Quarterly CS Impact Check-in Practice

The following happens at the company level:

  • Every 6 months, People Ops updates salary bands for each level to ensure Sourcegraph remains above market rate
  • Every March and September, every team is expect to calibrate and put forth folks for promotion
  • There will always be off-cycle exceptions

In support of the Sourcegraph overall approach, the Customer Support team honors this cadence and supplements with a quarterly review (vs twice yearly) to keep career growth and impact top of mind.

Concretely, this is what happens depending on when:

  • March and September
    • People Ops updates salary bands and helps managers calibrate team to any adjustments
    • Individual and manager assess performance and align
    • Managers put forth any relevant promotions/salary adjustment recommendation*
  • June and December
    • Individual and manager assess performance and align

*This is separate from calibration to salary band changes. For example, if a band increases due to market conditions, everyone in that band would see a shift to account for this; whereas, managers can put forth recommendation for an employee to receive an increase in salary but not yet a promotion to the next level.

How individual and manager assess performance and align

The outcome of this part of the practice is for each individual on the team to have an aligned understanding with their manager about their performance. It happens in 3 steps over a two week period, via asynchronous work and a synchronous conversation.

  1. Each individual reviews the level framework to self-assess their impact, being able to answer the following questions (with evidence):

    • Am I meeting expectations?
      • Yes, I have evidence to demonstrate that I show-up consistently (multiple examples over at least a 6 month period) at my current level
      • No, I do not yet have evidence to demonstrate that I show-up consistently at my current level
    • Am I exceeding expectations?
      • Yes, I have evidence to demonstrate that I am starting to show-up consistently (multiple examples over at least 3 months) at the next level
      • No, I do not yet have evidence to demonstrate that I show-up consistently at the next level
    • Am I struggling to meet expectations?
      • Yes, I do not yet have evidence to demonstrate that I show-up consistently (multiple examples over at least a 6 month period) at my current level
      • No, I have evidence to demonstrate that I show-up consistently at my current level

  2. Each manager does the same for each individual who reports to them

    • Note: Individuals and manager can work in whatever format works best for them (a doc, a sheet, etc)

  3. Each individual and manager review each other’s assessment, discuss, and align. They jointly create the final version accounting for their discussion and reflecting their final alignment.

Tips for reflection

  • Reread 360 reviews and weekly reflection posts in #customer-support-internal
  • Review peer case review notes
  • Review handbook and docs PRs
  • Review solved cases and relevant Github issues
  • Technical competency matrix

How managers put forth any relevant promotions/salary adjustment recommendations

The outcome of this part of the practice is for the leadership team to calibrate across the entire team and ensure all promotions and salary adjustments are equitable. It happens in 5 steps over a two week period, via asynchronous work and a synchronous conversation.

  1. Each manager prepares a one-pager presenting the recommendation for promotion/salary adjustment, including evidence and rationale. It is up to each manager how they wish to write the one-pager in and in what format.

  2. Each member of the CS leadership team reviews all recommendations to ask questions and provide comments to ensure equitable promotions/adjustments.

  3. Each manager shares any relevant feedback to the individuals who report to them and if necessary repeats steps 1-3. The goal is alignment and equity, the very nature of this practice will continuously expose opportunities for clarity within the level framework.

  4. Each manager works with People Ops to solidify all relevant promotions/salary adjustments.

  5. Each manager shares with all relevant individuals a letter reflecting the promotion/salary adjustment.

Tips for putting forth recommendations

  • Be mindful to manage expectations; we go through a calibration process to maintain equity, so promotions/salary adjustments should be framed as a conversation (not a promise) until the moment you get to present the letter.
  • The first time through this with a member of your team will be the most work. Once you go through it once, you simply make time to talk each quarter and keep things updated.
  • The more time you put into aligning with an individual on performance, the smoother the rest of the practice should be. For example, if you don’t agree on someone moving from one level to another, you wouldn’t put forth a recommendation. Your job is to have those conversations with each individual who reports to you so they are constructive, thoughtful, supportive, and meaningful for each individual. It’s your job to make the recommendation, not that of the rest of the leadership team, whose job is to vet to ensure equitable thinking.
  • In every step, remember that we want to set-up each member of the team for success and ensure they are exercising their own agency over their career. Each individual moves through the levels at their own pace; while we want to see consistency in performance (evidence over 6 months), that doesn’t mean people have to move at that pace

Retro, learn, and grow

After every cycle, we retro to see what adjustments we need to make to our practice, what we need to clarify on the levels, etc.

What if something feels unfair or difficult?

If at any point an individual or manager feels like something is unfair or difficult, etc; please talk with your manager, your manager’s manager, and/or People Ops – whomever you feel at ease bringing your concern.