DESIGN LEADERSHIP
Design Career Development
Company
Caseware
Date Completed
June 2023
Leadership Team
Christopher Moorehead Head of User Experience
Marlene Aubin Product Design Manager
Ian Stewart Design Operations Manager
Overview
Background
In most conventional business hierarchies, it is difficult if not impossible to rise above a certain mid-range level without moving into a management role. The field of design has many experienced and high-performing staff who would prefer to focus on their craft rather than become people managers. Retaining such people can therefore be a challenge.
Problems with Operating Model
This siloed operating model presented some serious challenges to both efficiency and product quality. Uneven levels of work in product squads often resulted in one design team being overloaded, while others might have little to no work. Designers had very little knowledge of other platforms or products, and design knowledge was siloed and inaccessible to other design teams. As a result, there was no common look and feel to any of Caseware’s products.
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Designers were hired on an ad hoc basis by the development teams, reporting directly into their siloed product squads. This created inconsistencies in the look and feel of platforms and products.
Design Career Development
While the team restructuring was being planned and implemented, we also made significant changes to the design career ladder. In most conventional business hierarchies, it is difficult if not impossible to rise above a certain mid-range level without moving into a management role. The field of design has many experienced and high-performing staff who would prefer to focus on their craft rather than become people managers. Retaining such people can therefore be a challenge.
To address this issue, we created an entirely new system for career development involving parallel management and individual contributor career tracks, with clear guidelines for progression and corresponding performance criteria.
Career Progression
The career progression path for both Product Design and Design Operations is identical. There is only one path for the first three levels: UX Designer I, UX Designer II, and Senior UX Designer. At the next level, the path splits into parallel Individual Contributor (IC) and Management (MGR) streams. The IC stream has three levels (Staff Designer, Senior Staff Designer, Principal Designer), which correspond to the three levels of the Management stream (Design Lead, Design Manager, Design Director). Movement between the IC and MGR streams is permitted, so progression decisions made above Senior Designer are not necessarily “cast in stone”.
Competency Index
A designer’s individual progression through the levels is based on a Competency Index, in which the designer is rated on a five-point scale (Novice to Master) using five criteria (Craft, Process, Collaboration, Organization, and Influence). At the lower levels, Craft and Process are the most important criteria, but as a designer increases in seniority, Collaboration and Organization become increasingly important. At the top levels (for both the Individual Contributor and Management tracks), Influence becomes the single most important criterion.
Evaluation Matrix
The Competency Index is a primary factor in each designer’s annual performance evaluation, as well as in general ongoing career discussions. Feedback is collected on a continuous basis using a customized spreadsheet (created by my brilliant colleague Marlene Aubin), and regular career conversations are held with each designer. This ensures that there are no surprises during performance conversations!
Overall assessment tab in Year End Evaluation Spreadsheet.
Detailed evaluation rubric by level.
Outcome
The combination of team restructuring and development of the dual-track career ladder led directly to increased engagement among the entire Design team. According to the company’s semi-annual Employee Engagement Survey, overall engagement among designers increased from 58% (December 2021) to 77% (September 2023). The greater variety of design work increased job satisfaction. Most significant of all, since the new structure was implemented, there has not been a single resignation among the Design staff.
Engagement Survey, December 2021.
Engagement Survey, September 2023.
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