Career Framework: A Comprehensive Guide to Structuring Growth and Advancement in Tech
Part of The PIRATE Way — Stories about scaling up engineering teams.
Background
As tech teams evolve, so does the necessity for a comprehensive competency framework. You can approach this problem proactively based on metrics of the distribution of the talent in the team, based on engagement surveys, and 1:1s collected feedback … Very often you will realize a lack of clarity around promotion paths or a lack of criteria for progression.
If so, you have reached the moment to deploy a more refined, adaptable, and transparent structure, aligning with intrinsic and extrinsic motivational factors.
Exploring Competency Frameworks
Navigating through several potential models, three primary frameworks emerged.
ScaleUp
ScaleUp, with its elemental simplicity, appealed to us for its straightforwardness. It’s based on a list of criteria, distinct and specific, for each of the 3–5 levels. It’s akin to a well-paved path where milestones are clearly marked, and progression criteria are unambiguous. (e.g. BaseCamp)
- Pros: Ease of Implementation, since it can be rapidly deployed, particularly beneficial for startups and smaller teams. And helps in fostering specific skill sets and behaviors aligned with organizational needs.
- Cons: Offers limited room for individualized career paths or skills diversification, and as the organization grows, the criteria might become too generic or limited. So, It won’t scale.
Spreadsheet Matrix
The Spreadsheet Matrix is a more granular approach, adopted by companies where roles, responsibilities, and expectations are multifaceted. It outlines a matrix of skills and behaviors, each aligned with specific levels, painting a comprehensive picture of growth trajectories. (e.g. Circle.ci, Spotify)
- Pros: Offers a comprehensive view of expected skills and behaviors. Minimizes ambiguity in performance and progression assessments, and can be tailored to incorporate a wide range of skills and competencies.
- Cons: Can be overwhelming due to the detailed nature of criteria, and while adaptable, it can sometimes be perceived as prescriptive, limiting perceived autonomy.
Snowflake
Snowflake emerged as a harbinger of flexibility and autonomy. Borrowing inspiration from Medium’s model, Snowflake doesn’t just outline expectations but offers a realm where individuals carve their unique paths, governed by defined impact expectations rather than strict criteria.
- Pros: Empower team members to choose their growth areas (Autonomy) Fosters a diversity of skills and competencies within the team. And aligns with intrinsic motivational factors, enhancing job satisfaction and engagement.
- Cons: The flexibility can sometimes lead to ambiguity in progression criteria. And requires a nuanced approach to manage and assess diverse growth paths.
Navigational Insights
Embarking upon this journey of exploration, evaluation, and selection isn’t just a structural overhaul but a transformative process. It’s a convergence where organizational needs, individual aspirations, and strategic objectives intersect, guiding the creation of a competency framework that’s not just responsive but evolutionary.
As we navigated these terrains, the compass of adaptability remained our constant companion. The realization that each model isn’t a destination but a part of the journey enriched our perspective. It’s not about selecting a model; it’s about embracing a dynamic entity, ready to morph, adapt, and evolve, echoing the pulse of organizational growth, diversity, and innovation.
Implementing the Competency Framework
The complex endeavor of implementing a competency framework, such as Snowflake or Spreadsheet Matrix, can be likened to orchestrating a symphony where each instrument, though distinct, must harmonize to create a masterpiece. This intricate process, vast in its scope, is a strategic amalgamation of meticulous planning, collective engagement, and iterative enhancement.
1. Identifying Competencies
Rooted in the foundational elements of the company’s ethos, such as values, engineering principles, and operational norms, the identification of competencies becomes the first step. It’s an intricate weave where organizational identity and operational exigencies merge, laying the groundwork for both individual contributors and managers.
2. Determining Levels
With competencies outlined, the focus shifts to levels. Tools like levels.fyi can offer valuable insights, aiding in calibrating levels that resonate with the organizational structure and employee career stages.
3. Outlining Expected Behaviors
Here, the skeleton of competencies and levels is infused with life through detailed, explicit behaviors. Each level, for each competency, is characterized by expected behaviors, offering a clear, transparent pathway for progression and assessment.
4. Behavioral Examples
To transform abstract behaviors into tangible, assessable entities, the collection and elaboration of examples become pivotal. These examples serve as anchors, offering clarity and consistency in assessments and self-evaluations.
5. Testing and Iteration
Armed with a preliminary framework, testing ensues. A diverse group of managers applies the framework, assessing a varied employee population. Feedback, rich and insightful, flows into iterations, refining the framework to align with practical nuances and organizational uniqueness.
6. Rollout / Change Management
A moment of culmination yet commencement. Training and resources are deployed, ensuring managers and team members are adept at navigating the new landscape. Expectations are managed, and mechanisms for feedback and adjustments are put in place.
In Retrospect
Looking back, the journey isn’t just about creating a competency framework; it’s about crafting a living entity that evolves, adapts, and resonates with the organization’s pulse. Whether it’s the Spreadsheet Matrix with its detailed structure or Snowflake with its fluidity, each model becomes a canvas where organizational identity, employee aspirations, and strategic objectives paint a masterpiece of growth, progression, and excellence.
Harnessing Generative AI: A Strategic Lever in Competency Framework Development
In the nuanced journey of creating a competency framework, every step, from conceptualization to implementation, is intricate, demanding a blend of precision, insight, and adaptability. Traditionally, this process, characterized by its meticulous nature, unfolds over extended periods, often spanning a quarter. However, with the integration of Generative AI, a transformation is at hand.
Accelerated Precision and Customization
Generative AI emerges as a catalyst, not just accelerating the process but infusing it with a level of precision and customization previously unattainable. It translates the organization’s mission, values, and operational norms into actionable, detailed competencies and behaviors, effectively bypassing the generic pitfalls and crafting a framework intricately tailored to the organization’s unique ecosystem.
Imagine the integration of AI that’s not merely algorithmic but generative, capable of discerning and adapting to the nuanced landscapes of different organizational terrains. In this scenario, the development of competencies and behaviors isn’t just fast-tracked; it’s enriched, delivering a framework that’s 70–80% aligned right out of the gate.
From Quarters to Hours
A journey that traditionally unfurled over months is now encapsulated in hours. Yet, the speed isn’t at the expense of depth or relevance. Every competency, and every behavior, is a reflection of the organization’s ethos, a narrative echoing the collective identity and strategic objectives.
The implications are profound. Cloning a competency framework from another organization, while tempting for its immediacy, often leads to misalignments and incongruences. Each organization, in its essence, is distinct, marked by a unique amalgamation of culture, objectives, and operational dynamics. Generative AI honors this uniqueness, offering a pathway that’s as expedited as it is customized.
A Collaborative Symphony
In this new era, AI transcends its role as a tool, morphing into a collaborative ally. It works in tandem with human expertise, where the latter’s insights and the former’s computational prowess create a symphony of accelerated efficiency and tailored precision.
Steps 1–4 of the competency framework development, previously marked by intensive deliberations and time investment, are now a streamlined process. AI, with its generative capabilities, crafts initial versions that are not starting points but advanced frameworks, ready for human experts to refine and align with nuanced organizational dynamics.
Beyond Speed: A Narrative of Identity and Excellence
The narrative isn’t just about speed but about a competency framework that resonates with the organization’s pulse. It’s a living entity, adaptive and reflective, echoing the aspirations and realities of both the organization and its members. Generative AI isn’t an endpoint but a gateway, ushering in an era where competency frameworks are as dynamic, responsive, and alive as the organizations they serve.
In essence, the fusion of human expertise and AI isn’t a linear integration but an evolving dance, where speed meets depth, and precision converges with adaptability, crafting competency frameworks that are not just strategic assets but narratives of organizational identity and pathways to excellence.
Closing Thoughts
Connecting the Dots
In the aftermath of refining the competency framework, a crucial realization emerges: the integral relationship between internal development and the influx of new talent. The detailed characteristics that outline success within the team are not just internal benchmarks but essential criteria that shape both the hiring and onboarding processes.
Hiring transforms into a strategic pursuit of candidates who not only boast technical expertise but resonate with the behavioral and cultural expectations delineated in the competency framework. Each recruitment becomes an alignment of skills and organizational ethos. Similarly, onboarding evolves into a nuanced initiation, where newcomers are not just oriented but immersed and empowered, ready to embody and elevate the established standards of success from their inaugural steps within the organization.
In this ecosystem, competency is the pulsating heart, its beats resonating through every aspect of the organizational journey. It ensures that each new member not only joins a team but seamlessly integrates into a living, breathing entity of collective growth and innovation.
Future-Proofing the Career Framework
As we forge ahead, the competency framework isn’t a static artifact but an evolving masterpiece. It’s anchored yet fluid, structured yet adaptable, echoing the multifaceted, dynamic nature of our tech landscape.
The journey from the initial feedback to the refined, flexible, and transparent model underscores a pivotal lesson — adaptability. In a world where tech and organizational landscapes are in perpetual flux, our competency framework stands as a testament to resilience, adaptability, and the unwavering pursuit of excellence and fairness.
Stay tuned! In the following post, we will break down salary bands, the leveling process, and the performance review cycle including the calibration process.
Remember: This is a blog post from the series “The PIRATE Way”.
