OKR Platforms: Why they are Better than Spreadsheets?
2 min read

OKR Platforms: Why they are Better than Spreadsheets?

OKR Platforms: Why they are Better than Spreadsheets?

When it comes to OKRs Management (Objectives and Key Result Areas), spreadsheets are probably the go-to option when organizations are smaller. However, with the aspiration to get to ‘10X’ growth and teams rapidly scaling beyond 20 members, one would probably realize it’s about time to switch from Spreadsheets to an OKR software.

When companies get started with OKRs, the first and most instinctive decision is to start quickly and in the simplest manner - any guesses? Of course, no prizes for guessing. Google Sheets or Excel Templates. Why? Simply because its low investment, quick to adapt & not much fuss on getting teams used to a new system. 


The common thread across many of our conversations is where companies know that OKRs platforms are a good thing to have but then the million dollar question that always arises is…. Is it too early to move to a platform? Or should we wait for a while before really investing…. Well, the answer lies in the question, if you doubt that it's too early, then for some reason or the other, it is always too early, until you find a desired state suiting all the needs of the organization. 


But companies realize the benefits of comparatively more adaptable & stable OKRs implementation, when they start investing in OKR Software at an early stage. We are just not talking about this from our experiences alone, but a recent study conducted by Fitbots shows that investing in OKR Software at early stage was one of the key decisions that helped them sustain OKRs for more than a year and many times for more than 3 years. Now, don’t you think it's a reason worth not letting go of?

Companies use Fitbots OKRs to build focus , alignment & the much needed cadence on developing a culture of check-ins. Bonus? You can adopt it irrespective of your size, we help you scale with OKRs seamlessly. 

We can go on & on & on about the benefits that investing in OKR software can bring to you & your company, but since we always encourage our clients to focus on what really matters, we have picked up our top 4 reasons which would matter to you the most 

 

Here’s how an OKR Software can give you that seamless experience over spreadsheets.


The Top 4 Benefits of Leveraging an OKR Platform

 

1) Alignment @ your Fingertips

OKRs Implementation stands the test of time only when we can visualize how individual OKRs align to Organizational OKRs.  Top OKR software helps employees in visualizing this alignment, something which spreadsheets definitely can’t support.

Why? because , when companies choose to adopt OKRs, one of the top drivers they look for is to drive alignment across the organization, not just vertically but also bi-directionally & cross-functionally. Fitbots alignment boards ensure that nobody loses the big picture irrespective of which team they belong to , understand what needs to be achieved & how it all comes together. Now, we are sure spreadsheets won’t make you very happy , given that you need to manage rows & rows together to draw alignment.

What's on offer at Fitbots: While driving alignment is top priority for Fitbots, we also allow you multiple ways of visualizing how it flows between objectives right from quarterly level to the annual level. Now it's not a massive task to prioritize teams, KRs , owners who act as critical paths to achieving the objectives. No more delays in knowing how & where are KRs stuck and what’s derailing them. Exciting, right?

Fitbots OKR Alignment

2) Conversations and Check-ins

Alignment comes when teams who are working towards common objectives collaborate, work together, meet frequently and also make sure that they work in the right direction to make strategy happen. 

To attain this, good OKR software needs to provide intuitive ways of not just conducting/recording continuous feedback but also track progress made week on week to make sure teams are on track with whatever needs to be done to achieve your outcomes.

Additionally, Good OKRs platforms enable both OKRs and CFRs (conversations, feedback and recognition). Reference Measure What Matters by John Doerr. We are sure Spreadsheets cannot support the scale of these elements, which comprise the very backbone of a successful OKRs implementation.

Have you checked out some of the cool features Fitbots Check-ins have in store for you? Check it out now!

3) Intuitive Reporting 

We don’t need to tell you how a regular update of OKR excel sheets, multiple loops of sharing it with managers and team members could result in manual errors, some of them critical enough to impact an individual’s performance and growth. At any given instance, as leaders, you need to have visibility on how well your organization is making progress on outcomes, managing risks, missing milestones & more. Are you sure your current spreadsheets provide you with all these at your fingertips & real time information at all times?

Spending too much time in data analysis only builds frustration into managing the entire progress. 

So, what’s in store? 

With Fitbots, you are assured of intuitive data backed reports at all times so you can have informed discussions with the key stakeholders and make decisions which really help you move the needle and focus on growth.  Having the big picture and also the detailed look into how each KR contributes to the big picture are both critical to OKRs attainment. Now sit back & spend more time on seeing which levers need to be adjusted to make sure all teams run on same speed to achieve your strategic outcomes using our CEO insights dashboards & Reports 

Reports Dashboard


Printable Reports


4) Scale Seamlessly 


Challenge: The biggest challenge with OKRs on spreadsheets is when the company sees growth. The entire chaos of managing all the data on spreadsheets is absolutely unimaginable & not less than a nightmare. To make things worse, any information & data lost can cause a lot of confusion in the way OKRs show progress team by team, department by department. Phew! We are already fretting imagining this situation, are you actually doing it? We really hope not!


What’s the Option? - break away from the frustration of managing multiple sheets and entering data all over. Let us do this for you through our intricate aggregation & alignment boards. Just keep adding your teams and link the OKRs across different teams, we help you scale team by team OKRs by OKRs, ensuring that  the sight from the outcome is never lost.

Integrate with all your favorite apps, update progress  regularly, maintain the necessary security standards but most importantly, at all times let your teams have a view on how their outcomes impact the overall organizational priorities. Why? With scale comes in Silos, and with silos starts lack of transparency causing disengagement. Address all these with a simple solution, let your teams visualize their contribution, & you visualize how each team contributes at all times. Win win situation - “ No one is shooting in the dark” - Like that?

While there are many many more benefits of using OKR Software we can list, these 4 help address the key pillars of OKRs - Alignment Focus, Collaboration, Building transparency & Scalability. What’s stopping you from switching to Software's now? 

Don’t derail your OKRs efforts by using DIY tools like spreadsheets & Google Sheets, some things need a different focus when you need to achieve the right outcomes. Time for you to choose, what’s more critical to your organization? 

Get in touch to view our super simple and interactive OKR platform.


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