How Zalando Scaled OKRs Using a Train-the-Trainer (TTT) OKR Expert Workshop (Real OKR Implementation #2))

This is the second episode in a series of "Real-OKR Implementation" stories that I hope you find super-useful.

When organizations adopt OKRs, the early excitement is usually high. Executives align around strategy. Teams draft, refine, and publish their OKRs. 

Then comes the hard part:

• Scaling across departments
• Structuring OKR check-ins that add value, at a set cadence
• Maintaining quality after that initial set of solid OKRs 
• Sustaining momentum beyond the initial rollout
  
  

One of the clearest examples of how to scale OKRs the right way comes from Zalando, Europe’s leading online fashion platform for women, men, and children, founded in 2008 in Berlin.

Their journey illustrates why scaling OKRs isn’t about better templates or better software. It’s about building internal capability.

And that insight ultimately shaped what we now offer at OKRs.com as the OKR Expert Workshop, our Train-the-Trainer (TTT) program.

The Scaling Challenge: From Pilot to Enterprise

Zalando began using OKRs within a single department with roughly 80 employees, Brand Solutions, before rolling them out more broadly across the company.

Like many fast-growing organizations, they wanted:

• Greater alignment across teams
• Increased transparency
• Clearer articulation of strategy
• A system that encouraged stretch and collaboration

They adopted a version of the Google model which was super-popular when they first got started with OKRs which features:

• KRs are scored on a 0-1.0 scale
• 0.7 as the “sweet spot” or “target”
• Public grading
• No linkage to bonuses or compensation

That last decision was critical. By keeping OKRs separate from compensation, they protected stretch thinking and avoided sandbagging.

The pilot phase allowed teams to learn:

• What a great objective looks like
• How to write measurable key results
• Why scoring KRs is critical
• How transparency can enable alignment

But after the pilot, a major challenge emerged. While it is easy for most teams to draft objectives, coaching people to develop measurable and impactful KRs that represent achievement of their objective at scale is quite a challenge.

The Turning Point: Build Internal OKR Experts

As OKRs expanded beyond the initial department, Zalando recognized that central oversight wouldn’t scale. Reviewing every OKR from the top would create bottlenecks and slow execution. Instead, they invested in building in-house OKR expertise. They invited Ben Lamorte to develop a program to create internal OKR coaches so that they could embed OKR expertise throughout their organization. We co-developed a workshop to effectively train OKR coaches with Zalando.

Managers and selected team members (often agile coaches and HR business partners) were trained to:

• Facilitate OKR drafting sessions
• Identify KRs that look like a task on a to-do list
• Guide alignment conversations across teams
• Run structured quarterly check-ins
• Support peers in refining KRs

This approach laid the foundation for what became known as the OKR Expert Workshop, and later evolved into a formal Train-the-Trainer (TTT) model.

The lesson learned from our work with Zalando is obvious: if you want OKRs to scale, you must build internal capacity to support and sustain the OKR program.

A small group of trained OKR facilitators can sustain quality across hundreds or thousands of employees. Without that layer, OKRs often degrade into:

• Restatement of roadmaps into KRs that look like a “to-do list”
• Compliance exercise that is at best a waste of time
• “Set it and forget it” documents that fail to deliver value

What the OKR Train-the-Trainer (TTT) Model Teaches

The OKR Expert Workshop, which we now call our Train-the-Trainer program, goes far beyond theory.

Participants practice:

• Shifting from an output to outcome-mindset to define KRs that reflect results not tasks
• KR scoring criteria defined upfront for alignment and expectation management
• Facilitating alignment sessions across functions
• Running OKR development workshops to move from draft->refine->publish
• Coaching leaders by asking clarifying questions that improve OKR quality
• Challenging the action plans proposed by KR champions to focus on impact

The goal is distributed capability and when done well, OKRs become a shared operating language, not a compliance exercise.

Alignment Week: Designing Alignment Into the Process

One of the most powerful scaling mechanisms Zalando implemented was an “alignment week” at the beginning of each quarter.

Instead of hoping cross-functional conversations would happen organically, they designed time for them.

During alignment week:

• Calendars were intentionally lighter
• OKR owners met with dependent teams
• Cross-functional buy-in was secured before finalization

This simple structural choice prevented downstream conflict and strengthened shared ownership.

Alignment isn’t accidental. It must be designed, or “embedded into every element of your OKRs program” (See the 6th OKR mantra)

Transparency as an Alignment Multiplier

Zalando reinforced transparency through:

• Quarterly company-level OKR presentations
• Department all-hands meetings
• Public grading
• Broad visibility into team OKRs
• Ongoing training and education

Transparency created:

• Clear direction
• Shared accountability
• Faster resolution of dependencies
• Stronger cross-team convergence

When OKRs are visible, alignment improves naturally.

Critical Insight: Tools Alone Do Not Create Maturity

Interestingly, Zalando operated successfully for an extended period using simple Google Docs/Sheets prior to implementing a dedicated OKR platform.

This reinforces a fundamental principle about OKR implementations:

Tools can make a process more efficient and even amplify the effects of a system, but they cannot create that system.

The early priorities in an effective OKR program must be:

• Quality of objectives and key results
• Coaching capability
• Alignment behavior
• Check-in discipline
• Leadership sponsorship

Software becomes powerful once those foundations are strong.

Results: From Framework to Operating System

As OKRs matured, Zalando experienced:

• Greater cross-team alignment
• Clearer company direction each quarter
• Stronger strategic conversations
• A self-sustaining OKR expert community
• Reduced dependency on centralized oversight

Most importantly, OKRs became embedded in how the organization operated.

They were no longer a “program.”

They were part of the culture.

Lessons for Organizations Scaling OKRs

If you’re implementing or scaling OKRs, here are the key takeaways:

1. Pilot Before You Scale

Start in one department, learn quickly, and refine the approach before broad rollout.

2. Build Internal OKR Experts

Train a cohort of leaders to facilitate drafting, alignment, and check-ins.

3. Protect Alignment Time

Create structured windows (like alignment week) for cross-functional coordination.

4. Separate OKRs from Compensation

Preserve stretch, learning, and honest scoring.

5. Focus on Behavior Before Software

Strengthen capability and cadence before investing heavily in tooling.

Why the Train-the-Trainer Model Works

Many OKR rollouts fail because organizations underestimate the human component.

OKRs change:

• How teams prioritize
• How leaders communicate
• How tradeoffs are resolved

That requires facilitation skill, not just documentation.

The OKR Expert Workshop, now offered as a formal Train-the-Trainer (TTT) program at OKRs.com, exists to build that internal capability. And some of our clients who already have an OKRs program in place but feel it is not scaling well benefit from our TTT program which can add exponential value even in just one month!

It ensures OKRs scale through people, your people.

Scaling OKRs successfully can happen in your organization so long as you build the internal capability to make the framework your own.

To explore TTT for your organization, contact Ben@OKRs.com

Thanks for listening!