How to know if you are being offered the right level?

I’m a Senior Manager here, I won’t join as a Manager in your company

For me to move from Executive to Senior Executive, why will it take 5 years?

Since I would be an Assistant Manager, I assumed I will have a team under me

These are some of the statements/queries/doubts a new hire or a candidate asks.

Organization structures are not uniform, sometimes, even in the same company, there could be multiple hierarchies operating for different functions. With the movement of people from one industry to another gaining speed, it is becoming increasingly difficult for a non-HR to understand the structures and their role fitment into the assigned level/grade.

So, here’s a quick guide on organization structures which will help you pick up your next job better!

In most organizations, there is still a hierarchical structure being followed. While there are some known disadvantages to this structure, there hasn’t been a great alternative which companies could embrace and hence considering the advantages of this structures, this is what is being widely used. There are 3 layers of management in this structure- Junior level, Middle level and Top level. Considering your experience, education and skills, you could be hired for any of these levels.

That’s the theory part of it, and the easy part.

With increasing desire to attract & retain talent, organizations started adding levels, giving rise to complexity of both management and understanding.

So, a structure which was earlier looking as Officer-Executive-Manager-General Manager-Vice President-CEO, has now started to look like:

Officer- Executive -Senior Executive-Assistant Manager-Deputy Manager-Manager-Senior Manager- Deputy General Manager-General Manager-Assistant Vice President-Vice President-Senior Vice President-President- CEO

Also, the structure varies from one industry to the other. Banking, by far has the most number of levels! To know the levels being used in different industries in India, download this file (it’s free!) list-of-levels-across-industries.xlsx . Just register as a subscriber, and you will be able to download this file.

With so many levels added in the already complicated structured of hierarchies, this is what you need to know before you say yes or no to the next job offer:

A Manager here doesn’t compare to the Manager there: If you are a manager in this organization, that doesn’t mean you should opt for only Senior Manager roles in the other organization. More than the title, what’s important to understand is how does your job responsibilities change compared to the current role, what are the added benefits in the new role and/or is the new role aligned to your overall corporate plan. Compare your organization hierarchy to theirs and then understand whether the position offered to you is at par with your current role or not.

Levels have grades/bands assigned to them. In most of the organizations, 2-3 levels would be clubbed together under one band/grade. The company policies mostly change basis the change in the band/grade and not basis the change in your level. For example, grade 1 could have officer, executive and senior executive in an organization. As you get promoted from executive to senior executive, there wouldn’t be much change to your travel allowance, phone reimbursements or tax saving instruments. However, when you move from one grade to the other, there is a significant change of benefits that seeps in.

Your boss’s grade/level. It’s said that your reporting manager should at least be 2 levels up from you. It helps in better mentoring and provides a clear career path to the team below. If you are getting a position, where your boss is just one level up, then ask if you are being hired as his successor. You should know exactly what’s the organization’s plan of action for your boss’s movement in this case. If not, then dig more, because your growth in that role could get blocked because of your boss’s presence.

Your colleague’s grade/level. While picking a new role, also understand the levels of your colleagues in the same team. Their experience levels, education and hence their designation. LinkedIn could help you find that out, even if the recruiter doesn’t help much (though he should!). If you feel you are being under-pegged compared to the similar crowd, then raise your red flag. Another point of caution, if you are an alumni of a Tier I/II college, then understand how your batch mates are placed in the same company (even if they are in different functions/locations) and also demand to know the package being offered to the freshers from your campus this year. This will also help you understand whether you are being offered the right level.

Levels are assigned basis a Job Description, Job Evaluation exercise. An HR of a company does a lot of work before deciding to go out in the market to hire employees. A Job Description (JD) that helps you as candidates to know the job responsibilities, also acts as a means to define the levels of an organization. Whether this position should be pegged as a Manager or as a Deputy General Manager, what should the compensation be, how many people should be reporting into this position. All these things are thought out before a person is selected for that role. And hence, do ask for the detailed JD from the recruiter. Most organizations, with shoddy recruitment processes, still don’t give much impetus to the JDs, but as a candidate, it is important for you to know the complete specifications of the job for which you are applying.

Know the promotion policy. Last but not the least, understand the HR policies for the company, and more importantly the promotion policy. If the organization is just playing around with levels, where under a Senior Manager level, there are 4 grades, then understand if the promotion would happen from Senior Manager 2 to Senior Manager 1 or would it happen from Senior Manager to DGM, what’s the frequency of the promotions, and who decides promotions. It will be also beneficial for you to know the career path of the previous role holders of this position. If they have grown internally, the HR or the hiring manager would love to share details about them.

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