In this article we cover who needs to be involved in the build and rollout of a career framework.
Progression matters. Employees want to develop their skills, and really feel like they’re growing within your organisation. Managers want to support that growth and advocate for their reports. And HR teams want to retain and enable the development of their best talent.
The frameworks you build for your organisation impact everyone in it — and you might think that means you need to include everyone right from the start of the project.
But building by consensus will at best slow things down considerably and at worst lead to decision paralysis and even disengagement with the project altogether.
That’s why we recommend creating a working group responsible for the build and rollout of your organisation’s frameworks, before introducing the wider team.
Generally, this working group will involve:
1. A Project Lead
This person holds ultimate responsibility for the successful rollout of Progression within an organisation, coordinating the work of HR Business Partners and Function Leads.
They’ll lead on the definition of framework parameters and create templates for HR Business Partners and Function Leads to follow to drive consistency and ensure each teams’ framework meets the organisation’s overarching needs.
They tend to be Progression’s main point of contact within the organisation.
2. HR Business Partners
Depending on the size of your organisation, you may have HR Business Partners (HRBPs) paired with specific functions. An HRBP will typically support the Function Leads to create career frameworks for teams within those functions.
3. Function Leads
This is a senior member of a function tasked with the creation of a team or group of teams’ frameworks, in consultation with the HRBP. In smaller organisations, a Function Lead might also be a manager.
4. Managers
While typically not involved in building the framework (unless they’re assigned as a Function Lead), managers play a crucial role in socialising and using it with their teams. It’s therefore critical managers understand how to use a framework, and that they’re bought into the value it can add to their team.
5. Your Progression Onboarding Lead
Your dedicated Progression Onboarding Lead will support you throughout the build and rollout of your career frameworks, tailoring the onboarding plan and resources to support your unique needs.
💡 The number of people involved in this project will depend on the size and structure of your organisation. For example, in a smaller organisation one person might act as the Function Lead while also being a Manager, and there may not be an HRBP at all.
Don’t worry though — your Progression Onboarding Lead will help you identify who needs to be involved at each stage of the project during your pre-kick off meeting.