How to use OKRs and KPIs together

OKRs and KPIs are often viewed as competing frameworks. In reality, they’re two sides of the same coin — and when used together, they create a powerful system to drive focus, accountability, and measurable success.

In this article, we'll explore:

• What OKRs and KPIs really are (with examples)
• How they can work together effectively
• Real-world company examples
• Practical tips for integrating them into your strategy

OKRs stand for Objectives and Key Results — a goal-setting methodology that helps organizations define what they want to achieve and how they'll measure progress.

• Objective: A qualitative, inspiring statement about a desired future state.
• Key Results: Quantitative, measurable milestones that indicate progress toward the objective.

Example:

Objective: Improve employee engagement
Key Results:

• Increase eNPS from 45 to 65
• Achieve 90% participation rate in the annual engagement survey
• Launch two new employee well-being initiatives by Q2

OKRs create alignment, focus and ambition across teams.

KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) are the critical metrics that track the performance of activities, teams, or organizations against their objectives.

They are ongoing measurements used to assess operational performance.

Example:

• Customer retention rate (CRR)
• Average time-to-hire (TTH)
• Employee turnover rate
• Monthly recurring revenue (MRR)

KPIs are quantitative tools that help answer: "Are we performing at the level we need to?"

For a deep dive into KPIs for different roles and levels, check our article: “KPIs that work: a practical guide for HR, managers and founders”

OKRs and KPIs are not either/or — they complement each other beautifully. Here's how:

OKRs set the direction and ambition. They define where you want to go and how big you want to think.

KPIs, on the other hand, measure your consistency. They tell you how healthy your business is right now — what’s working, what’s slipping and what needs attention.

You use KPIs to monitor the present and use OKRs to push into the future. And when you weave them together, you get a system that’s both stable and dynamic.

Practical example:

Successful companies don’t choose between KPIs and OKRs — they skillfully combine them to balance today's operational health with tomorrow's bold ambitions.

At Google, the team set a powerful OKR: "Make Google Search the fastest and most accurate in the world". To achieve this, their Key Results included decreasing the average search response time from 0.8 seconds to 0.3 seconds and ensuring that 95% of users found the best answer with the first search result by the end of the quarter.

Meanwhile, they monitored KPIs like user retention on search pages and time to first click.

Why? Because KPIs gave Google real-time feedback on how users experienced the search function every day, while OKRs set ambitious goals for transforming and elevating that experience beyond the baseline.

Over at LinkedIn, the focus shifted to engagement: "Increase member engagement across mobile platforms." To realize this objective, LinkedIn’s Key Results were to grow mobile sessions by 30% and decrease app crash rates by 50%.

Throughout, the company tracked Monthly Active Users (MAU) and average session duration as their KPIs — critical indicators of ongoing platform health.

Why? Because KPIs provided a clear pulse on current user behavior, while OKRs focused on driving new growth and deeper engagement on mobile.

In every case, these companies understood a simple truth: KPIs keep the business healthy, OKRs drive it forward.

Using both together isn't just smart — it’s essential for companies that want to perform strongly today while building the future.

When you align KPIs and OKRs, you unlock major advantages:

• Strategic focus: OKRs drive transformational change, KPIs ensure operational excellence.
• Clear performance tracking: KPIs monitor business health while OKRs stretch capabilities.
• Motivation and alignment: OKRs inspire, KPIs validate success.
• Agility: When you review your KPIs regularly, you can spot early signals that maybe your OKRs need adjusting.

Looking to understand how KPIs can help especially in small and medium companies? Don't miss: “The benefits of KPIs for startups and SMBs”

Short answer: no. Here’s why:

KPIs are your ongoing health metrics — your heartbeat, your blood pressure, your oxygen levels.

OKRs are your fitness goals — “run a marathon,” “climb Mount Everest,” “beat your personal best”.

KPIs are always there to know how your business is doing. OKRs are used to take your business to the next level.

A common mistake many companies make is thinking of KPIs and OKRs as two separate worlds — one about "measuring the present," the other about "dreaming about the future." But the truth is, the most successful organizations know how to connect them into one powerful system.

Here's how it really works:

You start by looking at your existing KPIs — those steady signals that tell you how your business is doing today. Imagine you manage a customer support team, and your key KPI shows that your average response time to customer inquiries is 8 hours.

That’s your reality check. But what’s next? Instead of setting vague goals like "do better," you use that KPI to anchor your ambition. You decide on an inspiring Objective: "Deliver exceptional customer support by the end of Q3".

Now you build smart, measurable Key Results around it, grounded in the KPI baseline you already have:

• Reduce average response time from 8 hours to under 3 hours.
• Achieve a customer satisfaction (CSAT) score of 90%+ on resolved tickets.
• Train 100% of the support team in the new response protocols by the end of the quarter.

Why does this approach work? Because you’re not setting OKRs in a vacuum. You’re using real data (your KPIs) as your foundation — making your goals both aspirational and achievable. Your team doesn’t have to guess what success looks like: they see it, track it, and feel motivated.

Step 1: Start with your KPIs

Gather the metrics that reflect how your business is performing today. Ask yourself: “What are the critical health indicators we can’t afford to ignore?”

Step 2: Identify your gaps or ambitions

Look at your KPIs and find two things:

• Where you’re not where you want to be yet
• Where you see opportunity for real growth or transformation

Those insights will fuel your OKR brainstorming.

Step 3: Once you know where you want to move, set bold, inspiring Objectives. They should be ambitious, meaningful, and action-oriented.

Step 4: Then tie those Objectives to specific, measurable Key Results — ones that either build on your existing KPIs or introduce new strategic metrics.

Step 5: Don’t leave it to chance — communicate the connection clearly to your teams. Everyone should understand:

• How KPIs are monitored
• How OKRs are set to stretch and improve them
• Why both matter equally for success

Step 6: Now comes the discipline: review and refresh regularly.

• Check your KPIs every week or month
• Review OKR progress at least once a quarter
• And be ready to pivot if KPI trends show early warning signs

OKRs and KPIs are not rivals — they’re partners in building a resilient, high-performing organization.

• OKRs push the boundaries and help you aim higher.
• KPIs ensure you stay grounded and healthy operationally.

Use both — and you’ll have a complete system for managing today and building tomorrow. Ready to build smarter goal systems? Explore more in our blog — and start shaping the future of your business today.