The challenges

This large international financial institution is recognised for its expertise in one particular area. Still, the leadership team knew it needed to do more to make the most of new opportunities in the marketplace. The company has a highly skilled and motivated workforce but faced issues such as legacy IT systems and a ‘business as usual’ culture. The leadership team recognised that to reach their ambitious growth targets; they needed to make a transformational change to the way they work going forward. The challenge was to identify where they need to make changes and help their people understand and embrace a new way of working.

Our approach

After a face-to-face meeting with our coaches, the board could see how OKRs would help them achieve their objectives but recognised that they required outside expertise to get it right. So they engaged AuxinOKR to guide them along their journey towards transformation.

We began by introducing the board OKRs and establishing a shared understanding and common purpose. We then agreed on an initial pilot scheme – introducing and implementing OKRs within one division only.

First, we conducted scene-setting calls with each member of the divisional senior management teams. We then facilitated ideation sessions with the broader executive. Lively and illuminating, these sessions led to the ‘Aha’ moment – a point of clarity where everyone recognised what needed to do and where the focus should be.

Internal OKR champions and a master were identified and trained. We then ran a series of two-day workshops supported by remote sessions via one-to-one video conferencing. This work led to the development of longer-term, annual and quarterly OKRs, which were then rolled about across the division.

The outcome

The divisional team enthusiastically adopted OKRs. The executive welcomed the results achieved from the pilot and recognised how the unique AOKR 4P process (preparation, people, process, progress) had helped focus their priorities and gain buy-in — sanctioning a complete roll-out across the organisation in autumn 2020. The company is now integrating the specialist OKR software solution Gtmhub across their divisions. Gtmhub and AOKR are working in partnership to deliver this project for the next three years.