In this live presentation from the Accelerate 2025 Conference, Allison Kinney, Head of Employee Experience at Metropolis, explores the company’s rapid transformation following major acquisitions. She discusses the challenges of scaling performance culture, aligning a vastly expanded workforce, and why Metropolis turned to WorkBoard to modernize its OKR and performance management approach. Allison has over a decade of experience powering transformation in high‑growth organizations. Her career has spanned leading roles at several CNBC Disruptor 50 companies—including Warby Parker and Rent the Runway—where she has pioneered high-impact initiatives from launching Rent the Runway’s first technology office in Galway, Ireland, to launching a nationwide partner network to power reverse logistics, and leading HR integration for Metropolis' take-private acquisition of SP Plus Corporation. Most recently, Allison has been overseeing three core pillars: talent management, learning and development, and workplace experience.
The Challenge
- Fragmented and Manual OKR Management:
OKRs were tracked in spreadsheets, with cross-functional dependencies handled through comments and tags, resulting in inefficient collaboration and weak follow-through.
- Limited Visibility for Leaders and Managers:
Managers were “flying blind” due to data scattered across systems, delayed reporting cycles, and no real-time view into progress or risks.
- Misalignment at Scale Following Rapid Acquisition:
After growing rapidly from 1,500 to 23,000 employees, Metropolis struggled to translate strategy, goals, and performance expectations consistently across levels, roles, and geographies.
- High Overhead in Goal Reviews and Performance Discussions:
OKR reviews required extensive synchronous meetings and line-by-line debates, consuming significant leadership time and making the process difficult to scale.
The WorkBoardAI Solution
- Centralized, Scalable System for OKRs
WorkBoardAI replaced spreadsheets with a single platform to manage OKRs, enabling clearer ownership, cross-functional visibility, and consistency across a rapidly growing organization.
- Improved Strategic and Role Clarity
The platform supports clearer line-of-sight between company objectives, individual work, and the “golden thread” of member obsession, reinforcing alignment during ongoing transformation.
- Reduced Friction Through Automation and AI Enablement
WorkBoard introduced the foundation for predictive insights, automation, and real-time data access—capabilities Metropolis lacked despite being an AI-driven company.
- More Sustainable Performance Cadence
By moving away from meeting-heavy, manual reviews, WorkBoard enables continuous progress tracking, asynchronous updates, and more effective leadership conversations.
Conclusion
While still early in its WorkBoard journey, Metropolis has transitioned from spreadsheet-based OKRs to a scalable, AI-enabled platform designed to support a 23,000-person organization. WorkBoard is laying the groundwork for real-time visibility, improved alignment, and a more disciplined performance culture capable of supporting Metropolis’ next phase of growth.
