The wrong kind of growth can unravel a business which is why when agencies start swelling their ranks they also open themselves up to risk.

The typical battery farmed culture of a startup allows everyone to understand the different work being undertaken simply by being within spitting distance of each other. But as businesses grow and departments move out of earshot, the knowledge of each other’s work tends to get lost.

Once a business scales to a certain size there is no single person that will know the entire operations within the company, which is why a structure is needed to keep the cogs working in tandem.

Agencies should take a leaf out of Google and Intel’s book and employ the use of OKRs to align their employees and steer the business in the right direction.

Since 1999 Google have employed the use of the Objectives and Key Results methodology to outline their major tasks and the quantifiable actions in a way the whole company can see.

Lead from the top

As any startup grows it can lose the culture it stood for and the vision of what it wanted to become.

OKRs start at the top with the company heads outlining three key objectives for senior managers to then align three department objectives to.

The intention is for the objectives to trickle down through to individuals with their own objectives feeding into those above them and ultimately contributing to the overall company goals.

Make it measurable

Businesses want to see the progress in real-time which is why the metrics need to be clear and easy to measure against.

How many calls were made to candidates, how many interviews secured, hours spent or emails sent.

The targets need to also be ambitious to the point of being unattainable to constantly push the company forward.

Keep it transparent

OKRs need to be public and accessible. Imagine a noticeboard of progress that can be accessed remotely.

They are not a measuring stick to beat workers with and should not be used as such. They’re there to show the sum of all parts and keep everyone driving in the right direction.

Too many businesses are unaware of the function each department plays and OKRs shed light on this, tying the company closely together as it grows.

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Calum is the Content Marketing Executive for Sonovate - an award winning fintech game changer that has redefined finance for the contract recruitment industry.  @Calum551