As a mortgage adviser, it’s important to have a clear understanding of key performance indicators (KPIs) and objective and key results (OKRs) in order to effectively monitor and assess the performance of your business.
KPIs are metrics that are set to track and evaluate the performance of a specific activity, department, product or service, initiative or company. These metrics can be numbers, percentages, durations, or ratios and are used as health metrics for a business. However, for KPIs to be truly valuable, they should be linked to specific strategic goals and defined targets. This way, when a KPI falls outside of a particular threshold, changes can be made or dramatic action can be taken to improve performance.
OKRs, on the other hand, are more explicitly linked to goal setting than KPIs. They consist of two elements: an objective and key results. The objective is a strategic aim, one of the limited number of key things you want to achieve as a business in order to meet your overall vision. The key results are the specific targets that need to be hit in order to achieve that objective. These are the steps you need to take and the results you’ll need to see to achieve that aim.
KPIs tend to focus on monitoring existing activity, whereas OKRs are focused on driving new initiatives and hitting new strategic objectives. KPIs are more likely to be ongoing measurements spanning years, whereas OKRs might be relevant to a particular quarter or fiscal year. Businesses tend to use OKRs for big, ambitious plans that push teams forward to make big leaps, strive for significant growth and push their performance to the max.
Companies like Google and Intel use and promote the OKR framework. It’s important to note that while both KPIs and OKRs are valuable tools, they serve different purposes and should be used in conjunction with one another for an effective performance management strategy.
