What are some cascading top-down OKR examples?

So you’ve drafted top-level OKRs that will guide your company over the next quarter or maybe even the next year. The next step is to cascade them throughout the organization. Cascading OKRs will help align the various teams and individuals across your company toward the same overall goals.

While this article focuses on top-down cascading OKRs, it's important to note that organizations should aim to strike a balance between top-down and bottom-up goals.

Top-level OKRs cascade downwards to department heads, managers, and individual employees who take ownership of specific key results from those above them in the organization. They then decide the best way to achieve those objectives.

For example, let’s say that the general manager of an electric car dealership sets the following company-wide OKR:

O: Become the leading electric car dealership in the region.

KRs:

1. Make up 60 percent of all electric car sales in the region
2. Reach 90 percent in customer satisfaction for servicing and maintenance operations
3. Increase brand visibility by 50 percent
4. Open second location by the end of the year

These key results cascade down to the sales, servicing, and marketing managers and supervisors as objectives. The dealership’s sales manager takes ownership of the sales related key result while the marketing manager takes ownership of increasing brand visibility, and so on throughout the organization. They then craft new corresponding key results and additional OKRs.

This how a sales manager might convert a key result into its own OKR.

O: Make up 60 percent of all electric car sales in the region

KRs:

1. Hire 2 new sales associates
2. Increase the number of cars sold by 55 percent over the last year
3. Implement quarterly training sessions for all sales associates
4. Implement monthly sale promotions

In turn, the sales associates then make one of the manager’s key results into one of their individual OKRs.

O: Increase the number of cars sold by 55 percent over the last year

KR:

1. Speak to at least 50 potential customers a month
2. Successfully close at least 12 sales a month

Following the process of cascading OKRs will result in a more cohesive operation.

Previous Topic: Committed vs. Aspirational OKRs: What's The Difference? Up Next: What are some examples of bottom-up OKRs?