One of the most important goals of every coach is making sure your students succeed. Your students achieving your goal not only enhances their learning experience, it also boosts your business– your retention rates, your completion rates, and your revenue. 

Yet for most coaches, especially newer coaches, the twin frustrations of poor student outcomes and low retention rates are well known. This article offers OKRs– Google’s famous goal-setting philosophy– as a solution.

What Are OKRs?

OKRs, widely popularized through the book Measure What Matters by John Doer, are a goal-setting framework used by hugely successful companies like Google and LinkedIn. It is a simple yet powerful concept: define what you want to achieve through Objectives or the O, and describe how you’ll measure progress toward achieving said goal through Key Results or KRs. 

OKRs can help coaches help their students know exactly what’s expected and how success is measured through a clear roadmap for student growth.

How OKRs Improve Student Outcomes

Clarity and Focus

One of the biggest benefits of OKRs is the clarity they bring. By helping students set clear, achievable goals, you provide your students with a focused pathway.

For instance, if your students are learning to build a personal brand on Instagram one of their objectives could be “Increase new accounts reached” and the accompanying Key Results could be “Ensure consistent visual branding across all posts,” “Increase click rate by 10%,” and “Increase share rate to 70%.”

Measurable Progress

The key to the successful implementation of OKRs is Key Results or KRs. By helping students define their key results, you provide students with tangible milestones they can work towards achieving. This not only helps in tracking their progress but also keeps their motivation levels high. 

Feedback and Improvement

Clear OKRs are also crucial to targeted feedback. When students know what to expect and the path to follow, they have a better understanding of what they need to improve and what they need to quit. 

As a coach, you can also identify common areas where students struggle and adjust your teaching methods accordingly.

Boosting Retention Rates with OKRs

Enhanced Engagement

OKRs create a sense of achievement and forward momentum. This sense of achievement is crucial to student progress and engagement.

By helping students understand their progress toward their objectives, you help them stay engaged and motivated to continue.

Accountability & Ownership

OKRs foster a sense of accountability. When students know what is expected, track their progress, and spend time reflecting on their progress, they are more likely to take ownership of their learning and see it through to the end.

Personalized Learning Paths

Additionally, OKRs allow for the creation of personalized learning paths. By setting individual OKRs based on a student’s starting point and learning pace, you cater to their unique needs. Personalized learning increases satisfaction and retention because students know the course is tailored to their unique needs and goals.

Implementing OKRs in Your Course

Define Clear Objectives

Start by defining what you want your students to achieve by the end of the course. These objectives should be specific, attainable, and aligned with the overall goal of the course.

Set Key Results

Identify 3-5 key results for each objective. These should be measurable and time-bound. For example, if the objective is to improve writing skills, key results could include, “Write three essays,” “Receive feedback on each essay,” and “Revise each essay based on feedback.”

Regular Check-Ins

Schedule regular check-ins to assess progress. Use these sessions to provide feedback, address challenges, and adjust the OKRs if necessary. Regular reviews ensure that students remain on track and feel supported throughout their learning journey.

By adopting OKRs, coaches can tackle the frustrations of poor student outcomes and low retention rates head-on. This goal-setting framework provides clarity, measurable progress, and a structured path to success, enhancing both student satisfaction and course completion rates. 

Zircly’s OKR Module is a great way for coaches and students to set and track their goals. With its robust interface and customizable cadences, Zircly lets coaches direct students’ OKRs until the latter find their footing. But it doesn’t end there, the in-built review process also helps coaches help students stay accountable for a long time after.

On Zircly, everyone can see each other’s OKRs, helping students better identify their blindspots and understand goal-setting and tracking. 
Zircly’s OKRs will be available to everyone soon. If you want early access to the OKR module, write to us at info@zircly.com or explore the rest of our website to learn more about our solutions.