Creating Career Ladder Positions in the Position Management System Online (PMSO)
A career ladder typically describes the progression from entry-level positions to higher levels of pay, skill, responsibility, or authority. For example, when a position has a range of grade levels (e.g., grades 5, 7, 9, 11) with a maximum grade of 12, and the vacancy announcement states there is promotion potential to grade 12, it is a career ladder position. Normally, after completing one year, the employee is at the full performance level for the grade and is eligible for promotion to the next higher grade without further competition. The employee reaches the highest grade or full performance level of a position to which an employee may be promoted through successive non-competitive career promotions for promotion to the next grade.
An Agency may create the Master Record (MR) and Individual Position (IP) for each grade individually as the employee progresses through the career ladder or as a group (e.g., all MRs and IPs are created when the position is classified and approved). In either case, randomly creating multiple positions for a single advertised multi-grade level position could produce an organization chart with many active non-budgeted positions which makes it difficult for the budget office, management, and the human resources (HR) office to know which positions are associated with a career ladder position.
Many Agencies have established Staffing Plans that link positions to a single staffing number, or they have created a numbering system specific to career ladders.
To Establish the MR with Identical Identifying Numbers for the Career Ladder in PMSO:
- Based on Agency guidance, determine a six-character number to describe the positions in the career ladder.
- Create an MR for each grade level.
- Enter the six-character number describing the career ladder as the MR number for each grade level.
- Inactivate all MRs except the one the employee occupies.
This results in an MR for each grade in the career ladder identified with the career ladder number.
To Establish the IP Attached to the MR with Identical Identifying Numbers for the Career Ladder in PMSO.
- Create an IP for each MR at each grade level.
- The IP number is eight characters, and the first six digits of the IP are the same as the MR. See the options below for creating the last two digits of the IP.
- Inactivate all Positions except the one the employee occupies.
Options for Creating the Last Two Digits of the IP Number:
- For each grade level, enter the grade level of the position.
- For each position, enter the career ladder full performance level grade.
- Any numbering system based on Agency guidance.
Regardless of the chosen option for creating the last two digits of the IP, the first six characters of the IP must match the MR number. The result must reflect an MR and IP at each grade level in the career ladder identified with a single number.
For example, the position is classified as a GS 5, 7, 9, 11, with a maximum grade of 12, and the vacancy announcement states there is promotion potential to grade 12. The Agency established PPQ001 as the career ladder number. Using the first option which bases the last two characters of the IP on the grade level of the position, the MR numbers, and IP numbers in PMSO are:
Grade 5: MR - PPQ001, IP - PPQ00105, Active
Grade 7: MR - PPQ001, IP - PPQ00107, Inactive
Grade 9: MR - PPQ001, IP - PPQ00109, Inactive
Grade 11: MR - PPQ001, IP - PPQ00111, Inactive
Grade 12: MR - PPQ001, IP - PPQ00112, Inactive
As an employee progresses through the career ladder, the agency must inactivate the prior position. By inactivating the positions, they may be reused when the employee moves to a different position outside the career ladder. There should only be one active position for each career ladder.
In EmpowHR to Set Up the Positions in PMSO:
- Based on Agency guidance, determine a six-character number to describe the positions in the career ladder.
- Create a Job Code for each grade level in the career ladder.
- Enter the six-character number as the MR for each Job Code (example displays as PPQ001).
- Inactivate all Job Codes except the one the employee occupies.
In EmpowHR, this results in a Job Code for each grade in the career ladder identified with the same MR. In PMSO, this results in a MR for each grade in the career ladder identified with the career ladder number.
To establish the IP attached to the MR with identical identifying numbers for the career ladder:
- Create a Position for each Job Code in the career ladder.
- The IP number is eight characters, and the first six digits of the IP are the same as the MR. See the different options above for creating the last two digits of the IP.
- Inactivate all Positions except the one the employee occupies.
In EmpowHR, this results in a Position and Job Code for each grade in the career ladder identified with the same National Finance Center Position Number and MR. In PMSO, this results in an MR and IP for each grade in the career ladder identified with the career ladder number.