Here are 4 Tips for Structuring Employee Promotion :

1) Provide High-Performing Employees More Responsibility Every Year -Businesses should give successful workers additional tasks and responsibilities each year. This shows employees that they are improving and reduces the chances they will leave the company for a job with more learning opportunities. Gradual increases in the amount of work and supervision an employee is responsible for is called “soft advancement.” Soft advancement is integral to employee satisfaction and performance.

Consider the experience of two different employees, both of whom have had their job for one year: Suzanne completes the same tasks she did during her first month of work. She has not assumed any additional responsibilities and has not had the opportunity to get involved with new projects.

Joe’s boss has given him more tasks and responsibilities over the course of the year. He has become involved with new business processes and has been granted the ability to join new projects if his workload allows. Joe can recognize specific, measurable professional progress in his first year of work.

Which employee is likely to feel more fulfilled? Which is likely to show long-term loyalty to the company they work for? Joe is more likely to feel excited about his work and his position within his company. He has now seen firsthand that at his company, hard work is rewarded. Suzanne will likely feel bored and neglected. She may look aggressively for a new job where she is granted opportunities to develop and improve.

2) Understand That Yearly Employee Promotions Are not Necessary for Career Growth
Companies should provide workers with frequent soft advancements by increasing their responsibilities. Offering yearly pay raises, promotions, and “hard” advancements, however, aren’t always necessary for employee morale and success.

3) Companies should also anticipate young workers leaving jobs more frequently to create their own hard advancements.

Providing employees hard advancements each year is difficult because companies rarely have the need for employees to assume entirely new roles or the funds to provide pay bumps to every employee. A substantial portion of millennials will create their own hard advancement by leaving for a new role at a different company – even if their company offers clear opportunities to advance and improve.

4) Companies can craft intelligent and effective employee advancement policies by understanding that yearly promotions are not a sustainable way to manage a workforce and that employee turnover is a natural part of running a 21st century business. Provide Younger Workers Clear Promotion and Job Advancement Opportunities Companies must provide early and mid-career workers clear, regular opportunities to earn hard advancements such as pay raises.

3 Ways to Make Advancement Clear
Experts say that employees in their prime working years will be more loyal and productive if they have a clear understanding of what it takes to receive promotions and pay bumps.

1. Establish a Timeline for Employee Advancement
Every company should have a planned timeline of promotion and growth for employees.

For example, a company can explain to new hires that promotions are granted about every two years. This way, an employee knows how much time he or she has to perform at a level worthy of promotion.

2. Understand Employees’ Career Desires
How can a company structure a plan for employee growth without knowing what employees want? Companies must take time to learn employee preferences.

Regularly meet with workers and understand how often they expect to be promoted, the additional responsibilities they are most enthusiastic about, and how they envision their future careers.

3. Consider Using a “Pay-for-Performance” Advancement Model
A “pay-for-performance” advancement model provides employees clear metrics to meet to be promoted. Instead of being promoted after a certain amount of time, employees are promoted when they meet specific objectives. Understand Young Workers’ Concerns About Ability to Advance
To fully support employee career growth, companies must understand the concerns that young employees hold about fair workplace advancement.

While young employees expect to advance regularly, fewer than 1 in 5 workers between 18 and 34 actually believe that all of their company’s employees have a chance to earn additional responsibilities, projects, promotions, and pay raises. Structure Employee Advancement Fairly and Effectively
Advancing at work is important to employees and the companies they work for.

Fair and effective employee advancement improves workers’ morale and productivity and reduces employee turnover.

To achieve such an advancement policy, companies must understand the differences between:

“Hard” advancement, such as pay raises and formal promotions
“Soft” advancement, which is a gradual increase in the tasks, responsibilities, and projects employees complete

For example, an outbound sales professional may be promoted when he or she has converted a set number of clients. This way, employees have clear expectations and will feel that high performers are rewarded.