[Interview] OKRs for successful transformations at Accor (deployment and key success factors)

As part of the support provided to the Accor Group on the OKR methodology (Objectives & Key Results) by talenco and Watch, Raphaël Kattan and Juliette Lorentz collected the cross-referenced testimonies of two officials responsible for implementing the OKRs for their respective entities.

Discover The backstage of a successful double transformation at the heart of the Accor group from 2021 onwards and explore with us Two exciting journeys into the OKR method with the experiences and inspiring lessons of:

 Daniil Rybaev, Vice President IT Strategy at Accor Tech

Tristan Breton, Head of Product Analytics & OKRs at Accor Digital & Business Factory

Cross-interview conducted by Raphaël Kattan, General Manager & partner at talenco, and Juliette Lorentz, Consultant, Associate, OKR Expert at Watch and Founder of Voilou

Why did your organization choose to implement OKRs? What were the expected benefits?

Daniil RYBAEV

The short answer to this question is execution.

Historically, we had realized that we sometimes struggled to effectively follow and deploy our key strategies and ambitions. We then looked for what tools could help us, and OKRs seemed particularly interesting and suited to our needs.

We needed to move from a method that presented our vision to another, more concrete one, which allowed us to go further in the execution and measurement of its progress. Specifically, a management tool that allows us to determine whether our organization is moving in the right direction, in line with our strategy.

Another challenge was to align all our teams around the same strategic priorities. OKR method It has enabled us to bring together the teams at Accor Tech around common goals and to move forward in the same direction.

Tristan BRETON

I agree with Daniil on the issues that led us to the OKRs.

We had a need to have projects, or at least a roadmap that was more focused on generating value and monitoring it, whether it was Business value or User value.
To do this, we needed to align the teams to be able to deliver the essential projects in our organization, where we have a lot of interdependencies between the verticals and the teams.
In an agile context, we also needed to work on the issue of the autonomy of teams. The implementation of operational OKRs seemed relevant in this regard.

The OKRs have therefore enabled the strategic priorities of the Digital & Business Factory to be affirmed, and their implementation ensures that the priorities of all the Tribes are aligned so that they can prioritize in a way that meets our challenges of creating strategic value.

Daniil RYBAEV

Just to quickly add to what Tristan has just said. One of the reasons for the deployment of OKRs at Accor is the ambition to turn to a Results-oriented management. We implemented OKRs because we wanted to prioritize results: each department knows in advance what is expected and has full autonomy to achieve these objectives.

The experts' view

Juliette Lorentz One of the mistakes that is often made with OKRs is not defining the scope of the transformation in advance. OKRs are a framework This allows us to answer many organizational questions and to ensure that we don’t miss out on the deployment process; it’s better to know what we’re trying to achieve so that we don’t get lost.

What was your strategy for deploying OKRs?

Tristan BRETON

We did it in 2 years and 2 stages!

We started in December 2021 with an OKR definition at the level of the Digital Factory Code of Conduct, which did not include our Business stakeholders at the time.
The second phase arrived in January 2022, where we worked on defining OKRs for the Tribes that are our teams.
Ultimately, we had 2 levels of OKRs at launch: a strategic level and a much more operational level.

We chose to launch the initiative for all the Tribes at the same time in a context of the launch of the Digital Factory; this allowed us to begin to anchor the initiative. framework in terms of working methods, with one caveat: this subject, amidst all the other transformation initiatives launched at that time, did not promote its adoption by everyone.
This allowed us to create a mini-Rex after a few months to optimize the approach for the future.

In the second year, we changed our OKRs.
We improved the way we wrote our strategic OKRs, we implemented OKRs for our Verticals to have a more fine-grained translation of the issues for each Tribe, and we focused on ownership. framework by the Tribes.

Between the first and second year, we really evolved in our understanding and collective appropriation of the framework and we really focused on the animation of our objectives, both strategic and operational.

Daniil RYBAEV

On our side, it’s very similar. We also started in 2021.

In the first year, we defined the OKRs in a strategic way with the team at Accor Tech to familiarize ourselves with the method.
Secondly, we involved the N-1 members of the excom to link the issues of each department to the strategic OKRs.
Like the Digital & Business Factory, we worked with all our departments at the same time. The idea was to align all the teams with our strategic priorities.

Team alignment is crucial: after each OKR definition, we identify, with the relevant department, the dependencies and potential operational alignment needs.
This step allows us to validate the set objectives and adjust them, if necessary.
We have also deployed an internal communication plan with the aim of making OKRs more widely known and explaining the priorities of Accor Tech to as many people as possible and how everyone could contribute to them.

The next step is to continue deploying OKRs at the operational team level.

The experts' view

Raphaël Kattan If you start with the OKR method, do not try to deploy it immediately in all hierarchical levels. Start with the OKR of the company or entity concerned and then scale down the OKR of all N-1 levels. Test the ability of the OKR to create alignment and cross-functional collaboration among teams over a quarter or two. Check if the project roadmaps are well aligned. Then it will be necessary to look at how to continue the deployment of the method by scaling down the hierarchical levels.

Juliette Lorentz Like any transformation, to successfully implement OKRs, you need to balance the stakes, quality, and speed. Mass deployment of OKRs is rarely a good approach. It is better to prioritize a sequenced and reasoned approach, because OKRs are not just a tool but a profound change to be disseminated and then embedded in the practices of your teams.

What were your biggest challenges in this deployment?

Daniil RYBAEV

The first challenge was to explain the methodology but also the reasons why we want to implement it.

The second challenge is certainly the change in approach: we wanted to implement a results-based management that is not yet completely the norm at Accor Tech.
It wasn’t always easy to distinguish clearly between the results of the lists of tasks to be performed. This question of means versus results was a real challenge to overcome.

We also had to explain repeatedly that OKRs were not yet a new tool for reporting or additional control, but rather a tool that gives teams a clear view of their progress in achieving their objectives.
Of course, the teams initially perceived OKRs as an additional workload. We worked closely with them to show them all the potential of the methodology and to use OKRs as a management tool in day-to-day operations.

Tristan BRETON

We had the same objective; the first and most important one was clearly the Training teams on OKRs. A new method, which is based on data, in an entity where people weren’t necessarily very familiar with it. data-driven In general, this meant a double acculturation to be done.

After the method was explained, the second challenge was to create mechanisms for alignment and prioritization. Ensure that OKRs were well used in prioritizing teams.
We had to communicate about the issue of OKRs and bandwidth to reassure the teams that OKRs should not represent 100% of what they were supposed to do.
Because at the start, the Tribes said that they would go through everything through the lens of OKRs to make sure they wouldn’t miss anything. It was therefore necessary to differentiate the issues of evolution from those of run or maintenance, which represent an incompressible bandwidth within the teams.

I think the third challenge was the numbers behind the KR (Key Results). We realized that in different parts of the organization, for the same concept, we had slightly different definitions, which meant that we never got the same results. Obviously, they weren’t diametrically opposed, but it allowed us to identify the issue and realign the entire Digital & Business Factory organization behind harmonized indicators.

Finally, The deployment of OKRs for everyone at the same time in the first year really did not facilitate adoption.. This nevertheless allowed us to work on acculturation regarding the teams, even though everything wasn’t perfect. But I’m not sure I would take this approach again if I had to do it again.

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The experts' view

Raphaël Kattan The point raised by Daniil is fundamental. OKRs enable the instilling of a result-oriented culture versus a means-oriented culture. Everything comes down to the ability to define goals and objectives. Key Results These are real ‘outcomes’ (quantifiable results that we want to achieve) and not ‘outputs’ which are tasks and milestones of the project. OKRs allow management to align with the teams on the why by holding each employee accountable for how and what (the project roadmaps).

What were your biggest keys to success in deploying OKRs?

Tristan BRETON

Clearly, sponsorship of’Alix Boulnois (Our Chief Digital Officer) who is responsible for the deployment of the framework. She had already worked with OKRs in the past and she was convinced that it could bring value to the Digital Factory.
Every 3 months, she presents a progress report on the strategic OKRs to the entire D&BF, which provides everyone with a good overview of the organization’s overall progress.

There was also the animation with the implementation of check-in. This really enabled us to legitimize the approach and make it useful for prioritizing the teams.

Finally, it was to have chosen an ’operational’ accompaniment.
Since we moved very quickly into deployment in our first phase, we took the time in the second phase to continue supporting the teams and training them one by one. We started with the Tribes who seemed to have a greater interest in the subject, and over 6 months we have onboarded Our 20 teams.
It was, I think, really necessary to resume theoretical training on how OKRs work, but also to provide almost-on-the-spot support for each ritual and to coach the different roles (Sponsors, Champions and KR owners).
I think that this support for OKRs was a key element in the teams’ adhesion and understanding of framework.

Daniil RYBAEV

Keeping track of the OKRs was important for us, because the project would lose all its meaning otherwise.
Therefore, we have established a monthly follow-up of strategic OKRs with Excom in order to regularly review the status of the OKRs and identify potential discrepancies.

The Strategy and Performance department at Accor Tech is responsible for implementing this monitoring with the departments.
We have created a network of OKR ambassadors (which we call the ‘OKR Champions’) within the Departments to facilitate deployment and continue to explain the methodology.
Within a single instance, we review the progress of each person’s OKRs. We assign a status to each KR: green if everything is going well, yellow if there is a delay (with an identified action plan), and red when there is a delay without an identified action plan.
These rituals allow us to take remedial action but also to regularly exchange on key topics for the organization.
In a way, we are no longer looking for the “culprits”, but rather the way we are going to positively evolve the situation.

The experts' view

Raphaël Kattan Again, Tristan and Daniil emphasize crucial elements of the OKR approach: the rituals and what we do with them. These rituals – and especially regular check-ins – serve to ensure that projects are progressing well in line with the OKRs. The danger is that these reviews are misused by wasting too much time on justification (why hasn’t it progressed?) rather than on finding solutions (“what can we do to resolve the situation in the coming weeks?). The manager has a crucial role to play in engaging the teams to look to the future rather than the past. He can also position himself as a leader at the service of the teams” success, intervening where the teams need help to resolve a particular situation. He will have all the more time to devote to this ‘servant leader’ role, thanks to the OKRs, which have enabled him to share the vision and align everyone on the right action plans beforehand.

How have you adapted the OKR framework to the needs of your organization? How do you use OKRs today?

Daniil RYBAEV

We have adapted the framework in the structure of our organization: strategic OKRs, then broken down by department.
The strategic OKRs are defined for the year, while the departmental OKRs are reviewed every quarter. This approach gives us more flexibility and allows us to regularly exchange information during our monthly follow-ups, particularly regarding the progress of the objectives set each quarter.

The next step is to create a review to understand how our OKRs have evolved. We then assess whether it is necessary to revise our ambitions for the following quarter. This allows us to realistically review overly ambitious goals.

Tristan BRETON

At D&BF, we have an organization similar to Accor Tech and ultimately our OKRs follow the same logic, the same rhythms, and the same rituals. We are quite aligned. The only difference is that we have implemented operational OKRs.

Overall, what I can add is that we remain a company with a project culture that is still very much ingrained, for many reasons, and we still need to keep tracking the progress of our projects. milestones There is no question that we practice OKRs ‘by the book’; we may be distorting the approach a little in that sense, but that is what is useful today for the organization.

Despite everything, OKR are increasingly being used as a prioritization mechanism. Of course, we don't prioritize 100% of the bandwidth with the OKRs, but In an environment where we all have a limited bandwidth, this allows us to better choose our projects based on the value they generate and the kind of service we are trying to deliver..

The experts' view

Juliette Lorentz ️ Setting up the framework OKR does not necessarily mean implementing the entire philosophy and practices of OKR. Quite the opposite. Just as defining an KR, one must ask oneself about the existing and the evolution that one wishes to achieve, in a realistic manner. In OKR, and in many things, the best remains always the enemy of the good.

What benefits have the OKR method brought you?

Tristan BRETON

Having put in place the framework It enabled us to to further highlight our many interdependencies to better address them, to identify that we needed to communicate better and, in some cases, to share KR between teams.
The other benefit was The regular monitoring that really allowed us to track our performance. Once again, animation was key in this approach.

Knowing how to write good OKRs took us some time, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg: anchoring the animation within the existing rituals and being effective during these sessions is the most difficult thing, these are really the two key steps that give the whole thing its value. framework.

Daniil RYBAEV

On the profits, I am completely in agreement with Tristan.
Thanks to OKRs, we can evaluate our progress towards the goals set in a concrete way Are we behind schedule or not, are we straying from the original goal…?…
This enables us to identify problems in time and take the necessary actions to solve them.

Thanks to OKRs, we have also significantly improved Prioritizing our projects, In particular, the new projects that are coming along the way, for which we now know whether they contribute to one of our KR or not.

For a large part of our teams, we had a tech vision that was too removed from their daily concerns. The OKRs enabled us to link each individual’s daily tasks to specific projects, enabling the implementation of our strategy. This point is important so that everyone understands that at all levels of the hierarchy, they have a role to play in achieving the objectives of Accor Tech.

The experts' view

Raphaël Kattan As a reminder, OKRs allow everyone to be aligned and focused on the right priorities for action, to understand the meaning of what is being asked of them, and to be held accountable for their actions.

In other words, OKRs must allow each employee to know at all times how they are contributing to the company’s strategy.
In the organizations I support in the deployment of OKRs, I propose a simple rule: if employees are working on topics they don’t know how to relate to each other, they should be given the opportunity to do so. Key Results (from their team or from another team in cross-functional collaboration), it is their responsibility to ask their manager if they are really working on the right topics. This prevents any waste of energy on unnecessary projects.

What path remains for you to follow?

Tristan BRETON

I think we can still improve on the two key areas mentioned above: animation in particular regarding the impact of initiatives, but also in defining our KPIs. We still have very broad KPIs, sometimes a bit too business-oriented. We can ask ourselves whether this is a good or a bad practice. In any case, in our culture, we don’t necessarily have the habit of setting really value-oriented indicators. Similarly, we avoid going too deep into indicators that are not in the green range. We still have difficulties in finding the source of the problem.
I think this is one of the first challenges: better organizing our OKRs so that we can move from the observation to the action plan.
I think that’s what Daniil was talking about and it’s a point that will be important for us in the future.

Very closely linked to this is the evolution of our organization towards a less project-oriented culture. The fact that too many KR-oriented projects were launched delivery it would make a big leap in our practice.

Daniil RYBAEV

For our part, our current priority is to make the teams autonomous in their use of the methodology.
We can say that we have succeeded in implementing OKRs when departments are autonomous in defining and monitoring their own OKRs, that is, when OKRs are integrated as a daily management tool for managers and department leaders.

Tristan BRETON

It reminds me of a point that I haven’t touched on but we share the same strategy. Our goal is to move beyond ongoing capital investment by leveraging a network of OKR Champions to facilitate the autonomy of all teams in their own OKR efforts.
Once this network is established, along with the OKR best practices, we can say that the framework It will truly become part of our culture.

In a nutshell, what would be your advice to anyone responsible for deploying OKRs in their organization?

Daniil RYBAEV

My advice would be to adapt a progressive/iterative approach, without applying the methodology to the letter, but by adapting it to the culture of your company.

Tristan BRETON

The good starting point in my opinion is to have a clear vision of why this is happening. framework and what we expect from it, to validate whether the framework It addresses the organization’s challenges. It’s a change in mindset that can be intimidating… Thinking about onboarding everyone through training sessions seems key to the success of the project.

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The main points to remember

Why OKRs at Accor?

The two OKR leaders emphasize the need for execution and for departments to align with the strategy. OKRs have enabled the transition from vision to execution, ensuring aligned management and collaboration among departments.

The OKR deployment strategy

Accor Tech and the Digital & Business Factory followed two-year deployment trajectories, starting with strategic OKRs, then deploying tactical and operational OKRs in various ways. Initial errors were corrected, with an emphasis on a sequential and reasoned approach.

The main challenges regarding OKRs

The challenges include explaining the methodology, the transition to results-based management, and the need to differentiate results from tasks. Adjusting the OKRs to avoid workload overload was crucial.

The keys to success with OKRs

The support of the Chief Digital Officer, regular routines, and operational advice contributed to the success of the deployment. Monthly controls and the appointment of OKR champions strengthened the support of the teams.

The benefits of framework OKR

OKR enabled the identification of interdependencies, the monitoring of performance, and the improvement of the prioritization of projects. They also enabled the teams to materialize their technological vision.

The next steps on the OKRs

The focus is on improving the facilitation of OKRs, moving from observation to action, and evolving towards a culture less focused on projects. The ultimate goal is to make teams autonomous in the day-to-day management of OKRs.

Key advice from OKR leaders

Daniil Rybaev recommends adopting OKRs gradually, adapting them to the company’s culture. Tristan Breton emphasizes the need to have a clear vision and to train the entire organization to succeed in implementing OKRs.

Many thanks to Daniil Rybaev and Tristan Breton for their valuable testimonies!