Another month has passed and another Certified OKR Professional training course in Kuala Lumpur was facilitated by our Senior Consultant, Alina Miertoiu. As per usual, we would like to share with you our experience and the unique story of this course. Every course is different, but what makes it special are the people who join it, their expectations, their involvement and their enthusiasm.

We particularly enjoyed organizing this course and welcoming our participants from different industries, such as consulting, higher education, IT or Utilities, during the 15^th-18^th of July. The learning experience was based mostly on discussions and debriefing different activities, since most of our participants were practitioners in the field of OKRs.

Regarding expectations, participants shared that they were interested in the overall process of OKRs implementation and what makes OKRs different than other performance management systems.

One other main discussion topic when it comes to OKRs is compensation, more specifically how to reward employees when the theory says you should not link OKRs with rewards.

Course journal  

During all three days, the participants were full of energy and throughout the entire course the learning process was based mostly on discussions and practical exercises, since all attendees were really interested in the subject and very active.

Day I

During the first day, we began with the already familiar introduction and was a bit more theoretical, to ensure that everyone has the same understanding and that similar terminology is used. The difference between OKRs and other systems, especially KPIs based systems, were discussed to great lengths and a lot of practical knowledge was shared by all the attendees.

Day II

The second day was mostly focused on OKRs setting and aligning. Participants simulated a governmental entity, which implemented the OKRs system and each one received a certain role within the Government. The exercise started with long-term objectives setting for the organization and followed all the steps down to OKRs setting for all employees.

Day III

The most exciting part of the third day was a review process simulating the different moments within a quarter, with the facilitator being the employee whose OKRs were reviewed and the participants her managers. Once again, the facilitator tried to challenge the participants and played the role of a “bad cop”. At the end the course, there was a short review session and then the certification exam.

A special thanks from us at The KPI Institute to our amazing participants who were filled with enthusiasm and curiosity, as well as with the desire to learn from the group and share their experiences.

Sign-ups and registration!

As performance is a constant preoccupation, we would be more than happy to assist you throughout your performance journey!

If you enjoyed reading our course journal and feel that this learning environment would be suitable for your needs, why not visit our training calendar and check what best suits your learning needs?

• Certified OKR Professional
• Certified Performance Management Professional
• Certified KPI Professional

If you’re someone that does not have a lot of time on their hands, to go to a course in person, we also have online training courses that align well with Performance Management topics:

Otherwise, if the opportunity of customized training courses is of interest to you or you’d like to know more information, contact Alina Miertoiu directly, at [email protected].

We are proud to announce that between the 20^th–22^nd of March 2019, Alina Miertoiu, Senior Consultant for The KPI Institute, hosted the first Certified OKR Professional 3-day training course in Kuala Lumpur.

Participants from various functional areas, such as trainers, consultants, sales professionals, HR professionals, CEOs or IT Product Development joined us for this learning experience.

The main expectations of the attendees from the course were to:

• Understand what OKRs are;
• Understand what key results are and how to set them;
• Understand the difference between OKRs and other Performance Measurement Tools;
• Understand how to align OKRs between different organizational levels, especially at the employee level;
• How to set OKRs for specific functional areas.

Course journal

The C-OKR training course provides a deeper understanding on how to set and work with OKRs, in order to support fast decision-making and innovative thinking.

The three days learning experience blends the theory and best practices, with case studies meant to increase the understanding of the main concepts through practical applications.

Day I

The most engaging part of Day 1 was the exercise highlighting what makes the OKR system a hot topic nowadays, and how is it different from KPIs or MBO.

Attendees were also introduced to the concept of stretched goals, which are meant to push the employees and the organization to do more than what is expected and to the various types of OKRs, such as aspirational and committed ones. It was definitely a very challenging day, with a lot of questions being asked and several debates taking place.

Day II

During Day 2, which was a more practical and hands-on day, the participants’ view on performance measurement and cascading was challenged.

Emphasis was placed on the importance on having all employees able to understand the strategic objectives of the organization, and create quarterly personal objectives, which go beyond just operational work, focusing on adding value and working towards achieving strategical objectives.

Day III

Day three was quite dynamic, since it was wholly dedicated to a third case study for OKR selection and alignment, and ended with these OKRs’ review.

Based on the data provided, participants were asked to simulate intermediate or final OKR review sessions, while I, as the facilitator, took part as the responsible employee for those OKRs.

I made sure to play the “bad cop” role for the first time, so that the review could feel more than just a simulation, with attendees considering this exercise one of most successful one.

Sign-ups and registration!

As performance is a constant preoccupation, we would be more than happy to assist you throughout your performance journey!

If you enjoyed reading our course journal and feel that this learning environment would be suitable for your needs, why not visit our training calendar and check what best suits your learning needs?

If you’re someone that does not have a lot of time on their hands, to go to a course in person, we also have online training courses that align well with Performance Management topics:

• Certified Performance Management Professional
• Certified KPI Professional

Otherwise, if the opportunity of customized training courses is of interest to you or you’d like to know more information, contact Alina Miertoiu directly, at alina.miertoiu@@kpiinstitute.com.