Creating a framework to track career growth for designers

Built Technologies, Growth Path Self-Assessment

 
 

Activities  

  • Help finalize wording for product design growth paths and leveling framework

  • Discover through research the best ways to visually represent skill sets

  • Partner with leadership to implement team-wide

  • Interview designers to help refine assessment process and flow

  • Create self-assessment artifact that scales

  • Responsible for communicating roll out with team

My role

Project owner, Product Design Manager

Overview

There was no clear way to measure activities and skill growth for designers to move forward within the company leveling framework. Self assessments were vague and non-discipline specific and the product design team (consisting of 5 different product teams) had no consitency regarding expectations and cadences around career growth. Growth paths had been created, but mapping them to performance and creating consistent check-ins was in high demand in order to retain and grow the org’s top talent in design.

Goal  

Create a framework that allows each team member on the product design team to self-assess their progress and align to the growth path leveling documentation recently released, Artifact must be shareable, scalable and collaborative with the team member and manager and have measurable goals that align to agreed growth paths for design.

 

Step 1: Finalize growth paths & leveling framework

Establishing a base understanding for what is expected (and making sure it’s in writing) is always the first step. The levels were constructed and broken out into (9) categories that covered all skills within the product design discipline. These were talked through at length with the team, which weighed in on language and edits. Once refined and approved, they became the basis for moving forward in the product design discipline.

For this example I’m showing an example from Figma as to not breach any conflict in sharing specific wording from Built Technologies directly.

Example of 1/9 categories: Strategy.

Step 2: Establish a cadence to check-in around progress

Not only did the current method only ask a few questions twice a year, the answers were stored in a third-party app and did not offer an easy way to collaborate with their manager regularly throughout the year. By creating intentional check-in time to discuss career growth, designers could have accountability for owning their growth paths.

 

Step 3: Make it easy to document and group opportunities

One of the biggest problems was not having a centralized place a team member could document feedback from peers and managers. By adding this area into the document, it became easy to write down feedback and group it so it can be turned into a SMART goal.

Creating goals based on the growth path expectations was a game-changer

When you are able to arrange feedback into groups and create measurable goals from that feedback– you create a living document that not only becomes proof of your progress, you have a visual artifact that you and your manager can use througout the year to focus on career growth in a very intentional way using specific activities and measurable goals.

Bonus: The manager version was key to creating conversation

In addition, the manager would evaluate the designer on a separate grid. The differences in how the designer ranked themselves vs how their manager ranked them were great starting places for conversation and moving forward in alignment.

Creating within Figma helped increase adoption & collaboration

⚡️ Team credits:  

Daniel Reid (Product Design Manager)

In Conclusion

This project was so fun to work through for the design team. We went from team members dreading self-assessments each Spring and Fall to continuous conversations and intentional time to talk about career growth. In a fast-paced product company that is a huge win. By allowing the designers to work in a Figma doc and carry that artifact throughout the year, it gave new excitement to growing into the next-level designers and leaders the company needed them to become.