Common reasons companies don't work with KPIs and why they don't make sense‍

When I start working with a company new to OKR, I often receive resistance about working with both OKRs and KPIs. Because implementing OKR requires dedicated focus, many assume that incorporating other concepts, like KPIs, will only get in the way and create distractions.

The reality is that by excluding KPIs, you can actually undermine your success with OKR.

I’ll unpack the most common reasons companies are reluctant to work with OKRs and KPIs together and why that mindset can hold them back in the long run. 

“We don’t want to introduce more than 1 new concept at a time”

Change is hard, especially in organizations. We’re creatures of habit, and any shift in the way we work can feel uncomfortable at first. That’s why many companies prefer to roll out change gradually, introducing new ideas one at a time to avoid overwhelming their teams.

When implementing OKR, I often hear from companies that they don’t want to introduce another concept like KPIs at the same time. It feels like too much all at once. But here’s the thing: most companies are already using KPIs in some form to track their day-to-day operations. The system might not be formalized or fully developed yet, but that’s exactly why it makes sense to build it out alongside your OKR implementation.

In fact, doing both together helps everyone understand the difference between the two. 

Without a KPI system in place, people tend to use OKRs to track business-as-usual work. That’s a problem, because OKRs are meant to drive change, not maintain the status quo. OKRs should focus on improvements and innovation that will drive growth and push the organization forward.

By working with KPIs too, you give your business-as-usual work the right representation. KPIs define what “healthy” looks like for your core processes and give you a reliable signal to monitor over time. If a KPI starts to slip, that’s your cue — it might be time to set an OKR to address the issue and get things back on track. In Perdoo, you can easily align an OKR to a KPI to show these dedicated efforts.

I’m always an advocate for keeping things simple, but sometimes trying to simplify too much actually creates more confusion. If you treat OKRs as a one-size-fits-all, you’ll end up having to undo bad habits and re-teach best practices later. It’s better to set things up clearly from the beginning.

“We don’t want to create more work when our KPIs are already tracked elsewhere” 

Nobody wants to do duplicate work, I get it. I wouldn’t advocate for it. If your company already has a robust KPI tracking system, I understand that it may not make sense to migrate all the data into the same system as your OKRs. Instead, consider including just the most important KPIs in Perdoo.  

Why? Transparency. Even if you have a formal way of tracking your KPIs, they may be in multiple systems or not everyone has access to the existing centralized database. By including the most important KPIs in Perdoo, the rest of the organization will be able to access them and have a better understanding of the core operations of the organization. This will also foster opportunities for cross-functional collaboration.  

What about updating in 2 places? We want to avoid that so we make it easy to automatically update your KPIs in Perdoo with an integration. 

“We’re only focused on change and not business-as-usual work”

Many organizations are drawn to OKR because of its potential to drive growth and transformation. It’s exciting to focus on bold, forward-looking goals — and that’s exactly what OKRs are about: creating change and challenging the status quo.

But while you’re busy moving forward, it’s just as important to make sure your core operations are running smoothly. That’s where KPIs come in. KPIs track the health of your day-to-day activities, the essential processes that keep the business on track.

At Perdoo, we often explain the relationship between OKRs and KPIs using a car analogy. Imagine your organization is a car headed toward a destination — your Ultimate Goal. Your KPIs are like the dashboard: things like your fuel gauge, temperature light, or oil indicator. You monitor these regularly to make sure the engine’s running smoothly and the car can get you to where you need to go.

Your OKRs, on the other hand, are the roadmap. They guide you toward where you want to go next. These are all temporary goals that will change from time to time. So, once you’ve passed a landmark (toward your destination), you’ll then focus on the next one.

Now imagine trying to drive without a dashboard. It might feel like the fastest way forward, but in reality, you’re flying blind. If you covered it up, you’d have no idea if you were about to run out of gas or if your engine was overheating. It’s inevitable that you’d break down on the side of the road, stalling your progress and potentially causing long-term damage. 

Doesn’t that sound unsafe and unnecessarily risky? This is why you can’t only focus on OKRs and take your KPIs for granted. To truly succeed, you need both.

In Perdoo you can easily track your KPIs and set up dedicated KPI boards.

Conclusion

OKRs and KPIs aren’t competing concepts — they’re complementary tools that serve different purposes. While OKRs help you drive change and move the business forward, KPIs ensure your day-to-day operations stay on track. Ignoring one in favor of the other limits your ability to grow effectively and sustainably.

By embracing both, you build a more complete picture of your organization’s performance and set yourself up for long-term success.