I loved my previous job. We had a great team and product. I got the chance to scale with the company and go from an individual contributor to managing several employees. It was a wild ride!

One thing that kept me motivated every day was the people. I believe a company is defined by its employees, how they work and what they value rather than its product or customers. In my time as a manager, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about how we could improve motivation, engagement and alignment to make teams more efficient, and bring the company to a next level. More than free snacks and ping pong tables, clear mission and goals, growth opportunities, constant feedback and work challenges is what makes people happy at work.

We want to help teams be more focused, aligned, and motivated because we’ve been part of growing teams and know how much of a difference it makes. That’s my main goal, as well as Steer’s goal. This is why we are thrilled to release a new product update: Goals, a simple way to set, track and manage your team’s goals.

We’ve been surprised to see how often companies implement goals ineffectively or simply not at all. Whether it’s due to hesitation around a particular strategy, pushing them off more urgent issues, or confusion around how OKRs work, most companies will admit that they don’t set goals as well as they should. Like company culture, setting goals is something that will rarely demand your most immediate attention, but if neglected will prevent you from building a great company.

What is Goals?

Popularized by Google, Oracle and Intel, OKRs are evolving the way companies manage performance. This includes creating more collaborative teams built on feedback, an emphasis on transparency, and having regular performance conversations between managers and employees.

With Goals, managers can lead the team and set them priorities, then work with employees to set individual objectives that help them achieve success. To keep track of the OKRs, employees use our weekly check-ins to share how much progress they have been made.

Thanks to Goals, you benefit from:

Company and team Alignment: Using the OKR goal-setting process, you can create goals to every team member. Greater Visibility: Share progress updates inside Steer’s report, by quickly setting the status of the objective each week. Increased Accountability: Objectives are fully transparent and lets everyone in the organization know how their collective efforts propel the company forward. Measurable Results: quickly know who’s behind, who do you need to coach to clear roadblocks and know who’s the best performer.

How it works

Say goodbye to spreadsheets and a cluttered inbox. You can now manage objectives in Steer. Managing objectives in Steer aligns everyone around the highest leverage activities, all in one place.

Managers set priorities and the right direction for their teams, then work with employees to set individual objectives. Employees share progress on their OKRs, alongside answering questions about morale, productivity, and performance within a weekly check-in. This lightweight process gives employees ownership over their contributions, and provides managers with immediate visibility into their team’s engagement and performance.

We help you keep your goals up to date, and then share important updates throughout the company. In an increasingly distracting world, we’re hoping to separate signal from noise and keep bringing people back to what matters most.