How To Manage Promotion When There Is No Scope For Vertical Growth ?

Good morning,
I am Pavan Kumar and I am doing a project in HR. During my project I got few questions or bottlenecks, one of them is a what if case. The question is as follows:
In organisation, where the levels of hierarchy are less like, Manager>Sr. Assistant>Assistant>Trainee. If an employee of level Sr. Assistant is working the company for 15 year in same post and is good at work too with good track record and is drawing a salary if 25k and the managers salary is 26k. After working for these many years, the employee might be looking for a promotion, but the next level is manager and the manager post is not empty, Could you suggest what can be done in a way not to hurt his expectations.
Thanking you and looking forward to hear a logical step/solution to appraise the employee.
Thank you.

Greetings,
What are the options of the horizontal growth path? Generally, before promoting a level, it's better to ensure that the talent does a full cycle in the horizontal roles. This strengthens the basics and prepares for a sound leadership. This manages the compensation to a gradual growth through the salary range within the same band, than a sudden hike. A competitive bonus or incentive can be planned to keep the talent motivated and justify the extra responsibility taken and delivered rightly. Suppose if the assistant manager is shifted from Operations to sales, a suitable sales variable can be offered on target achievement. This will increase the salary for the employee, yet minimize the risk for the company.
You may read this article discussed on this issue. Young and clueless - HBR Article
Regards,
(Cite Contribution)

Thanks (Cite Contribution), it is a nice real story, I have read it and it is informative in practical sense. So, in other words, you would suggest job rotation is way through this problem.

Hi (Cite Contribution),
You linked a wonderful story, but i think this doesn't fit in Pavan's case. Pawan's case is a very common scene in most of the small organizations which have small number and even smaller number of opportunities.
Let me refer to Paerato's law of 20% vital and 80% non vital. In any organization only 20% of the employees get a chance to move ahead because that is the sheer number of responsibilities available in supervisory or leadership role. Rest 80% has only three options - quit or stay quite.
Here is where attrition has got a positive role to play. In my humble opinion, the only good option for such employees is to look out of the organization.
Change is always good - as very well depicted in Who Moved My Cheese by Spencer Johnson.

Thanks Avantika for refer to Paerato's law of 20% vital and 80% non vital, information is wealth, I would review on this. So finally I understand that Job rotation, quite or quite are the only options. since no senior of finance would like to go to HR etc after 15yrs of career hence job rotation may not be an option.
Thanks.

on the same notes ,, even we have come across the similar kind of situation in our organisation.
we have employees working in operations at the branch level..now we are looking forward for carer path / appraisal
the problem is if we do their promotion in terms of designation even then their is no job enalrgement / enhancement as right now they are designated as Cordinators we can promote them to executive then sr exectuve ..assistant managers but the their job responsibilities will remain the same so they will be just redsignated with salary hike with no promotion in real terms..
also in job rotation the only option is if they are intrested in sales..whcih we are sure they would'nt be
so what should we do .. shall we go ahead with illusionary promotion
Looking forward to the suggestions
Warm Regards
Hardeep Kaur

dear All
everybody contributed valuable points & sugestion. if an employee is working on the same designation for a decade and no promotion without additional responsibilities. better to give some new responsibilities to such employee without any promotion & provide some financial/non financial incentives.

Thank you Hardeep for your real time example of same type of problem.
Thanks you Ashwani, that was a wonderful contribution, asp per what I understand, you would suggest giving additional works or assignments to that person. That is a good one. I think by giving works that are out of his core area would also help him in developing in more areas.
Thank you.

"If you continue to do what you are doing, you will get what you have gotton"

There is no rule or system anywhere that if an employee works in a particular position for many no.of years have to be promoted. Promotion comes only when you are equipped to handle higher responsibilities for which you need to have

1) Technical Skills

2) Mangerial Skills and

3) People Skills

Technical skills you already have, and that is the reason why you are existing there. Other two skills, one has to develop if he/she wants to grow in the organization. Without developing these two things, if you keep cribbing that there is no promotion, you will never get.

Your Promotion also depends on your subordinates promotion, would you agree?

"There was a person (may be a star performer), whose contribution to the organization was excellent; he excelled in all fronts and tasks given to him. Almost everyone in the organization was talking about promotion of our hero. Performance review held. Everyone was handed over a 'review sheet' detailing about their increment/ promotion. Our hero opened his cover and could understand an excellent increment was awarded, but there was no promotion. He alomost wept. MD was out of station; and our hero had sleepless nights, and could not see people in the office; whoever he saw looked at him as if he/she was asking hey, what happened?".

Finally, he took an appointment with MD and asked him,

Hero: "Sir, how was my performance in the peformance review year"?

MD : "Excellent and extraordinary"

Hero: "Do you think that I deserved Promotion?

MD : "No doubt about it"

Hero: "Then why sir, you did not promote me?

MD : " I do not even have an iota of doubt that you are such a deserving candidate to be promoted to shoulder the higher responsibilities. But only one point which bothered me much

Hero: "What was the barrier?

MD : I know your chair is also equally important, and lot of responsibilities you handle. When you move from this chair to occupy higher chair, have you identified any of your subordinate to place in your position? Do you think anyone who is as such available currently in your department?

Hero : Not yet sir, my subordinates are good, hard worker, but it will take some more time for them to learn other skills to handle my current position.

MD : Therefore identify your subordinate, prepare / develop them to occupy your chair, come to me then, you would see your promotion letter get typed.

Therefore, your growth depends on your subordinates' growth. Unless and until you develop your fellow teammates, don't even think of promotion, just because you have put in 17 years (or even more so) of service in the same grade.

Balaji

Thank you Balaji, it was a valuable contribution to the knowledge. It is very informative. We almost see HR top executives and managers do less job physically, but things like these minute details take a lot of mental pressure. There work is huge and invisible.