HR & performance glossary
OKR vs KPI: what is the difference?
OKR vs KPI: OKRs describe a change to achieve within a set period through an objective and measurable key results; KPIs are ongoing measures of how a role, team or process is performing.
OKRs (objectives and key results) and KPIs (key performance indicators) are both ways of measuring work, but they answer different questions. An OKR describes a change the organisation wants to make within a set period: an objective, such as entering a new market, and a small number of measurable key results that show whether it happened. A KPI is an ongoing measure of how a role, team or process is performing, such as customer response time or monthly revenue, tracked for as long as that activity matters.
Put simply, OKRs are for moving the needle and KPIs are for keeping it in the right place. An OKR is usually ambitious and time-bound, often quarterly for teams; a KPI usually has a target band and runs from one period to the next. A key result can be a KPI the organisation has decided to improve for a quarter, which is where the two most often meet.
Most organisations need both, and the difficulty is keeping them connected rather than choosing between them. In CLEAR Talent's OKR and goal-setting software, OKRs, SMART goals and weighted KPIs sit on one platform: KPIs come from a central library with agreed performance bands, individual goals must link to a parent objective, and a goal alignment view flags KPIs not yet linked to any goal. Goal and KPI scores then roll into the performance review with the weighting you configure.