Aligning Objectives

Overview

Alignment connects Objectives together, creating a hierarchy where progress cascades from individual goals up to company-wide ambitions. When you align an Objective, you're showing how that work contributes to a larger strategic goal.

This guide explains how to create and manage alignment relationships between Objectives.

Functionality Breakdown

Objective alignment provides:

Parent-child relationships – Link Objectives together in a hierarchy
Progress cascade – Child Objective progress can contribute to parent progress
Visual hierarchy – See alignment relationships in the Chart view
Strategic clarity – Understand how individual work connects to company goals

Pre-requisites

To align Objectives, ensure:

Both the parent and child Objectives exist
You have edit permissions on the child Objective
The parent Objective's dates encompass the child Objective's dates

Role Requirements

Action	Roles

Action	Roles
Align Objectives	Owner, Admin, Objective owner
Unalign Objectives	Owner, Admin, Objective owner
View alignment relationships	Anyone with access to the Objectives

Quick Start Guide

Step 1: Access the child Objective

Navigate to Assess → Objectives in the sidebar and find the Objective you want to align to a parent.

Step 2: Open alignment options

Select the three dots menu (⋮) on the Objective and choose Align.

Step 3: Search for the parent Objective

In the alignment modal:

Search for the parent Objective by name
Only present and future Objectives appear (you can't align to past Objectives)
Select the parent Objective

Step 4: Configure contribution settings

Choose whether the child Objective should:

Contribute to parent progress – The child's progress percentage factors into the parent's calculation
Not contribute – The alignment is visible but doesn't affect the parent's progress

Step 5: Save the alignment

Select Save to create the alignment relationship.

Understanding Alignment Hierarchy

Alignment creates a tree structure:

Company Objective
    ├── Team Objective A
    │       ├── Individual Objective 1
    │       └── Individual Objective 2
    └── Team Objective B
            └── Individual Objective 3

Key points:

An Objective can only have one parent
An Objective can have multiple children
Progress flows upward through the hierarchy
Dates must nest properly (child dates within parent dates)

Progress Contribution

When "Contribute to parent progress" is enabled:

The child Objective's progress is included in the parent's calculation
All contributing children and Key Results have equal weight
If a parent has 2 contributing Key Results and 2 contributing child Objectives, each represents 25%

💡 Tip: Use the Chart view to visualise how progress cascades through your alignment hierarchy.

FAQs

Q: Can I align to a past Objective?
No. You can only align to present or future Objectives. Past Objectives aren't available in the alignment search.

Q: What happens to alignment when I close a parent Objective?
Child Objectives are automatically unaligned when the parent is closed. They remain open but are no longer connected.

Q: Can I align across companies?
No. Alignment only works within a single company's Objectives.

Q: How deep can the alignment hierarchy go?
There's no practical limit. You can create as many levels as your organisation needs.

Q: What if the child Objective's dates extend beyond the parent's dates?
You'll receive a validation error. The child's date range must fit within the parent's date range.

Troubleshooting

Issue	Solution

Issue	Solution
Can't find the parent Objective in search	Check that the parent Objective is current or future. Past Objectives aren't available for alignment.
Alignment not affecting parent progress	Ensure "Contribute to parent progress" is enabled on the child Objective.
Validation error about dates	The child Objective's dates must fall within the parent's date range. Adjust dates if needed.
"Align" option not showing	Verify you have edit permissions on the Objective.

Last Reviewed: 01/12/2024