This template is an example of what the content of an employee guide to progression can look like, and with a few / a lot of edits, deletions and additions, you can personalise this document to align to your organisation's size and culture.
It’s worth noting that the content is not all mine and has been collated through working with many companies and reading lots of blogs on this subject over the last 10+ years; many smarter brains than mine are behind a lot of the words, so kudos to them.
Hopefully it’s an easy starting place for many of you.
Alistair
N.B. You’ll need to be logged into a Notion account to duplicate this template.
A levelling and progression framework helps everyone to have shared expectations and provides structure as we grow.
Many people are attracted to startups for the prospect of fast progression. But often, the meaning of progression is not as well defined as in larger companies.
This guide will give you enough information so you can form a clearer picture of your career at Acme Ltd and successfully discuss progression with your manager.
When used correctly the progression framework will...
- Give you a clear idea on your current level within the business, areas of focus to get even better at your current role, and the future opportunities that could be available to you.
- Enable a culture of transparency, by serving as a map of roles, titles and levels at Acme Ltd.
- Create shared understanding between managers/leads and direct reports to support two way career conversations.
- Help you assess candidate seniority as part of the hiring process.
- Inform how you should be paid according to your role and level.
- Give you insight into how it can be used beyond personal development and act as the ‘bedrock’ that ties the whole organisation together.
The Progression Framework is not...
- A GPS. No framework can provide an exact route for your career, but it can point you in the right direction (think map and compass).
- A promotion checklist. It is descriptive, not prescriptive and won’t document all the things you need to do in order to develop and advance your career. You’ll almost certainly be doing important things that aren’t in the framework.
It’s worth noting that this framework will provide you with an understanding of how levelling and progression works in most companies as the content is pretty universal in nature. This will set you up for success not only at Acme Ltd but wherever you career takes you 🚀