KPIs have been part of business operations for a long time. Long before newer goal-setting frameworks started showing up in strategy conversations, companies were already using KPIs to track performance, monitor stability, and keep teams focused on what matters.
They still play that role well. But for many modern businesses, tracking performance alone is no longer enough. Teams also need a way to set direction, raise ambition, support learning, and create space for both committed and aspirational goals. OKRs were designed exactly for this. In this article, you’ll understand why KPIs may no longer be enough for business growth and how you can adopt a more versatile framework for maximum performance.
The Gap Between Tracking Performance (KPIs) and Driving Change (OKRs)
KPIs are useful because they help companies monitor performance and keep operations steady. They show whether sales are on track, service levels are holding up, or costs are staying under control. That kind of visibility is really important. The problem is that KPIs are mostly built to measure what already exists. They help teams maintain performance, but they do not always help teams create change.
And in many companies, whatever gets measured gets optimized. So teams get better and better at hitting numbers, even when those numbers are no longer tied to the most important strategic shift the business needs to make. That is why hitting targets does not always mean the business is truly moving forward. A company can meet its KPIs and still stay stuck in the same place.
The difference is simple.
KPIs ask, “How are we doing?”
OKRs ask, “What are we trying to change?”
OKRs Don’t Replace KPIs: They Give Direction for the Whole Business
Innovative companies like Netflix and Tesla didn’t become the pioneers they are today by doing the same things quarter in and quarter out. They asked the question of change, defined the answer for their industry, and went after it with brutal execution. That is what OKRs do for you: providing you with context for real strategic movement.
This is not an attempt to eradicate KPIs. Once a company starts using OKRs, the goal is not to throw out existing metrics. It is to make sure those metrics are supporting something bigger than routine tracking. OKRs bring focus, alignment, and more intentional progress across the business. They help teams understand not just what they are measuring, but why it matters right now.
Some KPIs can absolutely support key results. In fact, many do. But not every KPI belongs inside an OKR. Some metrics are there to monitor business health. Others can be used to show progress toward a specific change or strategic priority. The point is not to remove KPIs. It is to stop treating them like the strategy itself.
How to Introduce OKRs Without Disrupting Your Current KPI System
Before you shake your head and convince yourself that adopting OKRs will be too much work, take a pause, because if done right, the process can be super straightforward. It does not have to feel like a company-wide reset. You are not throwing away your trusty KPIs, either. You are not replacing every target. And you do not need to rebuild your whole performance system overnight.
What OKRs do is add a layer of direction to the numbers you already track. Your KPIs can keep doing their job while OKRs help the business focus on the changes that actually matter next.
A practical way to get started looks like this:
- Start with a few clear company priorities
Pick two or three priorities that matter most right now. Keep it tight. If everything becomes a priority, nothing really is.
Tip: Start with the biggest business questions in front of you. Growth, retention, product adoption, execution speed, and market expansion. Those are usually better starting points than department wish lists. - Separate “run the business” from “change the business.”
This is one of the easiest ways to reduce confusion. Some metrics exist to help you maintain performance. Others should help you push for progress or change.
Tip: Keep your regular health metrics as KPIs. Use OKRs for the work that is meant to improve, shift, or move the business in a new direction. - Write objectives that are directional, not numeric
An objective should describe what you want to achieve in plain language. It should be clear and motivating, not stuffed with numbers.
Tip: If your objective reads like a spreadsheet entry, it is probably too dry. Save the numbers for the key results. - Define measurable results that reflect real progress
The key results are where measurement comes in. They should show whether meaningful movement is happening, not just whether people are busy.
Tip: Avoid key results based on task completion. “Launch campaign” is an activity. “Increase qualified pipeline from campaign by 20%” shows progress. - Pilot with one team before scaling
You do not need to launch OKRs across the whole company on day one. Start with one team or one business unit, learn what works, then expand.
Tip: Choose a team that is open to experimentation and already has a decent rhythm around planning and reviews. - Build a simple, consistent check-in rhythm
OKRs work better when they stay visible. A lightweight weekly or biweekly check-in is often enough to review progress, flag blockers, and keep priorities alive.
Tip: Do not overcomplicate this. A short recurring review is usually more effective than a fancy process nobody sticks to.
The main thing is this: introducing OKRs should make your system clearer, not heavier. Keep your KPIs. Add focus. Start small. Then build from there.
Ready for a rollout and looking for a guide to get started? Our OKR implementation playbook can also be a good resource for you. It comes with detailed steps and a checklist to help you implement OKRs and drive change in your company.
When OKRs and KPIs Work Well Together, And Where Companies Often Miss It
The biggest mistake KPI-driven companies can make with OKRs is assuming the two are basically the same thing. They are connected, yes, but they do different jobs. KPIs help you monitor performance. OKRs help you focus performance toward change.
When that distinction gets blurry, a few common problems will show themselves:
- Turning every KPI into a key result
Not every metric belongs inside an OKR. Some KPIs are there to track business health, not strategic progress. - Writing OKRs around routine work
If the “objective” is just business as usual with a nicer label, nothing really changes. - Giving teams too many goals at once
The more goals you pile on, the less focus OKRs actually create. - Treating OKRs like a leadership exercise
If OKRs stay at the top and never connect to team-level work, they quickly become abstract. - Reviewing progress too late
Waiting until the end of the quarter to check in defeats the point. By then, there is little room to adjust anything.
When OKRs and KPIs work together properly, the relationship is much clearer. The KPI keeps an eye on ongoing performance, while the OKR helps the team push for something that needs to improve.
A simple example:
- KPI: Customer retention rate
- Objective: Improve long-term customer loyalty
- Key Results:
- Increase 90-day customer retention from 72% to 80%
- Raise repeat purchase rate from 18% to 26%
- Improve onboarding completion rate from 60% to 85%
In that setup, notice how the KPI still matters besides the OKRs? It is still being tracked. But now it is connected to a broader goal that the team is actively working toward. The alignment magic also happens here; leadership sets the direction, teams build OKRs that support it. Individual departments can then see how their work connects to company priorities without losing sight of the numbers they are already responsible for.
That’s the sweet spot right there: teams are not choosing between KPIs and OKRs; they are using KPIs to stay grounded and OKRs to make sure their efforts are leading somewhere.
Managing the New OKR + KPI System
OKRs can fail during setup, but rarely do. Usually, there’s enough room to make adjustments without affecting too much because the execution part hasn’t started. Execution is the biggest problem – if you fail at it, you failed at the entire implementation.
KPI-driven companies might struggle here. Not because the framework is wrong, but because the system around it is not built to support both tracking and change at the same time.
A few things tend to break down:
- Things fall apart during execution, not planning
The goals might look great at the start of the quarter, but without regular follow-through, they quickly lose momentum. - Scattered tools create misalignment
KPIs might live in one dashboard, OKRs in another document, and updates somewhere else entirely. Teams end up working without a shared view. - Lack of visibility weakens accountability
If no one can clearly see progress, ownership starts to blur. It becomes harder to tell what is moving and what is stuck.
How To Seamlessly Track Your KPIs alongside the New OKRs in Oboard
So now you’ve set OKRs. Great. But the next problem shows up almost immediately: where do you track them? Because your KPIs are already somewhere, you’ll probably come up with another spreadsheet to track the new OKRs. Not the best choice, especially if you want to see how healthy (KPIs) your business strategy (OKRs) is.
Oboard is the natural next step here. Oboard OKR & KPI software brings OKRs and KPIs into one place, so teams don’t have to jump between tools just to understand what is going on. Instead of separating performance tracking from strategic goals, everything sits in a shared workspace:
- OKRs and KPIs live side by side
Teams can track business health while also working toward change, without losing context. - Alignment becomes visible across teams
Everyone can see how their work connects to company priorities, not just their own metrics. - Regular check-ins are built into the workflow
Progress is reviewed consistently, so goals remain active rather than being forgotten halfway through the cycle. - Strategy connects directly to execution
What gets discussed at the top level does not stay in slides. It shows up in day-to-day work, with clear ownership and progress tracking.
Tracking Metrics The Right Way
Oboard allows you to track metrics in different ways. The goal is not to track more. It is to track more effectively and with clarity.
Some metrics are straightforward:
- You’ve got multiple outcomes, and you need to hit them → that’s threshold tracking (revenue, churn, uptime… the usual suspects).
Some things don’t move like that:
- You’re rolling something out in stages or need to understand how your metric is performing over time → milestone tracking makes more sense.
Below is an example KPI module in Oboard that shows what KPI tracking looks like. The metric tracking process is divided into two parts: Setup and Update. This structure makes it easier to follow and reduces the chances of mistakes, like accidentally overwriting important data.
Check out this article to learn more about metric tracking in Oboard.
Final Thoughts: From Measurement to Meaningful Progress
As someone who is looking to adopt OKRs in your KPI-driven business, you aren’t starting from zero. In most cases, you already know how to measure performance well. The next step is to make sure the measurement is tied to something more purposeful. To make that work in practice, the system you employ matters a lot. Oboard helps companies manage OKRs and KPIs in one place, so progress stays visible, priorities stay connected, and strategy does not get lost somewhere between planning and execution.
If you would like to learn more about driving change within your company or want us to help you set up your OKRs & KPIs, book a demo with us today.
