> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.skillsdb.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Promotion Workflows
> Understand how SkillsDB supports career advancement decisions using career levels, skill benchmarks, assessments, and the skills matrix to evaluate promotion readiness.
**Quick Summary:** SkillsDB supports promotion decisions by combining career levels, level-specific skill benchmarks, assessment data, and the skills matrix. Admins configure the framework; managers use the resulting data to evaluate readiness and record a promotion by changing an employee's career level assignment.
# Overview
A promotion workflow in SkillsDB is not a single button or automated process — it is a structured approach to career advancement supported by the platform's career, assessment, and skills data infrastructure. When configured correctly, SkillsDB gives managers and admins a clear, data-driven view of whether an employee is ready to move to the next level in their career.
The foundation is a career with multiple levels. Each level represents a stage in a progression — for example, Level 1 might be Junior, Level 2 Mid-level, and Level 3 Senior. Each skill within a career can carry a different benchmark grade requirement per level, so what it means to be "proficient" increases as the levels advance.
When assessments are run, they generate current skill grade data for each employee. The Skills Matrix then allows managers to compare those grades against the benchmarks for the next level, making skill gaps visible and actionable. When an employee is ready to advance, the promotion is recorded by reassigning them to the new level in their career.
This article covers how to configure SkillsDB to support promotion decisions and how to manage the promotion process itself.
**Note:** An automated promotion approval queue is on the SkillsDB roadmap. When shipped, it will trigger a multi-step manager approval flow automatically when an employee completes training approval for every skill in their career. Until then, the promotion process is manager-driven using the steps below.
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## How Career Levels Work
Career levels represent the seniority tiers or stages of advancement within a single career. A career can have one level (no tiered progression) or many levels representing a full career ladder.
Levels are ordered and labeled by admins. Common patterns include:
| Example Configuration | Level 1 | Level 2 | Level 3 | Level 4 |
| --------------------- | --------- | ------------ | ------- | --------- |
| Seniority tiers | Junior | Mid-level | Senior | Principal |
| Numeric tiers | L1 | L2 | L3 | L4 |
| Named progression | Associate | Professional | Expert | Fellow |
Each person assigned to a career is also assigned to a specific level. The level appears throughout SkillsDB — on the person's profile, in the skills matrix, and in career assignment views — giving managers immediate context about where an employee stands in their career progression.
Levels are managed per career from **Library > Careers > \[Career Name] > Manage Levels**.
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## Setting Up Level-Specific Skill Benchmarks
To make levels meaningful for promotion decisions, each skill in a career can carry a different benchmark grade requirement for each level. This means the system knows that a "Senior" (L3) engineer needs a higher grade in Python than a "Junior" (L1) engineer.
Level benchmarks are configured in the career's skill settings. When benchmarks are set at multiple levels, the skills matrix can show whether an employee meets the benchmark for their current level — and whether they are close to meeting the benchmark for the next level.
**To configure level-specific benchmarks:**
1. Navigate to **Library > Careers**
2. Select the career you want to configure
3. In the career detail view, open the skills list for a section
4. For each skill, set the benchmark grade for each level using the level benchmark controls
5. Repeat for all skills across all sections in the career
When benchmarks exist for multiple levels, managers can use the Skills Matrix filter to view the gap between an employee's current grades and the requirements for a target level.
**Note:** If your organization uses a grading scale (e.g., 1–5 proficiency levels), the benchmark grades you set should correspond to that scale. Grading scales are configured by admins in **Settings > Grading Scale**.
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## Enabling Assessments for Career Skills
Assessments generate the current grade data that makes promotion readiness visible. Without assessment data, the skills matrix cannot show whether an employee meets a level's benchmarks.
Each career can be individually configured to include its skills in assessments. This setting is found in the **Career Settings** section of the career detail page.
**To enable assessments for a career:**
1. Navigate to **Library > Careers**
2. Select the career
3. Scroll to **Career Settings**
4. Ensure **Proficiency Grading** is enabled — this makes skill grades visible and used in analytics
5. Ensure **Assessments** is enabled — this includes the career's skills in manager and self-assessments
6. Select **Save** or the relevant update button
**Important:** Assessments require Proficiency Grading to be enabled. If you disable Proficiency Grading for a career, assessments are automatically disabled as well, and grade data is hidden from the skills matrix and analytics.
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## Evaluating Promotion Readiness
Once careers have levels, level benchmarks, and assessments enabled, managers and admins can evaluate promotion readiness through the **Skills Matrix**.
#### Viewing the skills matrix for a career
Navigate to **Library > Careers > Skills Matrix** and select the career to view. The matrix displays:
* All employees assigned to the career as rows
* All skills within the career as columns
* Each employee's current grade for each skill in the cell
* Benchmark indicators showing whether the grade meets, exceeds, or falls below the target benchmark
Use the level filter in the matrix to compare employees against a specific level's benchmarks — for example, filtering to "L3 Senior" benchmarks shows you whether current L2 employees are ready to advance.
#### Identifying skill gaps
Employees whose current grades fall below the benchmarks for the next level have skill gaps. These gaps represent the development work needed before a promotion is appropriate.
When skill gaps are identified, managers typically respond by:
* Creating or assigning a learning plan for the employee to close specific gaps
* Scheduling a targeted assessment to re-evaluate after development
* Flagging the employee as **High Potential** using a people label to track them as a promotion candidate
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## Marking High-Potential Employees
SkillsDB includes a **High potential** system people label with the description "Individual demonstrating exceptional growth potential and readiness for advancement." Managers and admins can apply this label to employees in the people directory to signal promotion candidacy.
People labels are visible on employee profiles and can be used as a filter in search (if search permissions allow). This makes it possible to build and maintain a pipeline of employees who are on track for promotion.
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## Recording a Promotion
When an employee is ready to advance, the promotion is recorded by changing their career level assignment. This is done from the career assignment page in the careers library.
**To promote an employee to the next level:**
1. Navigate to **Library > Careers**
2. Select the career the employee is assigned to
3. Select **Assign Career** to open the assignment panel
4. Find the employee in the assigned people list
5. Use the **Level** dropdown next to their name to select the new, higher level
6. The change saves immediately — no confirmation step is required
The employee's profile now reflects the new level. Historical level assignments are preserved in the system, providing a record of the employee's progression over time.
**Tip:** If your organization uses career flags to designate roles (like "Expert" or "Senior Specialist"), apply the relevant flags to the employee at their new level at the same time as the level change. Career flags are applied directly from the assignment panel via the **Flag** button on each person's row.
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## Typical Promotion Workflow End-to-End
The following describes a complete promotion workflow using SkillsDB:
**Phase 1 — Setup (Admin)**
1. Create or update the career in **Library > Careers** with the appropriate number of levels
2. Configure level-specific skill benchmarks for each skill in the career
3. Enable **Proficiency Grading** and **Assessments** in Career Settings
4. Assign employees to the career at their current level
**Phase 2 — Assessment (Manager)**
5. Run manager assessments to capture current skill grades for each employee
6. Encourage employees to complete self-assessments to supplement the data
7. Review the **Skills Matrix**, filtered to the next level's benchmarks, to identify gaps
**Phase 3 — Development (Manager + Employee)**
8. Create learning plans for employees with gaps at the next level
9. Apply the **High potential** people label to employees who are on track for promotion
10. Run follow-up assessments after development activities are completed
**Phase 4 — Promotion (Admin or Manager)**
11. Confirm the employee meets the benchmarks for the next level in the Skills Matrix
12. Change the employee's level in the career assignment from their current level to the next level
13. Apply any new career-level flags appropriate for the new level
14. Remove the **High potential** label if the promotion has been completed
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# Common Questions
No. Changing an employee's career level is a manual data update — it does not trigger automated notifications to the employee or their manager. If your organization communicates promotions through other channels, those processes remain outside SkillsDB.
If no levels are configured for a career, all employees assigned to that career are treated as unleveled. You can still use assessments and the skills matrix to evaluate skill grades, but there is no level indicator to differentiate progression stages. To support promotion tracking, add at least two levels to the career.
Yes. In the Skills Matrix, use the level filter to switch which level's benchmarks are shown. This lets you see, for example, whether a current L2 employee already meets L3 benchmarks — even while they are still assigned to L2. The level filter changes the benchmark reference for comparison; it does not change the employee's actual level assignment.
All historical assessment and grade data is preserved. Promoting an employee by changing their career level does not delete or alter any previous grade records. The Skills Matrix and assessment history continue to show the full progression of grades over time.
Yes. A person can be assigned to more than one career simultaneously, each at a different level. This is useful for employees who hold skills across multiple disciplines or who are being tracked for advancement in parallel career paths.
Administrators can change career level assignments from **Library > Careers > Assign Career**. Depending on your organization's role configuration, managers may also be able to make level changes for their direct reports. Standard employees cannot change their own career level assignment.
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# Related Articles
How to create and configure careers, levels, and skill benchmarks
How to read and use the skills matrix to identify promotion-ready employees
How to configure the flags used to designate levels and recognition in career assignments
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# Need Help?
If you run into any issues or have questions, reach out to your organization's SkillsDB administrator or contact [SkillsDB Support](https://www.skillsdb.com/support).