2 OKR examples for Expenditure Reduction

What are Expenditure Reduction OKRs?

The OKR acronym stands for Objectives and Key Results. It's a goal-setting framework that was introduced at Intel by Andy Grove in the 70s, and it became popular after John Doerr introduced it to Google in the 90s. OKRs helps teams has a shared language to set ambitious goals and track progress towards them.

Formulating strong OKRs can be a complex endeavor, particularly for first-timers. Prioritizing outcomes over projects is crucial when developing your plans.

We've tailored a list of OKRs examples for Expenditure Reduction to help you. You can look at any of the templates below to get some inspiration for 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 Expenditure 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 Insights DashboardTability's audit dashboard will highlight opportunities to improve OKRs

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.

Tability Insights DashboardTability's check-ins will save you hours and increase transparency

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 Expenditure 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.

Best way to track your Expenditure 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.

A strategy map in TabilityTability's Strategy Map makes it easy to see all your org's OKRs

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.

Expenditure 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 Expenditure 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 reduce overall IT expenditure per employee

  • ObjectiveReduce overall IT expenditure per employee
  • Key ResultDecrease hardware renewal cost by 20%
  • TaskIdentify and eliminate unnecessary hardware assets
  • TaskImplement preventative maintenance strategies on existing hardware
  • TaskNegotiate better contracts with hardware vendors
  • Key ResultImplement software use audits to identify 15% cost-saving opportunities
  • TaskIdentify key software used in organization operations
  • TaskAnalyze audit findings to identify cost-saving opportunities
  • TaskDevelop and implement a software auditing process
  • Key ResultAchieve a 10% reduction in IT service contractor expenses
  • TaskExplore cheaper alternatives or in-house solutions for IT services
  • TaskEvaluate current IT service contracts for potential cost-saving opportunities
  • TaskNegotify renegotiations or cancellations of costly contracts

OKRs to increase revenue efficiency across all business units

  • ObjectiveIncrease revenue efficiency across all business units
  • Key ResultReduce operational expenditure by 10% to maximize net revenue
  • TaskStreamline processes to minimize redundant labor costs
  • TaskImplement energy-saving measures to decrease utility costs
  • TaskNegotiate better terms with suppliers to cut procurement expenses
  • Key ResultStreamline all revenue-generating processes to increase efficiency by 20%
  • TaskTrain team in streamlined processes and new software
  • TaskIdentify current inefficiencies in revenue-generating processes
  • TaskImplement technological solutions to automate manual tasks
  • Key ResultIncrease average revenue per user (ARPU) by 15%
  • TaskOptimize pricing based on customer buying behaviors
  • TaskImprove user experience to boost customer engagement
  • TaskDevelop targeted upselling strategies for high-value customers

More Expenditure Reduction OKR templates

We have more templates to help you draft your team goals and OKRs.

OKRs resources

Here are a list of resources to help you adopt the Objectives and Key Results framework.