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tability.ioWhat are Competency Development OKRs?
The Objective and Key Results (OKR) framework is a simple goal-setting methodology that was introduced at Intel by Andy Grove in the 70s. It became popular after John Doerr introduced it to Google in the 90s, and it's now used by teams of all sizes to set and track ambitious goals at scale.
Writing good OKRs can be hard, especially if it's your first time doing it. You'll need to center the focus of your plans around outcomes instead of projects.
We have curated a selection of OKR examples specifically for Competency Development to assist you. Feel free to explore the templates below for inspiration in setting your own goals.
If you want to learn more about the framework, you can read our OKR guide online.
Competency Development OKRs examples
You will find in the next section many different Competency Development Objectives and Key Results. We've included strategic initiatives in our templates to give you a better idea of the different between the key results (how we measure progress), and the initiatives (what we do to achieve the results).
Hope you'll find this helpful!
OKRs to streamline competency development and retention for improved business performance
ObjectiveStreamline competency development and retention for improved business performance
KRAchieve a 20% reduction in key skill gaps as measured by pre and post assessments
Implement targeted training based on identified gaps- Identify key skill gaps through initial assessment
- Conduct post-training assessment to measure improvement
- KRIdentify 5 key competencies crucial for business within two weeks
- Survey industry experts on business-related competencies
- Compile, review, and finalize key competencies list
- Research core competencies essential for business operations
- KRDevelop a skill training plan for targeted 80% workforce adoption rate
- Identify skills required for the targeted workforce adoption rate
- Establish methods for tracking and evaluating adoption rates
- Develop detailed training program focused on these skills
OKRs to boost employees' mastery in top five key competencies
- ObjectiveBoost employees' mastery in top five key competencies
- KREnsure 30% of employees progressively apply learnt competencies in their roles
- Provide constructive feedback and improvement plans
- Establish a tracking system for measuring competency application
- Develop continuous learning programs and hands-on training
- KRProvide professional training to 60% of the workforce on key competencies
- Identify the key competencies required for the workforce
- Source providers for professional training in these areas
- Schedule training sessions for selected workforce members
- KRAchieve competency proficiency of 40% of trained staff in assessment tests
- Implement online assessment tests to measure proficiency
- Initiate regular training sessions to develop staff skills
- Regularly analyze test results to identify areas of improvement
OKRs to achieve 80% proficiency in top 5 key business competencies
- ObjectiveAchieve 80% proficiency in top 5 key business competencies
- KREnroll and complete advanced training in two key competencies within this quarter
- Complete training and achieve certification
- Enroll in the competency-based training programs
- Identify two key competencies for advanced training
- KRIncrease team competency scores by 15% across all top five business areas
- Evaluate and revise current professional development courses
- Introduce a mentorship program to foster skills growth
- Implement weekly training sessions for each business area
- KRSuccessfully implement learned strategies from competency training in three projects
- Identify three upcoming projects for strategy implementation
- Apply learned strategies to each project planning process
- Review outcomes, refine strategies and note improvements
OKRs to establish an effective succession pipeline
- ObjectiveEstablish an effective succession pipeline
- KRIdentify and classify 15 potential successors for key roles by evaluating their competencies
- Evaluate competency levels of 15 potential successors
- Classify identified successors based on competencies
- Identify key roles within the organization needing succession
- KRCreate a tracking system to monitor the progress of each potential successor monthly
- Develop a detailed profile for each potential successor
- Implement regular progress reviews for each successor
- Design a system to monitor successor progression
- KRImplement a training program for 70% of identified successors to bridge skill gaps
- Design a training program addressing these gaps
- Enroll 70% of successors in the program
- Identify key skills gaps in identified successors
OKRs to enhance my soft skills competency
- ObjectiveEnhance my soft skills competency
- KRComplete a recognized soft skills course with a score of 80% or higher
- Research and select a recognized soft skills course
- Take the course exam aiming for 80% score
- Regularly study the course material
- KRReceive a 20% improvement in feedback scores on leadership and empathy
- Schedule one-on-one mentoring sessions regularly
- Implement weekly round-table discussions for feedback
- Attend leadership and emotional intelligence workshops
- KRSuccessfully lead one team project displaying improved collaboration and communication
- Utilize collaboration tools like Asana or Slack
- Assign clear roles to each team member
- Implement regular team meetings for open communication
How to write your own Competency Development OKRs
1. Get tailored OKRs with an AI
You'll find some examples below, but it's likely that you have very specific needs that won't be covered.
You can use Tability's AI generator to create tailored OKRs based on your specific context. Tability can turn your objective description into a fully editable OKR template -- including tips to help you refine your goals.
- 1. Go to Tability's plan editor
- 2. Click on the "Generate goals using AI" button
- 3. Use natural language to describe your goals
Tability will then use your prompt to generate a fully editable OKR template.
Watch the video below to see it in action 👇
Option 2. Optimise existing OKRs with Tability Feedback tool
If you already have existing goals, and you want to improve them. You can use Tability's AI feedback to help you.
- 1. Go to Tability's plan editor
- 2. Add your existing OKRs (you can import them from a spreadsheet)
- 3. Click on "Generate analysis"
Tability's Strategy Map makes it easy to see all your org's OKRsTability will scan your OKRs and offer different suggestions to improve them. This can range from a small rewrite of a statement to make it clearer to a complete rewrite of the entire OKR.
You can then decide to accept the suggestions or dismiss them if you don't agree.
Option 3. Use the free OKR generator
If you're just looking for some quick inspiration, you can also use our free OKR generator to get a template.
Unlike with Tability, you won't be able to iterate on the templates, but this is still a great way to get started.
Competency Development OKR best practices
Generally speaking, your objectives should be ambitious yet achievable, and your key results should be measurable and time-bound (using the SMART framework can be helpful). It is also recommended to list strategic initiatives under your key results, as it'll help you avoid the common mistake of listing projects in your KRs.
Here are a couple of best practices extracted from our OKR implementation guide 👇
Tip #1: Limit the number of key results
The #1 role of OKRs is to help you and your team focus on what really matters. Business-as-usual activities will still be happening, but you do not need to track your entire roadmap in the OKRs.
We recommend having 3-4 objectives, and 3-4 key results per objective. A platform like Tability can run audits on your data to help you identify the plans that have too many goals.
Tip #2: Commit to weekly OKR check-ins
Don't fall into the set-and-forget trap. It is important to adopt a weekly check-in process to get the full value of your OKRs and make your strategy agile – otherwise this is nothing more than a reporting exercise.
Being able to see trends for your key results will also keep yourself honest.
Tip #3: No more than 2 yellow statuses in a row
Yes, this is another tip for goal-tracking instead of goal-setting (but you'll get plenty of OKR examples above). But, once you have your goals defined, it will be your ability to keep the right sense of urgency that will make the difference.
As a rule of thumb, it's best to avoid having more than 2 yellow/at risk statuses in a row.
Make a call on the 3rd update. You should be either back on track, or off track. This sounds harsh but it's the best way to signal risks early enough to fix things.
How to track your Competency Development OKRs
Your quarterly OKRs should be tracked weekly in order to get all the benefits of the OKRs framework. Reviewing progress periodically has several advantages:
- It brings the goals back to the top of the mind
- It will highlight poorly set OKRs
- It will surface execution risks
- It improves transparency and accountability
We recommend using a spreadsheet for your first OKRs cycle. You'll need to get familiar with the scoring and tracking first. Then, you can scale your OKRs process by using a proper OKR-tracking tool for it.
If you're not yet set on a tool, you can check out the 5 best OKR tracking templates guide to find the best way to monitor progress during the quarter.
More Competency Development OKR templates
We have more templates to help you draft your team goals and OKRs.
- OKRs to foster continuous improvement on Engineering metrics
- OKRs to get a solid growth engine
- OKRs to develop paid acquisition channels
- OKRs to enhance overall website traffic
- OKRs to optimize action plans through data-driven decision making
- OKRs to determine sustainable funding requirements for existing programs