Challenge

A large Financial Accounting firm came to McLagan seeking advice on its current level structure within its Information Technology group.

The firm noticed that there was a significant amount of internal inequity in terms of the qualifications for promotions across the group, as well as a plateau in career opportunities for individual contributors.

The firm was concerned that:

• Employees did not have a clear understanding of what was required of them to progress their careers.

• Different teams within the IT group had dissimilar standards for advancing within the company.

• Individual contributors were forced to take on managerial responsibilities in order to advance within the firm.

Solution

McLagan interviewed managerial staff from all teams within the Information Technology group, and proposed a Leveling Assessment engagement to establish criteria metrics for jobs at each level across the organization.

Along with the firm’s input, a universal set of criteria was created which catered to each group’s specific needs/skills based off their area of expertise.

Results

The firm has benefited tremendously from the engagement, and employees now have a clear set of criteria for moving from one level to another within the firm. There are no longer any questions amongst different groups of why certain individuals are promoted over others.

Individual contributors can now focus more on their technical skills rather than people management, leaving more room for efficiency throughout the organization.

HR management has since contacted McLagan to provide similar guidance for two other groups within the firm.