Better collaboration and transparency: How Covestro successfully implements its strategy with Mooncamp
About Covestro
Covestro is a leading global manufacturer of high-tech polymer materials with around 18,000 employees. Covestro's products and application solutions can be found in numerous areas of modern life. Covestro focuses on innovation and sustainability in order to always be at the cutting edge of products, processes and plants.
Following this claim, Covestro is committed to a new guiding principle: a complete focus on the circular economy:
To achieve this goal, Objectives & Key Results were introduced in Covestro's Group Innovation function. The focus was on selecting a suitable OKR software and rolling it out to all employees in the function.
Challenge
Covestro has taken the decisive step and wants to focus entirely on the circular economy. A sustainable future is not just a goal, it is a responsibility. But living up to this responsibility requires more than just declarations of intent - it requires real innovation and a joint focused effort from all stakeholders.
It is therefore essential that all teams at Covestro pull together to develop the best solutions. But how can this be achieved? The answer is simple: with OKRs!
Although some teams at Covestro have already used OKR, the method has not been applied uniformly. The strengths of OKR, such as transparency and collaboration across team boundaries, could not be leveraged. This is dangerous because if OKR is introduced as a new framework but the key benefits are not realized, this can quickly turn into a fundamental rejection by employees and undermine all further efforts.
So a solution was needed that would enable effective collaboration with OKRs across many teams. A solution that could simplify the management of OKRs, make the strategy transparent across the company, make dependencies between teams visible, adapt to Covestro's individual needs, and all the while be fun and motivate employees to work with OKRs. For Covestro's Group Innovation, there was only one answer to this challenge: Mooncamp.
Solution and implementation
Mooncamp's clear structure and design were crucial to the OKRs' successful implementation. After all, only if a software is easy to understand and use without much practice can it be widely adopted.
In an OKR rollout on a larger scale, training around the OKR methodology and mindset is of course indispensable. Every user must master the basic functions: how do you create OKRs, how can you score it, how do you find OKRs of other teams. Additional internal training of staff and the training of OKR masters have further consolidated the method and acceptance.
Mooncamp's OKR partner network is extremely valuable in these situations. Mooncamp's experienced OKR experts select the partner from their network who best fits the client's individual challenges. The close and well-coordinated collaboration between Mooncamp, the partner and the client is the perfect mix for a successful OKR implementation.
Lastly, Covestro is using Mooncamp's Microsoft Teams integration, which has made adoption of the software even easier as it fits seamlessly into Covestro's working environment.
Results
The implementation of OKRs through Mooncamp has led to an increase in communication and collaboration within and between teams. In addition, exchanges and alignment with management expectations have become more transparent and intense. Lastly, Mooncamp's implementation of OKRs has led to new projects and activities to further drive the business and strategy.