Question:

Why should an employee not be allowed to skip ahead a grade level?

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My company has an extensive internal hiring process, so that employees get a first shot at any job postings. It's a good system, with one exception.

There is a requirement in the nomination form that states:

"The position of interest does not exceed one grade level from your current position with the exception for positions that have no intermediate level."

In other words, you can't jump up too much in pay - regardless of whether you're at the right pay grade now for your skills.

I can't find a good reason for this. It doesn't seem to benefit the employee nor the company. Instead, it prevents employees from reaching their potential if they truly are fit for a better job.

The reason I bring this up is that we have a good employee that we are probably about to lose to another company, because of this policy. When he first came on board, the company he worked for had gone out of business, so he accepted an open position that was below his skill level (rather than be out of a job). Naturally, the "help desk" position has a low grade level, and it's not challenging to him. Now that he has been with the company for a while, he is looking to move up to something more in line with his skills. Although all of the positions he has applied for have been approved by his managers and the hiring managers, he is prevented from taking the job solely because of this policy by our HR Director.

My question is not what this guy should do, because honestly, he will probably have to leave the company to get something better. Rather, what I want to know is whether there is a GOOD reason for this policy to exist. It just doesn't make any sense to me.

Thanks!

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  1. The only reason I can think of is so other employees can't complain about someone getting too big of a promotion or a better promotion than someone else. It is possible that the policy didn't always exist, maybe the HR Director changed it because of employee complaints so he/she figured it would make promotions more fair.

    Like you, I don't think this policy makes any sense. In fact, I've never worked anywhere that had a policy like that.  

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