How to Create Key Result Areas to Drive Performance

Imagine you’re the owner of a small business called Confusion Inc. Your core team includes Go-Getter Bob, who tries to do everything (and tells everyone else what they should be working on). Then there’s Allie Oops-I’m-Here, who nervously shows up to meetings that have nothing to do with her work, and Ball-Dropper Betty, who has no idea what falls in her court or who to ask for help. Every day, the team grinds through high frustration, hurt feelings and terrible inefficiency. And you’re left picking up the pieces—all because no one has given them the gift of role clarity. That’s not the kind of company culture anyone wants to build.

Role clarity is the secret to keeping your team from overstepping boundaries, focusing on the wrong areas, and unintentionally underperforming. Instead, they know what they’re supposed to do, what their specific goals are, and how their work impacts larger business goals. Sounds amazing, doesn’t it?

So, how can you keep the Confusion Inc. scenario from creeping into your company? Start by getting clear on role clarity. Hint: Defining Key Results Areas (KRAs) will help do that. More on that in just a minute.

Want an easy way to create KRAs for your team members? Grab our free template, plus get a couple examples of completed KRAs for reference!

As a manager, setting clear goals and metrics for success is crucial to executing your team’s strategy and ensuring high performance This is where identifying key result areas (KRAs) can help provide alignment and focus for your employees

In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explain what key result areas are, their benefits, and a step-by-step process for how to develop and implement effective KRAs.

What are Key Result Areas?

Key result areas (KRAs) are the most critical performance objectives and metrics for an employee or team KRAs identify the 3-5 priority outcomes that must be achieved over a set period of time, such as a quarter or year.

KRAs serve as a bridge between organizational strategy and individual actions. They break down high-level goals into manageable chunks that employees can take ownership of and track progress against. KRAs make it clear what needs to get done to drive success.

Some examples of potential KRAs include:

Increase customer retention rate by 5%
Reduce operational expenses by 10%
Launch 2 new product lines
Improve employee engagement survey scores by 15%

The key things that characterize effective KRAs:

Specific and measurable – KRAs identify not just what needs to get done but how much or how well. This makes it easy to evaluate progress.
Aligned to strategy – KRAs tie directly back to broader organizational or team goals and priorities.
Limited in number – Focus is key. Identify only the 3-5 most important outcomes to achieve.
Owned by employees – KRAs are assigned to specific employees who take responsibility for driving progress on them.
Time-bound – KRAs have a set duration or deadline for completion, typically a fiscal year or quarter.

The Benefits of Key Result Areas

Implementing a system of KRAs offers a range of powerful benefits:

Focus – Keeps employees focused and aligned around the same top priorities.
Clarity – Makes expectations and success metrics clear to employees.
Accountability – Ensures employees feel ownership of their KRAs.
Transparency – Allows employees to self-manage their own performance and progress.
Measurement – Provides quantitative data on employee and team effectiveness.
Continuous improvement – Identifies areas in need of improvement.

Overall, KRAs drive higher employee engagement, performance, and organizational results when implemented effectively.

How to Develop Key Result Areas

Follow this step-by-step process to establish strong KRAs for your team:

Step 1: Evaluate Role & Duties

Start by taking stock of each direct report’s responsibilities and key contributions that drive meaningful impact for the business. What are their most critical day-to-day activities and objectives? Document these down as a baseline.

Step 2: Discuss With Employees

Have in-depth discussions with employees to get their perspectives on their most vital areas of focus. Talk through priorities they would set or how they measure their own effectiveness. Their insights should inform the KRA process.

Step 3: Outline Specific Tasks

Narrow down the 3-5 most important outcomes for the role based on your understanding of responsibilities and employee feedback. Get very specific in terms of tangible objectives and metrics for each priority result area.

Step 4: Determine KPIs

Decide how you will measure whether a KRA is achieved. Identify 1-2 key performance indicators (KPIs) for each KRA that will serve as quantifiable metrics to track. KPIs make success concrete.

For example, for a KRA of “Reduce operational expenses”, KPIs could be “$100,000 in cost savings” and “10% budget reduction from prior year”.

Step 5: Put KRAs in Writing

Document the KRAs and associated KPIs you have developed and share with employees so expectations are clear. Have employees review and provide input into their own KRAs before finalizing them.

Step 6: Review and Revise Regularly

Set recurring check-ins with employees to assess progress on KRAs and whether they need to be adjusted. Revise KRAs as priorities evolve. Conduct annual reviews to develop fresh KRAs.

Best Practices for Implementing KRAs Successfully

Follow these best practices to ensure your team’s KRAs drive real results:

Collaborate – Involve employees in the KRA setting process to increase buy-in. Get their input on draft KRAs.
Align expectations – Discuss KRAs when onboarding new hires so expectations are clear from day one.
Focus on impact – Prioritize KRAs that have the biggest potential business impact when well executed.
Limit KRA quantity – Resist the urge to set too many KRAs. Identify only the most vital 3-5 outcome areas.
Assign ownership – Make sure each KRA has a sole owner responsible for driving it.
Track progress – Check in at least monthly on KRA progress rather than just annually. Provide coaching and support.
Celebrate wins – Recognize and reward employees who achieve their KRAs to motivate continued high performance.
Re-evaluate regularly – Adapt KRAs to reflect changing organizational and employee needs over time.

KRA Examples We Can Learn From

To put KRAs into practice, let’s look at a few examples for different types of roles:

Sales Manager KRAs

Improve sales team’s average deal size by 20% (KPI: $5,000 increased average deal size)
Increase cross-selling revenue by 15% (KPI: $200,000 in cross-selling income)
Reduce customer churn by 10% (KPI: 7% net churn rate achieved)

Marketing Manager KRAs

Boost website traffic by 30% (KPI: 1 million new site visitors)
Improve marketing qualified lead conversion rate by 25% (KPI: 75% of leads convert to sales)
Launch 3 new marketing automation workflows (KPI: Workflows implemented for newsletters, onboarding, retention)

Customer Support KRAs

Improve customer satisfaction (CSAT) scores by 5% (KPI: CSAT average of 90%+)
Decrease support case resolution time by 20% (KPI: 24 hour SLA met for 80% of cases)
Successfully train and onboard 5 new support agents (KPI: Agents meeting quality standards within 2 months)

Tips for Employees Given KRAs

As an employee, how can you make the most of the KRA process to accelerate your performance?

Provide input – Offer your manager suggestions when creating your KRAs. Share your goals.
Ask clarifying questions – Discuss expectations, metrics, and deadlines to prevent misalignment.
Request resources – Identify any tools or training needed to successfully achieve KRAs.
Track progress frequently – Monitor your KPIs closely to stay on track and quickly address obstacles.
Communicate about blockers – If issues arise that may impact KRA achievement, escalate these early.
Celebrate small wins – Stay motivated by recognizing progress towards your KRAs.
Learn from success and failure – Review results at year-end to improve future performance.

Key Takeaways

KRAs are essential tools for managers to direct strategy execution. By cascading organizational goals into actionable, measurable KRAs for employees, leaders can inspire focus, accountability, and excellence.

The KRA development process takes work, but pays huge dividends in employee and business performance when done right. Collaboratively set KRAs, align them to strategy, track progress religiously, and revisit them often.

Making KRAs a regular part of your management approach will go a long way towards building a high-achieving team aligned around what matters most for driving your business forward.

how to create key result area

What Is Role Clarity?

Role clarity means everyone on your team knows what they should work on, what’s expected of them, and how their work fits into the big picture. You provide your team a clear map of roles and responsibilities that shows each person where to go and what to do.

In sports, every team member plays a specific position to help their team win. Role clarity in business is much the same. It defines each position in your company and clearly connects those positions to your greater mission. The goal: to work better together. But that’s not all. Great teamwork is just one of a list of reasons why role clarity is important.

Role Clarity vs. Role Confusion

Role clarity makes your team more productive because it ensures each team member knows their purpose, their responsibilities and the way they add to your company’s bigger goals. Without it, you’ve got role confusion—and that leads to a whole lot of uncertainty, disorganization and blockers to success. In clarity, your team members work together and excel. And in confusion? They stumble, and progress stalls. Hint: Choose role clarity.

Administrators: How to create a Key Result Area (KRA) in enableHR’s Online Performance Review module

What are key result areas?

Key Result Areas will of course differ widely, depending on the role of an employee or the specific goals of a department or an organization. However, there are some primary attributes that are important in the development of any KRA. KRAs must be specific, clear, and measurable.

What is a key result area (KRA)?

The term Key Result Areas (KRAs) refers to a short list of overall goals that guide how an individual does their job, or general achievement and progress goals for an organization or one of its divisions. KRAs help define the scope of a job or a department or an organization’s goals, and define the optimum outcomes and results of daily work.

How do I write a key result area?

Put your key result areas in writing You can put your agreed-upon key result areas into a document that you and your manager or department head can keep on file. This way, you and they can refer to it as needed in the future. It’s important that everyone agrees with the outlined KRAs and signs the document to make it official.

What are key result areas in project management?

Welcome to our comprehensive guide on Key Result Areas (KRAs) in project management! KRAs are specific areas of focus that define the key results or outcomes that need to be achieved in a project. They play a crucial role in ensuring project success by providing clarity, direction, and focus to project teams.