An established financial services company had to increase result transparency and operational speed as part of its transformation strategy. scaleon anchored Objectives & Key Results as a goal-setting system among more than 200 executives and employees across all business units.
Situation
A leading European financial services company, providing services in creditworthiness assessment, debt collection, and accounting, recognized the need to enhance transparency, speed, and alignment in strategy implementation. The management identified Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) as a potentially promising approach and aimed to introduce the OKR framework within the organization.
Our approach
We began by assessing the current strategic and operational challenges facing the client, engaging in thorough discussions on organizational structure with the CEO and the management team. We developed various alternative scenarios for introducing OKRs, weighing the pros and cons collaboratively with the board. Ultimately, we opted for a comprehensive rollout across all core teams, involving key members of the management team and colleagues with a strong focus on change within the company. Over 70 colleagues began using OKRs in the initial cycle. We consistently emphasized the core principles of the OKR methodology, which involve defining precise, simple, and measurable objectives. This proved to be more challenging than it sounds, prompting us to conduct multiple training sessions, Q&A sessions, and one-on-one coaching where necessary. To ensure a gradual adoption of the process by the organization, we trained several internal OKR Masters as experts. A specialized software tool was selected, and we guided the evaluation and procurement process based on the company’s specific requirements.
Results
Today, over 200 colleagues actively serve as OKR champions across all teams and hierarchical levels. All levels of management engage with OKRs, progressively increasing their utilization within their teams. Over time, we assisted in refining the OKR system and tailoring it to the specific requirements of individual teams. OKRs have now become an integral part of the management DNA of the financial services company.
