Alignment in the Age of Agility: New Report from Ally.io Highlights Need for Better Process and Prioritization Post-Pandemic

SEATTLE, June 9, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Ally.io, a hypergrowth technology company specializing in goal-setting and business execution software, today released its latest research, "The 2021 Goal Management Report." The new report explores how employees engage with and are motivated by their work as the world settles in to its post-pandemic framework.

"As burnout and isolation continues to mount in today's workforce, employees are seeking out deeper connections to their work and their companies' overarching missions," said Vetri Vellore, CEO and founder of Ally.io. "When they aren't able to find that connection, they're looking outside the company. Company leaders need to reevaluate their notion of "productivity" from output-focused to outcome-focused. By aligning the business through goal-orientation, companies can be more productive and give employees the freedom to do what they have to do."

The study finds that nearly two out of three people who have been forced to work remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic (62%) say they're working harder than before, yet seeing fewer results. Meanwhile, only 47% of people who stayed in-office say the same; and for people that were already remote prior to the pandemic, only 42% say they're working harder and seeing fewer results.

Work, Re-Imagined
Though many have speculated about the future of work, the reality of corporate 2.0 is still uncertain. Of the employees forced to work remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 66% will return to in-person work, 23% will have a flexible/hybrid model, and 10% will stay remote.

But what does it take to be successful in a hybrid environment? Ally.io's research shows agility is paramount. Employees credit flexible work hours as a key element for success in a remote work environment, alongside core collaboration tools such as Slack and Microsoft Teams.

While some employers are still hesitant to part ways with pre-pandemic work schedules and demands, their employees are settling into the new normal — in fact, the number of people working harder than before the pandemic and seeing fewer results in the June research is 17 percentage points lower than it was when respondents answered this question in August 2020.

Setting (and Hitting) Goals
As teams become more globally distributed, the need for alignment around a company's North Star has become one of the most important focuses for all organizations — from enterprise to startups and everything in between. This requires a new perspective on how goals are set, communicated and tracked.

Nearly three out of four respondents (74.31%) say their company has an established goal methodology. But having a goal framework in place alone is not a panacea, the kind of framework in place also matters. While less widely utilized than other goal frameworks like SMART goals, OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) prove to create greater alignment. In fact, 60% of OKR users say they adopted the methodology to create alignment, while only 37% of those who use other methodologies say the same. OKR users indicate that:

• They achieve their goals more frequently than other goal frameworks
• They feel empowered to take risks more frequently than users of other goal frameworks
• They are more inspired by their work
• They rate company culture higher than users of other goal frameworks

Company Culture and the Importance of Purpose
Company culture isn't just about Zoom cooking classes. When employees feel connected to their colleagues and company mission, employee trust, innovation, and accountability all improve.

The value of having a well-communicated, centralized mission and formal goal framework in place cannot be understated. Company culture, purpose and innovation all hinge on employees' ability to take relevant risks that are aligned with the overarching company mission. The report finds 76% of respondents who use a goal framework feel empowered to take risks at work, even though it may result in failure. Only 53% of people who don't use a framework can say the same about taking risks.

This continues to reign true when it comes to employee inspiration — 88% of employees who say they believe in the company mission also feel inspired by the work that they do. Only 42% of employees who don't know what that mission is, or don't believe in it can say the same. Moreover, 24% of respondents who don't know or don't believe in their company's mission claim that they never check their progress with their manager or team.

About Ally.io:
Ally.io is the goal management and business execution platform that aligns the work an entire company is doing to the outcomes that are critical to its success. It connects each individual employee's projects and key results to the company's most important objectives using the OKR framework. This allows teams to identify risks quickly and opportunities proactively, maintaining an orchestrated focus on their biggest priorities. The company's comprehensive professional services offer continuous support, dedicated training, and coaching to ensure best-practices for implementation and successful change management. Since its launch in 2018, Ally.io has been recognized as a G2 Crowd Leader in the OKR space, earned GeekWire's coveted "Startup of the Year" award and was adopted by hundreds of leading organizations like BambooHR, Remitly, Ticketmaster, TripAdvisor and more.

To learn more visit ally.io. Visit our careers page to learn about exciting new opportunities.

SOURCE Ally.io

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