Summary

A career ladder is a structured framework that outlines the progression paths within an organization, detailing the skills, experiences, and achievements required to move up to higher roles. The primary goal of a career ladder is to provide employees with a clear roadmap for career advancement, encouraging growth, development, and retention. It helps employees understand what is expected at each level, guides their professional development, and aligns their goals with the organization’s needs.

<aside> <img src="/icons/flag-checkered_gray.svg" alt="/icons/flag-checkered_gray.svg" width="40px" /> Goal Outcomes:

• Employee Development: Foster continuous learning and skill enhancement for both individual contributors and managers.
• Employee Retention: Increase job satisfaction and reduce turnover by providing clear advancement opportunities.
• Organizational Alignment: Ensure that employee growth supports the company’s strategic objectives. </aside>

<aside> <img src="/icons/hammer_gray.svg" alt="/icons/hammer_gray.svg" width="40px" /> Usage:

• Guidance for Employees: Employees use the career ladder to set development goals and track their progress.
• Evaluation for Managers: Managers use the career ladder to evaluate employee performance and identify readiness for promotion.
• Development Planning: HR and management teams use the career ladder to design training and development programs tailored to career progression. </aside>

Progression Tracks and L&D

In most cases Career Ladder’s support two different kinds of career tracks → Individual Contributor (IC) and Management. The requirements and objectives of the two tracks are different, but when comparing the levels across both tracks, the expectations and scope of responsibility to the business are similar.

• I.e. a level 5 IC would expect to have the same impact as a level 5 manager - just with different roles and responsibilities.
• The business supports employees moving between the IC and Management tracks.
• Moving from IC to Management is not a promotion, but a change in your career development path and the types of roles and responsibilities you will be responsible for. Same thing for moving from Management to IC.

<aside> ⚡ Our Career paths describe what employees need to do in terms of actions and performances necessary to contribute the mission and make a positive impact. They are a roadmap meant for each individual to fill in their own unique details that make sense for them and their own career goals.

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In terms of performance, we want to emphasize the impact of team members over anything else, either as an IC or a Manager. Meaning what they actually get done and implement, goals that they set, achieve, and exceed, and tools, processes, and systems that they build to improve the business.

Calibration

Calibration in the context of a career ladder refers to the process of ensuring consistent and fair evaluations of employee performance and potential across the organization. This involves aligning the assessments of employees’ skills, competencies, and achievements with the defined criteria for progression within the career ladder framework. The goal is to make sure that all employees are measured against the same standards, promoting fairness, transparency, and objectivity in career advancement decisions.

Key Components of Calibration

<aside> <img src="/icons/layers_gray.svg" alt="/icons/layers_gray.svg" width="40px" /> Standardization of Criteria

• Define clear and specific criteria for each level in the career ladder, including required skills, competencies, experience, and performance metrics.
• Ensure that these criteria are consistently applied across all departments and teams. </aside>

<aside> <img src="/icons/calendar_gray.svg" alt="/icons/calendar_gray.svg" width="40px" /> Regular Calibration Meetings

• Hold regular meetings with managers and HR representatives to discuss and calibrate employee evaluations.
• Review and compare assessments to ensure alignment with the career ladder standards. </aside>

<aside> <img src="/icons/graduate_gray.svg" alt="/icons/graduate_gray.svg" width="40px" /> Training for Evaluators

• Provide training for managers and supervisors on how to assess employees according to the career ladder criteria.
• Include guidelines on recognizing and mitigating biases in evaluations. </aside>

<aside> <img src="/icons/megaphone_gray.svg" alt="/icons/megaphone_gray.svg" width="40px" /> Feedback Mechanisms

• Establish a system for employees to receive feedback on their performance and career progression.
• Ensure that feedback is constructive, specific, and aligned with the career ladder criteria. </aside>

Promotions

A promotion is a change to a new level in the Career Path track that the employee is on. Employees will be eligible for promotions during each of the review cycles that we have during the year (2X Annually is recommended). In each performance review cycle, managers will review the level and potential promotion status of each of their direct reports, by going through the Employee Review Process.