As a manager, you can use two distinct goal-tracking features in 15Five: Objectives and Priorities. This article explains what each feature does, how they differ structurally, and where to go to act on them.
Feature Structure
What Objectives Are
Objectives use the OKR (Objectives and Key Results) framework. They are long-term goals scoped at the company, department, or individual level — including self-development.
In 15Five, Objectives can be:
- Company-wide — set by leadership and visible across the organization
- Department — created by managers for a team, with key results assigned to individual contributors
- Individual — owned by a single direct report, optionally aligned to a department objective
- Self-development — personal growth goals created by individuals or encouraged by managers
A department objective has one owner who is accountable for overall progress. Key results within that objective can be assigned to different team members. Department objectives can be aligned to company-wide objectives to show how team work contributes to organizational goals. Individual objectives can be aligned to department objectives so each person can see how their work connects to team goals.
See Objectives — Feature Overview for the full structural breakdown of the Objectives feature.
What Priorities Are
Priorities are short-term tasks and goals that live inside Check-ins. They follow the Check-in submission cadence — weekly, biweekly, or monthly depending on your organization's settings.
Priorities appear at the top of each direct report's Check-in. Reviewing them gives you context on what each person is working on before a 1-on-1.
See What is the difference between Priorities and Objectives in 15Five? for a full comparison of when to use each feature.
Key Rules
- Only one person can own an objective at a time, even when key results are distributed across team members.
- Objectives visibility is controlled per objective. Admins configure the available visibility options for your organization. See Understand Objective Visibility Settings in 15Five.
- Priorities cannot be converted to Objectives. They are separate features with separate data structures.
- Objectives can be edited after creation. Key result weights can be adjusted at any time.
- Self-development objectives are visible to the owner's manager by default unless set to private.
What You Can Do
Set Up
- Create a department objective for your team
- Create a self-development objective
- Bulk import objectives and key results
Manage
Analyze
Common Questions
Related Articles
- Objectives — Feature Overview
- Understand Objectives and OKRs in 15Five
- What is the difference between Priorities and Objectives in 15Five?
- Role-based permissions for Objectives
- Priorities in Check-ins — when to use them and how
- Write an Effective Objective and Key Results
- How to track objective progress in a Check-in