OKR Templates vs. Spreadsheets: Which Is Better for Tracking Your Company’s Objectives?

Spreadsheets and OKR templates are commonly used to track company or personal objectives. While both can be reliable depending on how you use them, knowing which one is best for your specific company objectives is essential. This guide compares OKR templates and spreadsheets and will help you choose the ideal tracking method for your company.

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What Is an OKR Template?

An OKR template helps set goals for you and your team, align company strategies for a financial year, and set everyone towards key results and the same objectives. This reliable framework brings focus, clarity, and working structure. The template exists at two primary levels: operational and strategic. With this template, you will have a clear and detailed overview from the top down, giving everyone on your team actionable points. An OKR template shows the path to achieving the ultimate company goals by raising employee performance levels.

What Is a Spreadsheet?

A spreadsheet is a computer program designed to capture, manipulate, and display data in rows and columns. You can get spreadsheets on personal computers, given that they are one of the most popular tools. A spreadsheet can hold short text strings and numerical data and be relatively easy to use. The spaces you key in data items in a spreadsheet are known as spreadsheet cells. Companies can use spreadsheets to track their objectives and ultimate goals. This is possible because data in spreadsheets can be cross-referenced through column letters and row numbers.

OKR Template vs. Spreadsheet: Head To Head Comparison

So, which is the better tool for tracking your company objectives? Many leading companies use the OKR template to track and manage their objectives. OKRs can spearhead growth through high commitment, agility, and focus. On the other hand, those using spreadsheets can benefit from the reliability and the ability to track objectives across teams. 

While spreadsheets can work on short-term objectives, they might not effectively track long-term company goals. This might lead to companies failing to implement their objectives accordingly. This is because they lack a proper system to follow up with employees and track their progress. When employees don’t do check-ins on their objectives, it becomes challenging to track them. 

Spreadsheets also become unreliable because when teams expand, and objectives become interlinked and more complex, you need to input and interlink the data, making it tedious manually. On the other hand, OKR templates can automate complex and interlinked processes and help the company focus on what is needed to achieve the set objectives. The system is also aligned with visible progress, making it easy to track employees. 

Spreadsheets might be practical during the initial phase when you are about to implement the embedded framework in your company. However, as you get deeper into the framework, you realize that it needs more than just setting goals and reporting on them. You might fall short of the analysis paradigm required to keep track of company objectives. 

Track Your Company Objectives With OKR Templates

With OKR templates, you can link and align inter-departmental objectives and make it easy for all employees to view and understand them. Employees can also see their contribution towards achieving company goals and what they can do to improve performance. It is better to use these templates to track company objectives.