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How a 280-person logistics tech company replaced ad hoc appraisals with OKR-linked reviews and a clear org structure.
A Skillfi fractional CHRO redesigned the org, defined key result areas for every role and built a review cycle tied to company OKRs. Review completion went from 38% to 97%.
Fast growth, two reorgs and nobody sure what good looked like.
The company had doubled in two years and reorganised twice along the way. The result was an org chart nobody fully trusted: three teams doing overlapping work, some managers with more than 14 direct reports and others with two, and decisions that bounced between functions.
Appraisals happened once a year, if a manager remembered. No role had written responsibilities, so people were rated on opinion, and promotions felt political. Only 38% of reviews were ever completed, and just 52% of employees agreed with the statement "I know what's expected of me."
People were being rated on how much their manager liked them, because we'd never told anyone what the job actually was.
COO, client
Design the org, define the roles, then measure against them.
A new review form on top of an unclear structure would have changed nothing. We fixed the structure first, wrote down what every role was accountable for, and only then built the review cycle, set up in the company's HRIS so it ran on time without HR chasing.
6 functions, clear decision rights
Overlapping teams merged, manager spans brought to 5–8 direct reports, and a simple guide to who decides what.
Key result areas for 46 roles
Three to five KRAs per role, each with measurable targets, so every employee knew exactly what they were accountable for.
Goals that connect to reviews
Company OKRs cascading to team OKRs each quarter, quarterly check-ins, a twice-yearly calibrated review and promotion criteria tied to job levels.
Twelve weeks, step by step
From an unclear org and forgotten appraisals to a performance system managers actually run. Here's how the engagement unfolded.
- Week 1–2280 people mapped
Org diagnostic
We mapped every reporting line, team remit and decision bottleneck, and interviewed leaders across all functions.
- Week 3–46 functions
New org design
Six functions, merged overlapping teams, balanced manager spans and clear decision rights, signed off by the leadership team.
- Week 5–646 roles
KRAs for every role
Key result areas and measurable targets written with each team lead, role by role.
- Week 7–8Company → team
OKR cascade
Company OKRs set with leadership and cascaded into team OKRs, each linked to the KRAs of the roles delivering them.
- Week 9–10Templates live
Review cycle in the HRIS
Check-in and review templates, calibration steps and automatic reminders set up in the HRIS.
- Week 11–1232 managers trained
Manager training & first check-ins
Every manager trained to set goals, give feedback and calibrate fairly, then ran their first quarterly check-in.
Four layers from company goals to individual reviews
Each layer feeds the next. The structure defines the roles, the roles carry the goals, and the reviews measure what was actually agreed.
Clear org
- 6 functions, no overlap
- 5–8 direct reports per manager
- Written decision rights
Key result areas
- 46 roles defined
- 3–5 KRAs per role
- Measurable targets for each
Quarterly OKRs
- Company OKRs each quarter
- Cascaded to team OKRs
- Progress visible to everyone
Fair reviews
- Quarterly check-ins
- Twice-yearly calibrated review
- Promotion criteria by level
Two review cycles later
Performance reviews completed
Almost every employee now gets a review, scored against goals they agreed to.
Our managers stopped dreading reviews. They have a structure, the goals are already agreed, and calibration takes an afternoon.
Head of People, clientReviews nobody finishes, or trusts?
A fractional CHRO will design your org, define what every role owns and build a review cycle tied to your goals. If the structure question is really an operations question, a fractional COO can lead that side with us.
- An org design with clear decision rights
- KRAs for every role
- A company-to-team OKR cascade
- A review cycle your managers can run
30 minutes. No obligation.
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