Toyota Connected India (TCIN), established in 2012, is a technology-driven organization focused on delivering connected products and services that enhance mobility experiences. Operating in a highly collaborative environment, TCIN emphasizes continuous improvement and agile iteration as a core part of its culture.
Suganya, from the People Operations team, has been with TCIN for over five years and currently plays a key role in the Performance Process Implementation team. She has been instrumental in adopting and scaling Profit.co’s OKR and Performance Management framework across the organization.
The organization needed a system that would unify goals, enhance accountability, and shift performance conversations from activity-based to outcome-driven. Their core motivations included:
The implementation took around 45–60 days and was rolled out in phases with continuous internal support and training.
Introduction and Background
Can you briefly introduce yourself and your role within the organization?
I’m Suganya from the People Ops team at Toyota Connected. I’ve been with the organization for over 5 years and currently serve as a member of the Performance Process Implementation team at TCIN.
Could you provide an overview of your organization (History, Purpose, Journey & Achievements) and your industry?
Founded in 2012 in India, Toyota Connected operates in a collaborative and fast-paced environment where continuous improvement is at the core of everything we do. Through highly iterative processes, we strive to deliver exceptional value by creating connected products and services that inspire, delight, and make a meaningful impact on our customers and the world around us.
Challenges and Pain Points
What was the primary motivation behind adopting the OKR framework?
1. Align Goals Across Teams and Departments
We aim to create a unified direction by ensuring that all teams and departments are working toward shared organizational objectives. This alignment fosters collaboration, minimizes duplication of efforts, and ensures that every initiative contributes meaningfully to the company’s strategic vision.
2. Improve Focus and Prioritization
By clearly defining objectives and key results, we help teams concentrate on what truly matters. This structured approach enables better prioritization of tasks, reduces distractions, and ensures that resources are allocated to the most impactful activities.
3. Enhance Transparency and Accountability
With clearly visible goals and progress tracking, everyone in the organization gains insight into what others are working on.
4. Drive Performance and Outcomes
The OKR framework shifts the focus from activities to measurable results. By setting ambitious yet achievable goals, we encourage high performance and ensure that efforts are consistently aligned with delivering tangible business outcomes.
What were the specific challenges or pain points your organization was facing related to OKR and performance management before implementing Profit.co?
- Lack of structured goal-setting
- Limited visibility into progress
- Difficulty in linking OKRs to performance reviews
Profit.co helps address these issues by offering a centralized platform for OKR management, real-time tracking, performance reviews, and analytics.
Decision-Making Process:
What factors led to the decision to implement OKR and performance management?
- Need for Strategic Alignment: Ensuring that individual, team, and departmental goals are aligned with the organization’s overall mission and vision.
- Desire for Measurable Outcomes: Moving from activity-based tracking to outcome-based performance measurement.
- Employee Engagement and Clarity: Providing employees with a clear understanding of how their work contributes to broader goals.
Are there any specific features or functionalities from Profit.co that are particularly attractive to your organization?
- Intuitive OKR Management: Easy creation, alignment, and tracking of OKRs across all levels of the organization.
- Integrated Performance Reviews: Seamless linkage between OKRs and performance appraisals, enabling data-driven evaluations.
- Customizable Templates and Workflows: Flexibility to tailor the platform to specific organizational needs and processes.
- Collaboration Tools: Features like check-ins, comments, and notifications that foster team communication and accountability.
- Integration Capabilities: Ability to integrate with other applications.
Implementation Experience
How long did it take for your organization to adopt and integrate the Profit.co?
It took approximately 45 to 60 days for our organization to fully adopt and integrate Profit.co into our processes.
Benefits and Results
What specific benefits has your organization experienced since implementing Profit.co?
- Improved Goal Alignment
- Enhanced Transparency
- Streamlined Performance Reviews
- Increased Employee Engagement
- Operational Efficiency
Can you share any quantitative or qualitative metrics that demonstrate the impact of the software on your organization’s performance management and goal achievement?
Quantitative Metrics:
- Performance Review Turnaround Time: Reduced by 40% due to streamlined workflows.
- Employee Participation in Goal Setting: Rose from 60% to 80% after implementation.
Qualitative Insights:
- Manager Feedback: Managers report greater clarity in evaluating performance based on measurable outcomes.
- Employees feel: more connected to organizational goals and appreciate the transparency in expectations.
- Leadership Visibility: Executives now have a clearer view of progress and can make more informed decisions.
User Experience and Adoption:
How have your employees responded to using Profit.co? Have you noticed any improvements in engagement or productivity?
- Increased Engagement: Employees appreciate the clarity and visibility into how their goals align with the organization’s objectives. The regular check-ins and feedback features have encouraged more meaningful conversations between managers and team members.
- Empowerment and Ownership: The platform has empowered employees to take ownership of their goals and track their progress independently, fostering a sense of accountability.
Were there any challenges or resistance during the adoption process, and if so, how did you overcome them?
- Resistance to Change: Some employees were hesitant to adapt to the new process. Solution: Conducted hands-on training sessions and shared success stories to demonstrate the value of the new system.
- Learning Curve: Users needed time to understand the OKR methodology and how to use the platform effectively. Solution: Rolled out the platform in phases, starting with pilot teams, and provided continuous support through internal champions and help resources.
- Consistency in Usage: Ensuring all teams adopted the platform uniformly was a challenge. Solution: Leadership endorsement and regular follow-ups helped drive consistent usage across departments.
Competitive Advantage:
How has Profit.co provided a competitive advantage for your organization in terms of goal alignment, performance tracking, or overall business outcomes?
Goal Alignment
- Strategic Clarity: Profit.co ensures that every team and individual is aligned with the company’s top-level objectives, reducing misdirection and improving focus.
- Cross-Functional Collaboration: With transparent OKRs, teams are better able to coordinate efforts, avoid duplication, and support each other’s goals.
Business Outcomes
- Improved Execution: Clear goals and regular check-ins have led to more disciplined execution and timely delivery of key initiatives.
- Agility and Responsiveness: The quarterly OKR cycle allows the organization to adapt quickly to market changes and internal priorities.
- Employee Empowerment: Employees are more engaged and motivated, knowing their contributions are visible and impactful.
Customer Support and Service
Can you describe your experience with our customer support and service team?
- Responsiveness: The team has consistently provided timely responses to queries and issues, ensuring minimal disruption to our operations.
- Expert Guidance: Support representatives are knowledgeable and offer clear, actionable solutions, especially during the initial setup and onboarding phases.
- Proactive Engagement: Regular check-ins and follow-ups from the service team have helped us stay on track with adoption and usage best practices.
- Customized Support: The team has been flexible in addressing our unique needs, offering tailored recommendations and walkthroughs.
- Training and Resources: Comprehensive training sessions and access to helpful documentation have empowered our users to make the most of the platform.
Overall, the support team has played a crucial role in ensuring a smooth and successful implementation of Profit.co.
Future Outlook
How do you envision your organization benefiting from Profit.co in the future?
- Real-Time Dashboards and Analytics: Visual insights into progress, bottlenecks, and achievements.
- Deeper Strategic Alignment: With continued use, we expect even stronger alignment between individual, team, and organizational goals, ensuring that every effort contributes directly to our strategic priorities.
- Enhanced Data-Driven Decision Making: The platform’s analytics and reporting capabilities will enable leadership to make more informed, real-time decisions based on performance trends and goal progress.
- Continuous Performance Culture: By embedding OKRs and regular feedback into our daily workflows, we aim to foster a culture of continuous improvement, accountability, and high performance.
Recommendations and Advice
Based on your experience, what advice would you give to other organizations considering Profit.co?
- Start with Clear Objectives: Define what you want to achieve with OKRs and performance management before implementation. This clarity will guide your setup and ensure alignment with business goals.
- Secure Leadership Buy-In: Ensure strong support from leadership to drive adoption and reinforce the importance of goal alignment and performance tracking across the organization.
- Invest in Training and Change Management: Provide comprehensive training and ongoing support to help employees understand the OKR methodology and how to use the platform effectively.
- Leverage the Platform’s Flexibility: Customize workflows, templates, and review cycles to suit your organization’s unique needs. Profit.co offers great flexibility—make the most of it.
Conclusion
Toyota Connected India’s journey with Profit.co is a clear example of how a well-implemented OKR and performance management platform can transform organizational alignment, engagement, and outcomes. By shifting from activity-based evaluations to outcome-driven performance, TCIN empowered its teams to focus, collaborate, and deliver results that matter.
With a 40% reduction in review turnaround time and a leap in goal-setting participation from 60% to 80%, the impact is both measurable and meaningful. What began as a need for structured goal alignment has now evolved into a culture of continuous improvement and clarity at all levels.
As Toyota Connected continues to scale its performance culture, Profit.co remains a trusted partner in translating strategic intent into real-world execution, one objective, one key result at a time.
