Initiative 2: Create new employee
reimbursement process and
playbook
Example 2
Objective: Improve book-keeping and
accounting operations in order to
provide timely and error-free financial
results
Key Result 1: Reduce time to
complete final month-end numbers
from 15 days to 10 days
Key Result 2: Ensure 100% of
customer purchase data is
synchronized between Salesforce
and Stripe
Key Result 3: Reduce average
number of required changes to
month-end financials after close
from 4.1 to 1.5
Initiative 1: Provide training to all
customer support agents on Stripe
Initiative 2: Create a standardized
process for account executives to
collect account payable in a more
secure way
Example 3
Objective: Rebuild company’s salary
structure in order to promote equity
and fairness across our workforce
Key Result 1: Increase employee
salary satisfaction rating specifically
for compensation from 50% to 75%
Key Result 2: 95% of employees are
confirmed into their appropriate
salary band
Key Result 3: Reduce discrepancies
of salary within same job level from
10% to 7%
Initiative 1: Conduct industry salary
research for latest comparison
ranges
Initiative 2: Present company-wide
the new salary structure for
transparency
OKR Cheat Sheet: Simple Formulas and Real-World Examples 15
OKR Examples
for Designers
Example 1
Objective: Revamp website in order to
increase customer engagement
Key Result 1: Increase website traffic
from 10k to 25k daily visitors
Key Result 2: Reduce clicks between
major pages from 5 to 2
Key Result 3: Increase average time
on home page from 52 seconds to
120 seconds
Initiative 1: Add 5 product videos to
website
Initiative 2: A/B test landing page
design layout
Example 2
Objective: Support all requests from
marketing and sales
Key Result 1: Increase infographic
downloads by 25%
Key Result 2: Update ad design to
increase clicks on ads by 30%
Key Result 3: Decrease average
time to completion on new sales
enablement asks from 4 weeks
to 2 weeks
Initiative 1: Complete 1 e-book for
marketing
Initiative 2: Complete 15
infographics
Example 3
Objective: Develop customer
enablement materials in order to ease
product adoption
Key Result 1: Increase number of
downloadable assets from 10 to 25
Key Result 2: Rebrand 85% of
material in resource library
Key Result 3: Increase accessibility
to 5 new business verticals
Initiative 1: Develop rebranding hex
guide for all new material
Initiative 2: Compile list of existing
material for rebranding
