> We promote engineers and managers when they have demonstrated that they are consistently performing at the next level.
This while very common has always seemed... a little off to me, and also seems to encourage people not sticking around if they feel like they could do well at the next level, but maybe have some inconsistencies or areas of learning to work on. This leads to an awkward situation especially as thinking starts to become more "meta" as you go to a higher level. At what point is it okay to start touching code less and doing more design and organization-level work, when your current level is more about individual production and output? It can make a top performer trying to get to the next level look like their output has gone down, because the measures to those outputs look differently at different levels.
Additionally, if someone's making that big impact, you're saying they have to wait a year. If they can prove that impact, they can go somewhere else and get that pay bump /now/. Don't make it easier for someone to leave than to stay, especially if they're on a promotion track.
Whenever I explain this model to my friends outside the tech industry they think it sounds insane. The idea that you're not only allowed but expected and essentially required to do work outside your official duties seems arbitrary, almost like a trap.
This while very common has always seemed... a little off to me, and also seems to encourage people not sticking around if they feel like they could do well at the next level, but maybe have some inconsistencies or areas of learning to work on. This leads to an awkward situation especially as thinking starts to become more "meta" as you go to a higher level. At what point is it okay to start touching code less and doing more design and organization-level work, when your current level is more about individual production and output? It can make a top performer trying to get to the next level look like their output has gone down, because the measures to those outputs look differently at different levels.
Additionally, if someone's making that big impact, you're saying they have to wait a year. If they can prove that impact, they can go somewhere else and get that pay bump /now/. Don't make it easier for someone to leave than to stay, especially if they're on a promotion track.