Does Every Employee Really Need Their Own OKRs – or Is One Set for the Whole Team Enough?

When organizations start working with OKRs (Objectives and Key Results), one of the most common questions is:

“Should every employee have their own OKRs, or is one set for the team enough?”

The short answer: It depends.

OKRs are meant to create clarity, not complexity. Whether you assign OKRs individually or collectively depends on how your team is structured and how goals are achieved.

What Are OKRs Meant to Do?

Let’s quickly recap:
OKRs consist of an Objective (what you want to achieve) and Key Results (how you’ll measure success). They're designed to create focus, align efforts, and make progress visible.

When Shared Team OKRs Work Best

A shared set of OKRs can work perfectly when…

• The team is closely collaborating on similar goals.
• Everyone is contributing to the same objective.
• The primary focus is on team performance, not individual evaluation.

Example:
A social media team sets an objective:

“Significantly increase our LinkedIn reach.”

Key results might include:

• Grow followers by 30%
• Publish 3 viral posts per quarter
• Improve engagement rate by 10%

These goals involve the entire team’s efforts, and there’s no need to break them down into individual OKRs if everyone contributes collectively.

When Individual OKRs Make Sense

In some cases, assigning personal OKRs is more effective, such as when:

• Team members have distinct roles or areas of responsibility
• You want to support personal development
• There's a need to increase accountability and visibility of individual contributions

Example:
Within the same social media team:

• Person A (Content Creation): “Test two new content formats weekly and generate one viral post.”
• Person B (Analytics): “Redesign the reporting dashboard and improve insights generation by 20%.”
• Person C (Community): “Respond to 95% of comments within 24 hours.”

Each person owns outcomes that support the team objective, while also having clear individual goals.

Use the Hybrid Approach

Many teams combine both approaches:

1. One set of team-level OKRs aligned with strategic goals
2. Personal OKRs that support individual growth and operational contribution

This balance fosters both collaboration and ownership.

What to Avoid

• Copy-paste OKRs that don’t relate to a person’s actual work
• Too many personal OKRs, which can dilute focus
• Top-down OKRs with no team input – they won’t drive engagement

OKRs should be meaningful and relevant to the people working toward them.

Final Thoughts: One Size Doesn’t Fit All

Not every employee needs their own OKRs. But everyone should know how their work contributes to shared goals.

Sometimes, a shared OKR set is enough. In other cases, personal OKRs drive better clarity and motivation.

The key is to adapt the approach to your team’s structure and goals.

Want to Set Up OKRs That Actually Work?

Whether you're starting from scratch or refining your OKR process, we’re here to help.

Book a free OKR consultation now and find the right setup for your team or organization.

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