From the Ask Tom mailbag:
Question:
When we write a role description, you suggest that we break the role into different Key Result Areas, to organize the tasks and accountabilities. Will some of the Key Result Areas carry accountabilities (goals) with different Time Spans or do all KRAs in a role have to carry the same Time Span?
Response:
Heavens no. Every task, every goal carries its own Time Span. Each KRA has to be examined for its related tasks, and, yes, they will all be different.
Let’s look at two KRAs for a Stratum III role, a plant manager.
- Plant Floor Layout
- Production Scheduling
The specific task in Plant Floor Layout, might be to integrate a new machine into the work cell flow. That task may take 12-18 months to analyze the ROI of replacing a work cell (manual output) with this new machine (automated output), making the decision to purchase the machine, determining which machine to purchase, identifying the best vendor to supply the machine, negotiating the contract to get the machine, changing work flow to accommodate the space for the new machine (which may require a new concrete floor), taking delivery of the new machine, assembly and setup, troubleshooting (these machines never work out of the box), creating new work instructions, training personnel on machine operation, getting the machine up to capacity, to meet the output of the original ROI model. This is solid Stratum III work.
Production Scheduling may require a historical look-back at seasonal volume changes, loading work levels to match anticipated sales forecasts, making sure we have sufficient headcount in our production crews, and then specifically creating work shift schedules. The Time Span of these tasks will vary from 3-12 months, and likely require Stratum II capability.
The plant manager will be accountable for both KRAs, though the tasks in one would be Stratum III and the other Stratum II.
My expectation, however, is that the plant manager will self-perform most of the Stratum III tasks and look to delegate large pieces of the Stratum II tasks. Identifying the Time Span of the tasks gives every manager insight as to what work has to be self-performed and what work may be delegated.