When is Someone Ready to be Promoted?

Let’s talk about a common dilemma in HR: knowing when someone is truly ready for a promotion.

It’s super important not to confuse a pay raise for good performance, with a promotion, as they serve different purposes. So, how do you figure out if someone is ready to move up the ladder?

Here are some key things to consider:

Have a clear levelling and career path framework

• Levelling: If you don't already have framework for this it's important to do so. It's very hard to communicate and maintenance equity when there is not rhyme or reason to your organisations roles.
• Career pathing: Have a levelling framework is a great place to start, but ensuring each employee can see their career trajectory is so powerful for retention and helps with communication and expectations setting.

There are some amazing HR tech tools out these supporting these challenges, check out the Stakkd HR tech database for tools that can help with these!

The Size of Their Role Has Increased

• Scope: Has their role expanded significantly? A good rule of thumb is if their responsibilities have grown by 50% or more.
• Reports: If they are in a leadership career track, are they managing more people, either directly or indirectly?

They Fit an Open Role

• Mastery of Current Role: They’ve fully mastered their current job and are ready for more.
• Leadership Skills: They have the leadership capabilities needed, or at least the willingness to grow.
• Initiative & Problem-Solving: They take initiative and solve problems on their own.
• Technical Skills: They possess the hard skills required for the senior position.
• Communication Skills: They communicate effectively, managing both up and down the hierarchy.
• Drive for Development: They’re committed to their personal and professional growth.
• Alignment with Company Values: They embody and champion your company values.
• Calibration: Having calibration sessions ensures there is equity and general consensus within the organization that the employee is ready for a more senior role, especially when it comes to Leadership.

Ensuring Budget for Promotion

Once you’ve determined someone is ready for a promotion, make sure you have the budget to support their new role. Typically, a raise of 10% to 20% is suitable for a promotion to a more senior position.

In Summary

It's crucial to help your managers and employees understand the difference between giving someone a promotion to take on a larger role and recognizing a high performer with a pay raise through the usual compensation round.

If you’re looking for tools to help streamline this process with career pathing and performance, the Stakkd HR tech database is a great resource to explore!

Promotions and pay raises are powerful tools for motivation and retention, but they need to be used wisely. Clear communication and well-defined criteria will help ensure that both managers and employees are on the same page.