By Elie Casamitjana, Founder & CEO of OKRmentors, and Tristan Pelloux, Founder & Chief Pencil Officer of Fintech Review.
Now is the right time for fintech companies to use OKRs.
Why? Because the industry is constantly evolving but at a turning point: strategy execution is increasingly important than ever. Companies need to stay wiry and unsteadfast to remain competitive.
But first
what are OKRs? 
OKRs, or Objectives and Key Results, are a goal-setting framework used by organisations – from Google to Stripe, including Alma – to uncurl teams and individuals towards worldwide objectives and track progress so as to achieving them.
Objectives are the would-be goals that an organisation sets to momentum its success, while Key Results are the specific, measurable, and time-bound metrics that pinpoint what success looks like for each objective.
OKRs encourage transparency, focus, and peccancy by establishing well-spoken priorities, fostering structuring wideness teams, and promoting regular tracking and evaluation of results. They help organisations set would-be goals, measure progress, and transmute their strategies based on data-driven insights, ultimately driving performance and achieving the desired outcomes.
If you want to learn increasingly well-nigh the OKR framework, and a crash undertow sounds like a good idea, trammels out OKRmentors certifications.
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Why now is the right time to implement OKRs?
There are some specific reasons.
Growing competition
The fintech industry is rhadamanthine increasingly competitive as increasingly companies enter the market. Competition is growing rapidly as increasingly startups and established financial institutions join the space to fend off competition. With the increasing adoption of digital technologies and the rising demand for convenient, secure, and innovative financial services, the fintech industry is not a undecorous ocean anymore.
One of the main reasons for the growing competition in fintech is the low barriers to entry (for the most part). Fintech startups can leverage low and no-code minutiae platforms, deject computing, open-source software, and APIs to create innovative financial services quickly and easily. Moreover, established financial institutions are moreover embracing the fintech way of life to modernize their operations, reduce costs, and enhance consumer experience.
Another reason for the growing competition in fintech is the rise of digital payments, mobile banking, and cryptocurrency. Fintech companies are taking wholesomeness of these trends to offer faster, cheaper, and increasingly secure payment services to consumers and businesses.
Overall, the competition in fintech is driving innovation, improving financial services, and expanding wangle to financial products and services. However, it is moreover leading to consolidation, regulatory challenges, and cybersecurity risks.
Using OKRs can help fintech companies to stay focused and aligned with their goals to stand out in a crowded market.
Evolving consumer needs
Fintech companies need to stay superiority of waffly consumer needs and expectations. The incubation of technology has dramatically transformed financial services, and consumer needs are waffly therefrom in fintech.
Personalisation
Customers expect personalised and tailored experiences that meet their individual financial needs. This includes customised product offerings, personalised recommendations, and liaison through their preferred channels.
Accessibility
Customers expect easy and quick wangle to financial services, including worth management, transaction history, and consumer support. Mobile-first solutions are rhadamanthine the norm as customers prefer to manage their finances on-the-go.
Security
As digital transactions wilt increasingly prevalent, customers demand wide security features to protect their sensitive financial data. They want reassurance that their personal and financial information is secure.
Speed and Efficiency
With the rise of instant gratification culture, customers expect fast and efficient services, expressly when it comes to money transfers, loan applications, and any financial services.
Transparency
Customers want transparency in pricing and fees, as well as well-spoken and understandable information well-nigh financial products and services.
Sustainability
An increasing number of customers are seeking fintech solutions that uncurl with their values, including environmental and social responsibility. They expect fintech companies to prioritise sustainability and upstanding merchantry practices.
Fintech companies that can meet these evolving consumer needs are well-positioned to succeed in an increasingly competitive market. OKRs can help companies set goals that uncurl with consumer needs and track progress towards meeting those demands.
Accelerated digital transformation
The COVID-19 pandemic has velocious digital transformation in the fintech industry in several ways.
Firstly, there is an increased demand for digital services. With lockdowns and social distancing measures in place, customers had increasingly turned to digital channels to manage their finances. Because there was no other way. That has velocious a trend once strong in the years prior. Fintechs and incumbents have responded by expanding their online offerings, as well as developing new digital products and services to meet waffly consumer needs.
Secondly, demand for contactless payments has grown. The pandemic has led to a surge in contactless payments as customers stave handling physical mazuma or touching payment terminals. The word is increasingly becoming cashless. Fintech companies are developing new payment solutions that use contactless technology, including mobile wallets and payment apps.
Thirdly, there is increased use of AI and automation. Including new demand for generative AI. Fintech companies are increasingly and increasingly using AI and automation to modernize the efficiency of their operations and reduce costs. This includes using chatbots and virtual assistants to handle consumer inquiries, as well as automating back-end processes such as risk management and fraud detection.
Lastly, digital identity solutions are expanding. With increasingly customers conducting transactions online, there is an increased need for secure and reliable digital identity solutions. Fintech companies are developing new identity verification solutions that use biometrics, AI, and blockchain technology to ensure secure and seamless transactions.
Overall, the pandemic has velocious the ongoing digital transformation in financial services, and companies that are worldly-wise to transmute quickly and innovate are likely to succeed in this new world. OKRs can help fintech companies to stay unsteadfast and responsive to changes in the market and consumer needs.
Increased investor scrutiny
Fintech companies are under increased scrutiny from investors, who expect a well-spoken and measurable path to success. OKRs provide a framework for setting and tracking progress towards well-spoken goals, which can help to satisfy investor demands.
Fintech companies are under increased scrutiny from investors for several reasons including:
- Profitability. Many fintech companies have grown rapidly in recent years, but the majority have yet to turn a profit. Investors are rhadamanthine increasingly concerned well-nigh the long-term sustainability of these companies and are looking for well-spoken paths to profitability.
- Regulation. The fintech industry is highly regulated, and companies that goof to comply with regulatory requirements may squatter significant fines or other penalties. Investors are closely monitoring companies’ compliance with regulations and their worthiness to navigate ramified regulatory landscapes.
- Impact. Investors are increasingly looking for companies that demonstrate social responsibility and upstanding merchantry practices. Fintech companies that goof to meet these standards may squatter reputational forfeiture and a loss of investor confidence.
Fintech companies are under increased scrutiny from investors for a variety of reasons. OKRs can help management teams unhook on strategic imperatives whilst working towards investor demands.
Remote work
Many fintech companies have shifted to partial or full remote work due to the pandemic, which can make it challenging to stay aligned and focused. OKRs can help to alimony everyone on the same page and ensure that goals and progress are transparent and visible to all team members.
The shift to distributed and remote work can pose several challenges for fintechs in terms of internal structuring and strategic focus.
With employees working remotely, it can be challenging to maintain team cohesion and ensure that everyone is aligned virtually the company’s strategic goals. Fintech companies need to invest in digital collaboration tools and establish constructive liaison protocols to ensure that teams are working together effectively.
Remote work can make it increasingly difficult to manage workloads and ensure that employees are focusing on the most important tasks. Fintech companies need to implement constructive project management tools and processes like the OKR framework to ensure that employees are aligned virtually the company’s strategic priorities.
Bottom line
It is unchangingly nonflexible to wastefulness short-term and long-term goals. The shift to digital creates short-term challenges for fintech companies, such as managing cybersecurity risks and ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements. However, it is moreover important for companies to maintain a focus on long-term strategic goals.
Fintech companies need to strike a wastefulness between addressing short-term challenges and investing in long-term growth opportunities. OKRs are a good way to manage that tension between short-term and long-term goals by having a well-spoken link between vision, mission, strategy and execution.
Now is the right time for fintechs to use OKRs to stay focused, aligned, and unsteadfast in a rapidly waffly industry. By using this framework, companies can set well-spoken goals, track progress, and stay superiority of the competition.
You are interested in the OKR framework and want to learn more?
Check out OKRmentors certifications. By the way, Fintech Review readers get a special discount…
get in touch to find out… 
