Intentionally assigning levels and job families is a foundational exercise that will pay off today, tomorrow, and further down the road. We know this can feel tedious, but it’s worth it because it supports many strategic initiatives that companies will feel the benefits of at any stage. Just to name a few:
1. A market-mapped compensation structure. Most companies use market data to determine the amount to pay their employees. Matching the right market data for a role is dependent on job levels to ensure accurate calibration.
2. A calibrated job leveling structure combats bias. Ensuring that you are leveling the roles and work at your company first, before considering the person in the role is an extremely valuable exercise. It results in a leveling schema that’s right for your organization no matter the size. It also means that the individuals in the role are more likely to be evaluated by similar criteria.
3. Contributes to simple performance management. Once the work and role is leveled you’ll be able to more easily set expectations with employees. This becomes useful as part of your performance management process, whether this is ongoing in one-on-ones, and/or during review cycles. Clear alignment on the level of the work and role allows for more actionable and meaningful exchanges between managers and employees.
4. Supports more titling flexibility. Some organizations choose to tie job levels to a specific title, others wish to avoid assigning titles to roles. Regardless of the strategy you choose, leveling the work and roles at your company will allow you to move forward in creating a sound compensation structure and a high-performance team.