A small engineering team built a transparent level ladder through collaborative drafting, 1:1 reviews, and growth plans, preserving morale and keeping productivity high.
Transparency in career ladders can reduce stress and make feedback concrete. The Apegroup engineering group created a detailed expectations matrix for each level, shared it in team meetings, then refined it in one-on-one sessions. By letting engineers see exactly what is expected, they could gauge progress and managers could give precise, low-friction feedback.
The process unfolded over three weeks of drafting, three hours of final review, and about 20 minutes per person to pitch their self-assessment. Drafts were built in a shared Monday.com board, discussed in small groups, and iterated with suggestions labeled directly on the board. Disagreements were resolved in a brief escalation meeting with a tech director and department head. For those not moving up, personal growth plans outlined concrete tasks, books, and courses for the next six months.
The result was a clear growth ladder that kept velocity steady, avoided morale drops, and generated 360-degree feedback without formal performance reviews. Detailed criteria prevented gaming the system, and the transparent approach gave engineers ownership of their development while giving leadership a reliable framework for hiring, compensation, and client pricing decisions.
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