Promotion SOP Samples

Policy brief & purpose

Our employee promotion policy presents our guidelines for advancing and promoting employees from within
our company. We want to invest in our employees and reward those who perform well.

This policy includes the process that managers must follow when promoting employees. We will communicate
this policy to all employees to avoid confusion about who should be promoted and when.

Scope
This policy applies to all employees who qualify for promotion. Employees may be promoted only after their
[three-month] onboarding period ends and if they are not under a performance improvement plan.

“Promotion” may be a move to a position of higher rank, responsibility and salary. Often, employees may
advance to positions that don’t come with higher managerial authority. Instead, these advancements may be a
career or role change that helps employees develop and grow.

Employees may be promoted within the same or another department or branch.

Policy elements
We will promote employees based on their performance and workplace conduct. Acceptable criteria for
promotion are:

 Experience in the job or tenure.

 High performance level in [two] recent review cycles.
 Skillset that matches the minimum requirements of the new role.
 Personal motivation and willingness for a change in responsibilities.

These criteria reflect the bigger picture of an employee’s work. Managers should avoid making decisions for
promotion based on recent or insignificant events. They should keep logs with important incidents that they
might want to consider when it’s time to promote one of their team members.

In accordance with our company policies, we will not tolerate promotions that are based on:

 Managers’ subjective opinions unsupported by performance evaluations or metrics.

 Discrimination.
 Fraternization.
 Favoritism.
 Nepotism.

To avoid such incidents, managers must keep good records of their promotion evaluation process.

When can managers consider employees for promotion?

Promotions may occur when:
  A job opening is advertised internally as well as externally.
 A position opens unexpectedly and our company wants to fill it from within.
 An employee has consistently good performance evaluations and their manager deems them ready for
the next step in their career.
 An employee acquires a credential (licensure, degree etc.) that allows them to advance (e.g. a Licensed
Practical Nurse becoming a Registered Nurse.)

Also, our company has an updated career plan that indicates each employee’s possible career path. Managers
should take this plan into account when deeming to promote or advance their team members.

Process for standard promotions

Our company will establish a promotion review process every [end of year.] During this process, managers may
consider selecting employees to move to a higher-level position, or a position that better matches their skills and
aspirations. Spontaneous promotions may also occur if a business need arises.

Managers should follow this process:

1. Meet with employees to talk about their career goals and/or aspirations for a promotion. Managers
should create career plans for their team members.
2. Identify opportunities to promote one or more team members, if applicable (by either filling vacancies
creating new jobs or enhancing job titles.)
3. Discuss the promotion with [HR/ direct supervisor/ department head] to receive approval. Managers
should also ask HR about the new position’s salary range and any new benefits they should present to
their team member.
4. Arrange a meeting with the employee to determine whether they’d be happy with this career move.

Managers must keep detailed records of the process to support their decisions to promote employees. These
records may also come in handy if other employees find the decision unfair or sue the company.
Internal job posting
We encourage hiring managers to post job openings internally. Hiring teams may post the job internally for a
period of time before they post externally or post at both places at the same time. Internal candidates may be
given priority in the hiring process since they’re already familiar with our culture and expectations.

Job postings should mention if the promotion involves relocation. Discrimination against protected
characteristics is prohibited both for internal and external hiring decisions.

Managers who post job openings internally should:

1. Consider all applications equally, based on their predetermined requirements.

2. Determine whether an internal candidate has the skills to perform the job.
3. Examine recent performance evaluations of internal candidates.
4. Interview qualified internal candidates if necessary.
5. Inform candidates whether they were selected for promotion. After the employee has accepted the job,
hiring managers should inform HR and the employee’s current supervisor, if appropriate.
6. Keep records of the application review process and note the criteria with which they rejected/hired an
internal candidate.

Career development outside of promotion

Managers may often choose to expand employees’ duties, authority and autonomy without promoting them
directly. For example, a salesperson may become a team leader and a junior coder may begin participating in
engineering operations.

These changes may not always come with a formal title change. Employees may be awarded a higher salary,
bonuses or stock options. The new benefits depend on the position and are at the immediate supervisor’s
discretion.

Managers should keep an updated promotion plan in their team members’ file and discuss future career moves
during performance reviews.

Source: https://resources.workable.com/promotion-policy

Good Example: http://www.dar.emory.edu/employees/promo_reclass.pdf

Promotion Policy
Intent

(Company Name) has adopted this policy to foster the advancement of its employees. This policy enhances the upward
mobility of staff members, and complements the present business practices at (Company Name) which allow for
personnel development.

The Promotion Policy is based on the recognition that in the course of meeting organizational objectives, the duties and
functions of an employee may change in complexity and responsibility. Promotions therefore, are based on status
changes that involve increasing responsibility levels. The added benefits of promotion serve as an incentive for better
work performance, enhance morale and create a sense of individual achievement and recognition. While good past
performance enhances the validity of the promotion, it should not, of itself, be the primary nor sole reason for
recommending a candidate for promotion. Consistent with prior practice, all positions will be filled through (Company
Name)’s search and screen procedures. Exceptions may be requested through the appropriate Vice President; the
business, organizational, fiscal and legal implications of the request must be fully explained and justified.

Employment opportunities at (Company Name) may occur because an incumbent has been given expanded duties,
responsibilities and authority, progressing, for example, through a recognized family of titles (e.g., Clerk III, Clerk II, Clerk
I), or has moved to a different position vacated as a result of another incumbent having been promoted, transferred,
discharged, or retired. The promotion of a staff person at (Company Name) does not typically involve an additional
budget line being added to the promotion department’s budget. Along with the increased responsibilities, the promoted
person will receive an increase in salary, sufficient direction to begin the new position, and a new job description.

Persons seeking to promote staff members in their respective areas are reminded to pay particular attention to past
annual performance evaluations. These documents indicate prior performance levels and accomplishments in the
department, illustrating, for example, how effectively the tasks assigned were completed.

Policy Statement
It is (Company Name)’s goal to ensure maximum opportunity for promotion from within, consistent with the
commitment to organizational needs, equal opportunity and applicable contractual agreements.

It is recognized that a promotion may occur in the following cases:

1. A reclassification of the individual’s existing position as a result of the individual performing duties at a higher
degree of responsibility and complexity than the current classification calls for. This requires an audit of the position
through the job evaluation process.

2. The filling of an existing higher level vacancy by a promotable individual at a lower classification.

Both processes must include a current job description and a new job description of the individual being promoted.
Accordingly, it is (Company Name) policy to provide internal employment to qualified candidates through
intradepartmental and interdepartmental promotion whenever possible.

The criteria used when considering employees’ qualifications for promotion must be fair and unbiased, and all (Company
Name) employment policy requirements must be fully met and documented. Employees are to be considered for
promotion regardless of age, sex, race, color, national origin or disability.

Eligibility

For the purpose of this policy, a promotion is defined as advancement to a different position which has increased
responsibilities and adjustment to a higher salary level. All (Company Name) employees who have successfully
completed the probationary period specified by conditions of employment or contract are eligible to be considered for
promotion. They are encouraged to review all job vacancies circulated to each department and posted on the (Company
Name) intranet on a regular basis.

Supervisors should also be aware that promotable candidates need only satisfy the qualifications as specified in the job
description and not the qualities, skills or knowledge of the incumbent.

Implementation
Posting and/or Advertising

Supervisors should encourage all support staff member within their areas of responsibility in the pursuit of career
advancement and should ensure that all qualified internal applicants are duly considered for vacancies in their unit
before recruiting outside candidates. Accordingly, to promote internal mobility, a procedure for waiving job posting
requirements and/or external advertisement has been established.

For promotions, the following criteria should be considered:

1. The positions are in the same department, and one position genuinely prepared the incumbent for the next. This
allows for upward movement within the same or related family of job groups where skills are easily transferable.
2. The incumbent has already demonstrated the ability to perform the higher job.
3. The incumbent has met any special requirements such as a course or a skill.
4. An employee on layoff status is to be rehired.

All interdepartmental promotions will be posted if the intradepartmental search has not been successful.

Procedures for Promotion

Responsibilities of Appropriate Department Head

A completed Personnel Action Form is signed by the Department Head, Supervisor and Budget Office and submitted to
the Director of Personnel. The “current status” of the candidate and the recommended “new status” should be
stipulated under the remarks section. Accompanying the Personnel Action Form should be the following documents:

I. A memorandum justifying the reasons for the recommendation. If the promotion exists either through the
filling of a vacancy or through a reclassification, all relevant data chronicling the person’s most recent
evaluation(s) and the criteria being evaluated should be included. Also included should be a statement of
functional and organizational changes within the department impacting the position; other data such as, but
not limited to: proof of graduation from certificate, baccalaureate or master’s program; completion of job
related service training courses which enhance current job knowledge and skills.
II. A current job description of the candidate.
III. A copy of the vacant position or a statement outlining the new duties and responsibilities to be evaluated.

Responsibilities of the Director of Personnel

The Director of Personnel shall review all aspects of the promotion with respect to payroll, salary, benefits, seniority
change, range/step movements, change in union membership (Where Applicable), effective start date and the
organizational structure created by these movements. If a position is to be reclassified, the Personnel Director conducts
a job evaluation, determines the new range and develops the new job description and title for the position. Upon
completion of this review, the Personnel Director signs the Personnel Action Form and forwards all materials to Human
Resources.

Responsibilities of Human Resources

The Human Resources Department reviews all the data compiled to determine the appropriateness of the promotion
with respect to the short and long term staffing needs of the department and (Company Name) as well as the budget
implications. The determination of the committee will be communicated to the candidate, department and President.

Effective Date of Promotion

A promotion resulting from a reclassification becomes effective retroactive to the date of receipt of the Personnel Action
Form to the Director of Personnel.

Acknowledgment and Agreement

I, (Employee Name), acknowledge that I have read and understand the Promotion Policy of (Company Name). I agree to
adhere to this agreement in its entirety and will ensure that employees working under my direction adhere to this
Policy. I understand that if I violate the rules set forth in this Policy, I may face legal, punitive, or corrective action.

Name: ____________________________________

Signature: ____________________________________

Date: ____________________________________

Witness: ____________________________________

Source: https://olta.ca/

Disclaimer: These policy templates are meant to provide general guidelines and should be used as a reference. They
may not take into account all relevant local, state or federal laws and are not legal documents. Neither the author
nor Andere Corporation (HelpDeskSuites.com) will assume any legal liability that may arise from the use of these
sample policies.