Using Balanced Scorecard,
OKRs, and KPIs Together

The use of Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) as a goal-setting tool has increased significantly in recent years thanks to the high-profile use by many technology companies, while Balanced Scorecard and KPIs have been used by all types of organizations for decades now.  But should these tools be used together?

Comparing OKRs with KPIs and Balanced Scorecard is like comparing a stove, grill and microwave. They are 3 tools designed for a similar purpose. They have different strengths that a skilled “cook” can manage to produce the best outcome. Balanced Scorecard, with KPIs in each perspective, is best used to communicate and execute strategy at the organization level while OKRs are great for motivating individuals to set and achieve goals. Balanced Scorecards implemented without the agile execution principles that underlie OKRs can be sluggish and OKRs designed without an organizing strategy tool like a Balanced Scorecard can be chaotic and directionless.

Luckily it is easy to use these frameworks together, adding to Balanced Scorecard/KPIs the principles that make OKRs so effective, such as a regular cadence of iterative strategy adjustment and a focus on individual accountability, target setting and action planning. Meanwhile OKR development is aligned with a shared vision and strategy that is structured around Balanced Scorecard. High-level continuous objectives (e.g. “Increase Total Revenue”) are tracked with long-term KPIs while short-term iterative improvement objectives (e.g. Increase New Product Sales by 10% by the end of the quarter) are tracked as OKRs, thus taking advantage of the strengths of each tool.

Learn more about these tools below and see how you can use these together in your strategy.