Job satisfaction directly impacts employee productivity. Most people thrive when working in a company with a clear structure, strong career framework, and positive culture rather than in vague or toxic environments.
According to job satisfaction statistics, 79% of American workers say company culture is a key factor in their satisfaction. Beyond titles and descriptions, employees want clarity on expectations, value contribution, key competencies, potential career pathways, and the steps needed for career growth.
HR leaders play a crucial role in aligning job leveling systems with both employee development and business objectives. This is where a job leveling matrix becomes essential. When implemented well, it drives massive positive impacts across the organization.
In this article, we will explain what job leveling is and tell you how you can implement a job architecture matrix in your business or organization. Read on if you'd love to learn more.
What is job leveling?
Job leveling is the process of classifying and defining job responsibilities and establishing clear career pathways and hierarchy within an organization, while also stating the benefits, expectations, and progression routes at each stage. In simple terms, it is a structured way of assigning specific values to specific roles based on required skills, responsibilities, and impact.
A proper job leveling plan helps you build a strong business framework, enhance talent management practices, and boost overall productivity. When entry level employees understand what is expected of them—and what they need to accomplish for growth—they are more likely to stay engaged and focused. Effective job architecture also ensures that managers can inform employees about advancement opportunities in a way that is clear, motivating, and aligned with company goals.
One of the key aspects of a successful job architecture system is its integration with continuous development strategies. Employees at every stage should feel that they are supported in learning and advancing, not just evaluated. Linking job levels to career pathing initiatives reinforces ambition and helps foster long-term loyalty.
In addition, including a transparent salary structure during your job grading process—showing clear pay ranges for each level—further motivates employees to grow and perform. Salary transparency tied to specific milestones gives people tangible goals to work toward, making your job architecture system a driver of both performance and retention.
What is a job leveling matrix?
It is one thing to set a clear path for your employees, and it is another to set visible measures and tell them what to expect on their way through the path. This is the purpose of a job leveling framework or matrix, and human resources managers often use it to achieve consistency and transparency across all levels of the organization.
Your job leveling matrix is a framework that comprises both job levels and competencies, and it could also include the salary ranges for the level and other additional incentives.
Job levels show the employees the hierarchy of the role. For example, for a Content Writing/Marketing department, the hierarchy may look similar to the list below:
Level 1: Content Writing Intern
Interns are beginners who typically receive no compensation and focus on learning rather than performing complex tasks. They assist with simple assignments and prepare for junior roles after a trial period.
Level 2: Junior Content Writer
Juniors usually have 1–2 years of experience and strong command of at least one language. They handle basic tasks assigned by a Content Lead, building foundational writing skills.
Level 3: Senior Content Writer
Seniors bring around 5 years of experience, mastering content writing, SEO, and lead generation. They manage complex tasks independently and often mentor junior team members.
Level 4: Content Marketing Manager or Content Lead
With at least 7 years of experience, Content Leads bridge technical teams and business functions. They oversee writers, manage projects, and ensure alignment across departments.
Level 5: Head of Content Marketing
After 9–10 years, professionals step into senior leadership roles, shaping strategy, managing budgets, and representing the content department to executive leadership.
Competencies—such as team building, emotional intelligence, conflict resolution, communication, adaptability, and independent leadership—are key components that help distinguish performance levels across roles. Strong competencies support career progression, reduce employee turnover, and enhance overall role excellence within the organizational structure.
A job leveling structure highlights roles, descriptions, and competencies required at each level. It creates a structured system that aligns employee growth with business needs, ensuring clarity and fairness across teams. While leveling matrices vary depending on company size and development goals, the principle remains the same: tailor your job architecture to meet the specific requirements of your organization.
An HR professional plays a critical role in designing frameworks that scale as the company evolves, balancing talent management with strategic growth. Larger companies often have more formalized systems compared to startups, but even small businesses benefit greatly from clear job leveling practices.
Now that you understand what a job leveling matrix is, let’s move forward and explore how to build a framework that strengthens your workforce and fuels career growth.
What is Radford job leveling
The Radford job leveling system provides businesses with a standardized method to establish precise job roles and salary structures while mapping out career paths. Aon's Radford division created this framework which categorizes positions through career streams and job families into specific levels according to their scope, skills, and impact.
Tech companies alongside life sciences organizations and innovative sectors employ this system to maintain fair pay structures while ensuring internal pay equality and market competitiveness. The Radford job leveling system delivers unified standards along with transparent processes and organized frameworks for managing workforce planning while developing employees.
How to create a job leveling framework
Job grading works differently for various companies. Factors like size and growth stage play a vital role. For example, there are fewer job levels in startups, while enterprises can have numerous job gradings involved. To have a clearer grasp of the job architecture framework, it is important to know how to create it. There are the following steps involved:
Step 1: Objective Determination. This phase entails determining the issues employees face with their career progression. For instance, these can be misaligned competencies, unclear promotion variables, inconsistent job categories, and unclear roles along with responsibilities. At this point, building a job leveling framework requires fixing such problems.
Step 2: Delegating Roles and Responsibilities. It is the moment to hire someone who will lead the entire department. This should be a person with enough years of experience, relevant skills, and up-to-date industry-specific knowledge. Proper role delegation help resolve issues with development and sets a clear path for employee career progression.
Step 3: Stakeholders’ Input. When setting a job grading framework, listen to managerial opinions. Job leveling should be aligned with what stakeholders have to say. Knowing all concerns and opinions on the existing job grading matrix is vital for an effective job leveling framework to emerge.
Step 4: Job Leveling Structure. You should understand that the job architecture framework acts like a beacon for professional development. That is why it should be linked to all the employees, from interns to the department head. The structure often comes with clearly-defined competencies for each level and position, an explanation of the different roles association, and an apparent definition of promotion criteria. At this point, a well-designed skills matrix can be of great help.
Step 5: Lateral Career Movement. Notably, employees do not always want to move toward managerial roles. Some people prefer to stick to the technical side. At this point, good organizations have job leveling flexibility, which means companies offer an option for employees to work as individual contributors.
Step 6: Promotion Criteria. Finally, to have a job leveling framework, you cannot avoid having clear promotion criteria. It is paramount to ensure employees know exactly what to do to get a promotion. While competencies, KPIs, and metrics vary from role to role, the overall framework for promotion should be similar.
The abovementioned steps represent the foundation of the job leveling framework. As you can see, it is often all about clarity, propeller goal setting, and sufficient degree of career-related flexibility.
How can Effy.ai help?
Effy.ai is a performance management software. It helps introduce job levels or handle job grades with ease. The platform comes with a template library. There you can find the best methods for competencies evaluation fitted to different job roles and levels. Most importantly, the tool is free of charge.
When becoming Effy’s client, you do not need to handle all the pains and gains on your own. Our customer care representatives are ready to help choose the optimal leveling approach and will ensure your job grading is up and running in no time.
Key elements to build a job leveling matrix
Creating an effective job leveling system isn’t just about assigning titles—it's about building a complete picture that supports career growth, fairness, and organizational alignment. Here are essential elements to consider when structuring your matrix:
Define clear job descriptions
Start by crafting accurate job descriptions that specify the main responsibilities, skills, and expectations for each position. Clarity sets the foundation for fair evaluation and growth.
Outline entry level pathways
Focus on entry level positions to create accessible starting points for new hires. A strong foundation for entry level roles ensures smoother career progression internally.
Group roles into a job family
Organize related roles into a job family, such as marketing, engineering, or HR, to create consistent frameworks for growth, evaluation, and career mobility.
Communicate through town hall meetings
Use town hall meetings to explain job leveling changes, gather feedback, and keep employees aligned with new frameworks and career pathways.
Use role examples like marketing manager
Specific role examples—such as a marketing manager—help employees visualize progression, expectations, and transitions between levels within the matrix.
Align job leveling to the company's growth
Ensure the framework adapts to the company's growth plans, supporting scaling teams, evolving responsibilities, and emerging leadership needs.
Clarify job requirements at each level
List job requirements clearly to differentiate responsibilities, expectations, and needed competencies across levels and job families.
Establish a transparent compensation structure
Tie roles to a fair compensation structure so employees understand how their contributions and advancement are financially recognized.
Incorporate all role types, including data entry
Don’t overlook administrative or operational positions like data entry roles—every function deserves clear structure and room for progression.
Specify the role's duties at each step
Break down each role's duties at different levels to remove ambiguity and set performance benchmarks employees can target.
Link to business functions like marketing campaigns
Tie advancement pathways to real business functions—such as leading marketing campaigns—to show how impact grows with seniority.
Connect pay to your compensation philosophy
Align your leveling system to a broader compensation philosophy that explains how pay decisions are made, promoting transparency and trust.
When you thoughtfully integrate these components into your job leveling strategy, you build a system that supports internal mobility, fair pay, and sustained organizational health.
Benefits of job leveling
You might wonder, "Why is job leveling important?" The truth is, a structured job leveling system offers benefits too valuable to ignore—both short-term and long-term. Here’s how creating a clear job leveling framework can impact your company:
- Saves time: With a defined framework, HR managers no longer have to recreate job categories, descriptions, or expectations for every new hire. They can rely on an established structure, making only necessary adjustments as the company evolves.
- Saves money: Correctly valuing roles after market comparisons helps prevent overpaying for positions. It also minimizes turnover by ensuring employees feel fairly compensated, saving you from costly repeated hiring cycles.
- Ensures consistency: A standardized job architecture process maintains uniformity across departments and levels, reducing confusion and organizational silos.
- Promotes a healthy work culture: Clear structures define roles and expectations, fostering a culture where employees understand how their contributions drive organizational success.
- Boosts productivity: Employees who see a clear career path ahead are more motivated to perform. Career clarity drives engagement, which in turn drives results.
- Increases transparency: Job leveling establishes transparent pathways for growth, ensuring fairness and equity across all roles and levels.
- Strengthens employee retention: A clear career development path reduces turnover. According to Forbes, 91% of highly engaged employees are less likely to leave for competitors when they feel their professional growth is supported.
Job leveling isn’t just an HR initiative—it’s a business advantage that builds stronger teams, happier employees, and a more resilient organization.
How to implement a job leveling matrix
Job leveling can also be referred to as "job classification" or "job grading"; however, it is not to be mistaken for job descriptions, as job leveling entails more than a position description.
When jobs are not adequately valued and leveled in organizations or businesses, it could lead to organizational problems like employees feeling less than engaged, compensation expenses for the company where jobs are valued too high, and several other instances.
Many organizations currently have a job leveling process or structure, while others have yet to enforce one. You have seen how having an effective job leveling structure can benefit your company, so now, let's tell you how you can implement an effective job architecture system and show how to do job grading.
1. Work with a team
If we are being honest, creating a job leveling framework can be time-consuming and stressful for the human resources manager. Therefore it is vital to building a team to help you achieve this goal. Your team can include representatives from different levels and roles in the company, so they can help you develop the framework.
This collaborative approach supports better strategic planning, ensuring the framework connects with your overall career development goals while giving employees meaningful growth opportunities.
2. Establish levels based on the size of the organization
As we mentioned earlier, the framework you will use will depend on several factors, including the size of your company. Note that the job leveling procedure for a large enterprise of over 1000 employees will differ from that of a small business of fewer than 50 employees. Larger organizations, especially those focused on attracting top talent, often use market research to define clear pay scales that match each level.
So depending on the size of your company, goals, and other factors—you should carefully tailor the levels to fit the needs of your business. Some organizations have 4 levels, some have 6 levels, and others have 8 or more.
3. Define roles, responsibilities and expectations
Your job leveling framework should precisely define each role, job duty, and responsibility across all the established organizational levels. Outline a job, clearly state its title, and determine the level it falls under in your job leveling system. Also, outline the competencies and expectations for the position and its benefits.
This structured approach assists hiring managers when setting job offers and clarifies the financial expectations for leadership involved in the company’s financial strategy. Do this across all levels of the organization, ensuring consistency and uniformity.
4. Establish growth pathways
Your job leveling structure or framework should identify and establish clear career development and career path pathways for every role. Employees should see how the next level connects to their performance at their current level and how they can advance their careers within the organization.
For example, a Junior Content Writer should see that they can progress to being a Senior Content Writer and even up to the Head of Content Marketing position level if they perform well. Having this visibility reinforces employee ambition and links everyday performance to long-term success.
5. Develop helpful metrics
Just as mentioned earlier, showing them the pathway is not enough. Your leveling framework should also include KPIs that you can use to measure the performance at different levels. This will tell the employees what they need to do and how they can achieve it, including all the potential challenges they may face.
These metrics contribute to clearer key takeaways job leveling discussions during performance management, giving employees tangible objectives to target at every step of their journey.
6. Get feedback
You can share the framework with employees and stakeholders to seek feedback when you are done. You can get their input through a survey or questionnaire; with Effy, you can get this done quickly. Engaging your employees makes them feel valuable, knowing that you carry them along and their contributions matter.
Gathering feedback also strengthens the sense of collaboration and gives deeper insight into how employees perceive growth opportunities across different levels. You can also do this through one-on-one meetings when you need to ask certain questions and get the most out of them. As the company grows and some roles develop, make adjustments where necessary to align with the company's goals.
7. Carry out performance reviews
To track your employees' progress, you can carry out performance reviews from time to time. Let your employees know how they are performing and what they need to do to perform better while referencing the leveling system. This will boost productivity, but it will also increase self evaluation among employees.
In addition, performance reviews offer a strategic checkpoint to ensure that pay scales and career progression remain consistent with the expectations outlined in the leveling framework. You can easily get this done with Effy, as it has a product you can use to efficiently and effectively track your employees' progress.
Conclusion
Now you know job leveling, its usefulness, and how to implement an effective leveling system within your organization or business.
We cannot overemphasize its important role in growing your business and ensuring your employees are motivated and productive. It's up to you to decide the best way to grow your business and increase revenue.
With the proper structure, you can save time, and money, develop your company & employees and achieve organizational goals.
FAQ: Job leveling matrix in 2023
What is job levelling?
Job leveling is classifying and defining job responsibilities/roles while establishing career pathways/hierarchy within an organization and clearly stating the benefits of each stage. Simply put, it is a way of assigning specific values to specific roles within an organization.
What does leveling mean in business?
Job leveling in business is defining and classifying the duties and responsibilities of your staff at the individual positions they occupy in your business. It is simply setting a structure that shows how your workers can progress in their roles while carrying out their duties and doing what you expect from them to advance the business.
What are the 4 job levels?
The levels within companies or businesses vary from one to another, depending on different factors, like the size and needs of the companies. While some may have 5 levels, others may have more than that or even less.
Generally, the 4 widely acceptable job levels are:
- Level 1: Entry level
- Level 2: Intermediate level
- Level 3: Mid-level
- Level 4: Senior/Executive level
What is salary leveling?
Salary leveling is a structure used to differentiate the many salary ranges for the various job levels in an organization. Most companies have uniform salary structures throughout the different departments of their organization.
Sometimes, this may mean that all Level 1 employees are within the same salary range across various departments. It may be unique to specific departments, other times, based on their duties.
An example of the first instance could be all entry-level employees of an IT firm earning the same salary range, regardless of whether they are in the Software Development department or Marketing department. While an example of the second instance could mean that all entry-level employees in the Software Development team will earn within the same salary range, which may be bigger or smaller than that earned by entry-level employees in the Marketing team.
Who is in charge of implementing job leveling?
Ideally, the Human Resources Manager or team are usually in charge of creating the job leveling framework and seeing how they implement it throughout the organization.
What is a graded employee?
Employee grades are groups of workers in similar positions or values. The grade is closely linked with compensation rates, benefits, responsibilities, and salary structures. Employees are usually graded based on their level of seniority.
What are job grade levels?
Job grade levels refer to the roles, responsibilities, and hierarchy within a company. Some examples of levels are entry-level, manager, director, and CEO.
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