This chapter is all about Starred as an organization. How do we organize ourselves? How do we recruit and hire? How do we design teams, jobs and learning processes?
In Q4 of 2018 the way Starred's org chart shaped up changed quite substantially.
Until this point job titles were quite fluid, the way we handled promotions and raises equally so.
Hovering around 30 employees, the time was right to introduce some more structure so that we could scale Starred up to and past 100 people. 'Turning the ship around' at a much larger organisation is sometimes too much of a challenge, where ways of doing things are even more established.
We believed in setting this up way ahead of that.
Levels
Starred has a transparent level-based system of promotion. Within this level system we know where we stand in relation to others: responsibilities, knowledge and information regarding seniority and specialization are given. Salary range is also common knowledge. One of the guiding principles of the level structure is that to advance to a new level you need to show at least three quarters of rock solid performance, with numbers and OKRs to back it up. Contribution to Starred's culture by living the values also plays a significant role in this.
Promotions
To level up, work must already be conducted at the next level of performance and responsibility. In terms of attitude, promotions are handed to colleagues who go above and beyond. Deadlines are taken personally. It's expected that if a Starred team member wants to progress through the company, they will take on more than is asked, and often. Combine this with culture match: not just a fit but being a culture 'furtherer' who helps others, asks for feedback and takes it well.
The graph below is a useful heuristic for how we look at promotions, as well as dismissals.