9 OKR examples for Cost Optimization
What are Cost Optimization OKRs?
The Objective and Key Results (OKR) framework is a simple goal-setting methodology that was introduced at Intel by Andy Grove in the 70s. It became popular after John Doerr introduced it to Google in the 90s, and it's now used by teams of all sizes to set and track ambitious goals at scale.
Writing good OKRs can be hard, especially if it's your first time doing it. You'll need to center the focus of your plans around outcomes instead of projects.
We have curated a selection of OKR examples specifically for Cost Optimization to assist you. Feel free to explore the templates below for inspiration in setting your own goals.
If you want to learn more about the framework, you can read more about the OKR meaning online.
Best practices for managing your Cost Optimization OKRs
Generally speaking, your objectives should be ambitious yet achievable, and your key results should be measurable and time-bound (using the SMART framework can be helpful). It is also recommended to list strategic initiatives under your key results, as it'll help you avoid the common mistake of listing projects in your KRs.
Here are a couple of best practices extracted from our OKR implementation guide 👇
Tip #1: Limit the number of key results
The #1 role of OKRs is to help you and your team focus on what really matters. Business-as-usual activities will still be happening, but you do not need to track your entire roadmap in the OKRs.
We recommend having 3-4 objectives, and 3-4 key results per objective. A platform like Tability can run audits on your data to help you identify the plans that have too many goals.
Tip #2: Commit to the weekly check-ins
Don't fall into the set-and-forget trap. It is important to adopt a weekly check-in process to get the full value of your OKRs and make your strategy agile – otherwise this is nothing more than a reporting exercise.
Being able to see trends for your key results will also keep yourself honest.
Tip #3: No more than 2 yellow statuses in a row
Yes, this is another tip for goal-tracking instead of goal-setting (but you'll get plenty of OKR examples below). But, once you have your goals defined, it will be your ability to keep the right sense of urgency that will make the difference.
As a rule of thumb, it's best to avoid having more than 2 yellow/at risk statuses in a row.
Make a call on the 3rd update. You should be either back on track, or off track. This sounds harsh but it's the best way to signal risks early enough to fix things.
Building your own Cost Optimization OKRs with AI
While we have some examples below, it's likely that you'll have specific scenarios that aren't covered here. There are 2 options available to you.
- Use our free OKRs generator
- Use Tability, a complete platform to set and track OKRs and initiatives
- including a GPT-4 powered goal generator
Best way to track your Cost Optimization OKRs
Quarterly OKRs should have weekly updates to get all the benefits from the framework. Reviewing progress periodically has several advantages:
- It brings the goals back to the top of the mind
- It will highlight poorly set OKRs
- It will surface execution risks
- It improves transparency and accountability
Spreadsheets are enough to get started. Then, once you need to scale you can use a proper OKR platform to make things easier.
If you're not yet set on a tool, you can check out the 5 best OKR tracking templates guide to find the best way to monitor progress during the quarter.
Cost Optimization OKRs templates
We've covered most of the things that you need to know about setting good OKRs and tracking them effectively. It's now time to give you a series of templates that you can use for inspiration!
You will find in the next section many different Cost Optimization Objectives and Key Results. We've included strategic initiatives in our templates to give you a better idea of the different between the key results (how we measure progress), and the initiatives (what we do to achieve the results).
Hope you'll find this helpful!
OKRs to increase cost management efficiency for people and operations
- Increase cost management efficiency for people and operations
- Implement cost tracking system to monitor and analyze spend across departments
- Train department heads in cost tracking system usage
- Launch system and begin monitoring departmental expenses
- Select cost tracking software suitable for our business needs
- Train managers on cost management best practices to mitigate overspending
- Follow-up on training effectiveness and changes
- Identify experts to guide practice implementation
- Arrange cost management training seminars for managers
- Reduce operational costs by 10% through process optimization and automation
- Conduct a thorough assessment of current operational processes
- Implement process optimization and automation strategies
- Identify inefficiencies and areas for automation
OKRs to significantly reduce Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) for our mobile app
- Significantly reduce Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) for our mobile app
- Improve app store optimizations to increase organic downloads by 20%
- Leverage user feedback for app improvement
- Review and enhance keyword strategy in app descriptions
- Optimize app icon and screenshots for better visibility
- Enhance referral program to increase organic acquisition by 30%
- Redesign referral incentives to make them more attractive
- Implement user-friendly referral process in the app/website
- Launch marketing campaign to promote referral program
- Implement A/B tests on marketing channels to enhance conversion rates by 15%
- Identify key variables for A/B testing in current marketing channels
- Analyze results, identify successful variables, implement changes
- Plan and execute A/B tests in the identified marketing channels
- Decrease app installation cost by 25% through optimizing ad targeting
- Analyze user data to better understand our successful app installation demographics
- Monitor and adjust ad campaigns based on performance metrics
- Refine ad targeting parameters based on this analysis
OKRs to achieve substantial operational cost reduction
- Achieve substantial operational cost reduction
- Implement automation in 3 high-cost operational activities to improve efficiency
- Implement and monitor the automation processes
- Design suitable automation strategies for each operation
- Identify 3 high-cost operations prone to automation
- Reduce operational expenses by 15% through process optimization and waste reduction
- Identify and eliminate inefficient operational processes
- Train staff on optimized workflow processes
- Implement waste reduction measures across all departments
- Reduce third-party vendor costs by renegotiating contracts and exploring alternative suppliers
- Research and evaluate alternative suppliers
- Develop and implement cost-effective contracts with new vendors
- Initiate negotiations for current vendor contracts
OKRs to optimize CPA by reducing it by 15%
- Decrease CPA by 15%
- Identify and pause underperforming campaigns
- Pause or adjust campaigns that consistently underperform benchmarks
- Review campaign performance metrics
- Determine performance benchmarks for each campaign
- Compare benchmarks to current campaign performance
- Optimize landing pages for higher conversion rates
- Increase page load speed by optimizing images and minimizing text
- Simplify form fields and reduce the number of required inputs
- Conduct A/B testing to determine optimal page layout
- Create clear call-to-action button with contrasting color and placement
- Perform a comprehensive audit of current campaigns
- Review campaign goals and success metrics
- Evaluate ad copy and creative effectiveness
- Analyze audience targeting and segmentation
- Assess budget allocation and ROI
- Increase bids on top-performing campaigns
- Monitor campaign performance to evaluate the effectiveness of bid increases
- Identify top-performing campaigns
- Implement bid increases on identified campaigns
- Analyze performance data to determine bid increase percentage
OKRs to boost sales to achieve profitable standing
- Boost sales to achieve profitable standing
- Decrease operational and production costs by 15% via optimization efforts
- Review and streamline production processes to eliminate inefficiencies
- Implement energy-saving measures to reduce utility bills
- Negotiate supplier contracts for better pricing
- Increase total customer base by 30% to multiply potential sales points
- Launch targeted promotional campaigns to attract new customers
- Develop and execute a comprehensive marketing strategy
- Strengthen customer retention through improved after-sales support
- Improve sales conversion rates by 20% through enhanced marketing strategies
- Create persuasive and engaging product descriptions
- Deploy targeted ad campaigns across different digital platforms
- Develop a captivating unique selling proposition to attract potential customers
OKRs to efficiently migrate services and databases to Google Cloud
- Efficiently migrate services and databases to Google Cloud
- Achieve minimal downtime during the migration process
- Conduct regular communication regarding the migration process with all relevant stakeholders
- Perform a thorough assessment of the existing infrastructure and identify potential issues
- Develop a detailed migration plan with clear timelines and allocated resources
- Implement redundancy measures and backup systems to minimize the impact of any disruptions
- Optimize costs by analyzing and implementing cost-effective solutions in Google Cloud
- Identify and eliminate any unnecessary services or resources to reduce expenses
- Regularly monitor and review cost reports and adjust strategies accordingly
- Research and implement more cost-effective alternatives or optimized configurations for existing services
- Conduct a thorough analysis of current Google Cloud services and associated costs
- Ensure seamless data migration from existing databases to Google Cloud
- Perform necessary data cleansing and transformation to ensure compatibility with Google Cloud
- Assess current database structure and data volume for smooth migration planning
- Create a detailed data migration strategy outlining steps, tools, and timelines
- Execute step-by-step migration process, verifying data integrity and minimizing downtime
- Successfully migrate all services from current platform to Google Cloud
OKRs to optimize AWS Costs
- Optimize AWS Costs
- Decrease monthly AWS spend by 15% compared to the previous quarter
- Implement automatic scaling and resource utilization monitoring for cost-effective resource provisioning
- Implement AWS Cost Explorer to analyze spending patterns and identify optimization opportunities
- Optimize EC2 instances and remove unused resources to reduce AWS usage costs
- Utilize Reserved Instances and Savings Plans to save on compute and database service costs
- Identify and eliminate any unnecessary or unused AWS resources
- Remove or terminate any unnecessary or redundant AWS resources immediately
- Evaluate the purpose and necessity of each identified unused resource
- Regularly monitor and audit AWS resources to ensure ongoing resource optimization
- Review all AWS resources to identify any that are not actively being used
- Implement cost-saving measures, such as Reserved Instances and Spot Instances utilization
- Conduct regular cost analysis to track and report savings achieved from optimization efforts
- Compile a comprehensive report showcasing the achieved savings and present it to stakeholders
- Review cost data and compare it to previous periods to identify potential savings
- Analyze cost drivers and evaluate opportunities for optimization in different areas
- Implement a system to regularly track and monitor ongoing optimization efforts and cost savings
OKRs to reduce operational cost in the Network Operations Center
- Reduce operational cost in the Network Operations Center
- Reduce unnecessary expenses by 15% through procurement optimization
- Implement a stringent approval process for all procurements
- Conduct regular reviews of procurement practices
- Eliminate redundant suppliers to consolidate spending
- Implement cost-effective automated systems to decrease manual labor costs by 20%
- Implement the chosen systems and monitor the cost-saving
- Research and select cost-effective automation systems
- Identify areas where automation can replace manual labor
- Achieve a 10% reduction in energy usage through efficient resource management
- Implement weekly power shutdowns in non-essential areas
- Install energy-efficient lighting and appliances throughout the facility
- Insulate building envelope to optimize heating/cooling use
OKRs to decrease user acquisition cost for our mobile app
- Decrease user acquisition cost for our mobile app
- Improve advertisement click-through rate by 15% with targeted marketing campaigns
- Monitor, analyze, and optimize campaign performance regularly
- Implement targeted ad campaigns based on identified personas
- Research customer behavior to create detailed audience personas
- Reduce average acquisition cost per user by 25%
- Increase targeting precision in ad campaigns
- Analyze and optimize current marketing strategies
- Enhance the retention strategies for existing customers
- Increase organic app downloads by 30% through app store optimization
- Promotion through positive user reviews and ratings
- Develop compelling app descriptions and attractive icons
- Conduct keyword research to improve app store search ranking
More Cost Optimization OKR templates
We have more templates to help you draft your team goals and OKRs.
OKRs to create efficient service quality monitoring tools OKRs to successfully procure and implement a smart workplace management system OKRs to enhance data-mining to generate consistent sales qualified leads OKRs to successfully launch a venture capital fund OKRs to implement CX platform (Service Now) OKRs to increase sales through channel partners
OKRs resources
Here are a list of resources to help you adopt the Objectives and Key Results framework.
- To learn: Complete 2024 OKR cheat sheet
- Blog posts: ODT Blog
- Success metrics: KPIs examples