9 OKR examples for Cost Reduction
What are Cost Reduction 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 Reduction 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 Reduction 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.
Tability's audit dashboard will highlight opportunities to improve OKRsTip #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.
Tability's check-ins will save you hours and increase transparencyTip #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 Reduction 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 Reduction OKRs
Your quarterly OKRs should be tracked weekly in order to get all the benefits of the OKRs 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.
Tability's Strategy Map makes it easy to see all your org's OKRsIf 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 Reduction 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 Reduction 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 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 IT costs by reducing expenses by 20%
- Reduce IT expenses by 20%
- Analyze previous quarter expenses and identify areas for cost reduction
- Determine cost-saving opportunities
- Identify spending patterns
- Review expenses
- Implement cost reduction measures
- Educate employees on cost-saving practices and enforce IT policies
- Regularly remind staff of cost-cutting policies
- Contain training sessions for IT policy adoption
- Monitor employee compliance with IT policies and address non-compliance
- Hold information sessions about cost-saving practices
- Negotiate with vendors for better pricing
- Research vendor's competitors and their rates
- Highlight your previous purchasing history with them
- Offer to sign a long-term contract for a discount
- Ask for a volume discount based on the forecasted quantity
- Implement solutions and track savings
- Identify opportunities for cost reduction
- Implement cost-saving solutions
- Track and report realized savings
- Prioritize solutions based on potential savings
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 reduce overall IT expenditure per employee
- Reduce overall IT expenditure per employee
- Decrease hardware renewal cost by 20%
- Identify and eliminate unnecessary hardware assets
- Implement preventative maintenance strategies on existing hardware
- Negotiate better contracts with hardware vendors
- Implement software use audits to identify 15% cost-saving opportunities
- Identify key software used in organization operations
- Analyze audit findings to identify cost-saving opportunities
- Develop and implement a software auditing process
- Achieve a 10% reduction in IT service contractor expenses
- Explore cheaper alternatives or in-house solutions for IT services
- Evaluate current IT service contracts for potential cost-saving opportunities
- Negotify renegotiations or cancellations of costly contracts
OKRs to increase annual revenue to $30 million
- Increase annual revenue to $30 million
- Improve operating efficiency by reducing overhead costs by 10%
- Negotiate with vendors and suppliers to secure better pricing and/or discounts on necessary materials and services
- Implement technology solutions or automation tools to streamline operations and reduce manual effort
- Conduct a thorough review of all overhead expenses and identify areas for cost reduction
- Streamline processes and eliminate any unnecessary steps or redundancies in operations
- Increase sales volume by 15% compared to the previous quarter
- Train sales team on effective sales techniques and provide ongoing support and motivation
- Identify target market and create targeted marketing campaign to attract new customers
- Implement a customer loyalty program to encourage repeat purchases and increase customer retention
- Collaborate with suppliers to negotiate bulk discounts and lower costs to maximize profit margins
- Expand trading operations to three new markets
- Conduct market research to identify potential markets for expansion
- Establish partnerships or collaborations with local partners in the target markets
- Develop a strategic plan for entering new markets, including budgeting and resource allocation
- Implement marketing and advertising campaigns to raise awareness and attract customers in new markets
- Achieve a customer retention rate of 90% or higher
OKRs to increase company-wide revenue
- Increase company-wide revenue
- Elevate product revenue by 15% via new customer acquisition initiatives
- Implement robust promotional outreach specifically targeting potential customers
- Fine-tune product features based on market research data
- Develop and launch new customer focused marketing strategies
- Enhance service revenue by 12% through cross-selling and up-selling activities
- Implement incentives encouraging team's cross-selling activities
- Train staff in effective up-selling and cross-selling tactics
- Develop new bundled product and service offers
- Boost gross margin by 10% through systematic cost reduction strategies
- Streamline product development to reduce associated costs
- Negotiate better terms with suppliers to decrease material costs
- Implement more efficient operational processes to reduce wasted resources
OKRs to boost the company's overall revenue
- Boost the company's overall revenue
- Increase product sales by 15%
- Enhance product visibility on online platforms
- Develop and implement targeted marketing strategies
- Improve customer engagement and feedback process
- Decrease operational costs by 10%
- Implement energy efficiency measures across all departments
- Negotiate better terms with suppliers and vendors
- Trim down unnecessary staff overtime
- Launch 2 new profitable products
- Finalize and launch the new products
- Develop marketing strategy for new products
- Identify and research potential profitable products
OKRs to boost the overall sales in the upcoming quarter
- Boost the overall sales in the upcoming quarter
- Grow the customer base by 20% resulting in increased purchases
- Improve product offerings to stimulate higher demand
- Launch targeted marketing campaigns to attract new customers
- Implement a referral program to incentivize existing customers
- Reduce operational costs by 15% to increase net income
- Review and analyze current operational expenses
- Implement cost-reduction strategies across operations
- Identify cost-saving opportunities in processes
- Implement a new upselling strategy to enhance average transaction value by 10%
- Monitor and track sales data to assess strategy effectiveness
- Train sales team to effectively execute the new upselling strategy
- Develop a new upselling strategy targeting high-value products or services
OKRs to streamline financial processes for enhanced profit growth
- Streamline financial processes for enhanced profit growth
- Increase net profit margin by 10% through operational efficiencies
- Increase pricing strategy efficiency to boost profit
- Streamline supply chain to reduce operational expenses
- Implement cost-saving measures in production processes
- Improve financial forecasting accuracy by 15% through use of advanced analytics
- Train staff on accurate use of analytics tools
- Continually assess and refine forecasting model accuracy
- Implement advanced analytics software for financial forecasting
- Implement two new innovative cost-reduction strategies by the end of the quarter
- Develop a detailed plan for implementation
- Research and identify potential cost-reduction strategies
- Execute and monitor the new strategies
More Cost Reduction OKR templates
We have more templates to help you draft your team goals and OKRs.
- OKRs to improve promotion and sponsorship package development
- OKRs to reduce the frequency of rollbacks following system releases
- OKRs to enhance Automation Capabilities
- OKRs to secure funding for mobile game prototype
- OKRs to ensure High Uptime
- OKRs to establish ourselves as cloud specialists with Atlassian
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