What’s a leveling framework?
Definition
A leveling framework is a structured tool for anyone within an organisation to:
Define expectations in specific roles and levels
Develop and give visibility on career options from a high level overview
Boost and manage internal mobility
This mapping of roles and responsibilities will be used as much by HRs and Managers to manage teams and organisations, as it will be by employees themselves to steer their career evolution.
Benefits
Establish a consistent, standard framework across HR programs, covering compensation, performance, rewards, and training.
Promote fair compensation for equal work.
Clarify career growth opportunities, boosting internal mobility and long-term employee retention.
Enhance planning with clear expectations aligned to business needs.
Simplify administrative processes: standardize job titles, streamline compensation, and support rewards discussions.
How and when to use it?
Once in place, your leveling framework will guide the entire employee journey:
Hiring: Position new employees on the grid to set expectations and define compensation.
Performance evaluation: Assess progress against role expectations, responsibilities, and competencies.
Compensation reviews: Link salary, bonuses, equity, and rewards to the leveling framework, using set ranges or benchmark tools.
Figures leveling frameworks
We believe a single leveling framework can't suit all company sizes and maturity levels. A basic framework may be too simple for large organizations, while a complex one may overwhelm early-stage companies. That's why we offer two frameworks to meet the needs of any organization!
Simple framework
Your organisation is growing, some layers of management are appearing along the way, but the overall structure remains “simple”.
Individual contributors
| Influence | Autonomy | Complexity | Level Hint |
IC2 - | Team | Limited | Basic |
|
IC3 - Intermediate | Department | Moderate Rely on senior staff for complex decisions and follow general project instructions. | Contribute to large projects and proactively drive improvements within their scope. | - More complex or larger projects/tasks - More individual initiatives and propositions |
IC4 - Senior | Company Collaborate across functions and with leadership, impacting multiple departments. Often mentor junior colleagues. | Mostly autonomous on their scope, require light supervision or technical expertise for validation. | Own and solve complex tasks that are part of a large project, or lead small projects on their own. | - Recognised as a mentor - Own projects involving people beyond their team or department - Manage senior stakeholder on their own |
IC5 - Expert | Company and external stakeholders Partner with senior leaders to have a strategic impact across the company and identified as decision maker on their scope of expertise | Freedom of decision making, and identified as a subject matter expert through the whole organization on their scope of expertise. | Own and lead large and complex projects across the whole company. | - Internal expert/go-to person on a domain of expertise |
Managers
| Influence | Responsibility | Level Hint |
M3 - | Supervise a small team of 2-3 while managing key operational tasks. Split time between management and delivery as a first-time manager. | Ensure team execution and are accountable for results. Support people development without being the primary decision-maker. |
|
M4/5 - Manager / Head of | Own and are accountable for the performance of a team or multiple teams within a business unit. Contribute to strategy but defer final decisions to a C-level or VP. | Set team roadmaps aligned with company strategy. Propose budgets and workforce plans. Serve as role models, exemplifying company culture and values. | - Manages several teams or a small department - Manage IC and/or Team Leads and/or Managers - Owns the team’s roadmap - Propose budget and worforce planning |
M7 - VP | Manage a whole department with several level of management below them. Final decision maker in their department, they contribute to the company wide decisions with other leaders. | Set direction, vision, and strategy for their department, holding directors, managers, and leads accountable for execution. Influence cross-functional strategy. Approve staffing and budget decisions. Serve as a role model, embodying company culture and values. | - Manage several layers of management - Impact other department’s strategy and vision - Final decision maker of their scope / contributor to company wide decisions - Exec Team member |
M8 - C-Level | Define the strategy for the entire subset of a company in full or near full autonomy and strong influencer in the company’s strategy/decision making. | Inspire and lead company-wide strategy. Hold direct reports accountable for defining and executing functional strategies. Serve as a role model, embodying company culture, values, and principles. | - Contribute to, and influence the company wide strategy, possibly being a key decision maker - Owns 100% of her scope - Reports to CEO/COO/Board |
Advanced framework
For large companies with more than 250+ people
Your organisation already overcame a simple framework as it is getting more and more complex. New teams being created, new levels of management are needed, and more granularity in terms of impact or influence are to be considered to define someone’s level.
Individual contributors
⚠️ The following levels complement the individual contributor roles already described in the simple framework.
| Influence | Autonomy | Complexity | Level Hint |
IC1 - | Task Work within their own team and only have a direct impact on their own tasks. | Very limited Receive specific directions on one task after the other. Require daily supervision from a more senior peer or manager. | Learn and discover existing tools and process to apply them along with their academic knowledge to achieve simple tasks. |
|
IC6 - Strategist | External market Lead long-term company strategy and make critical decisions, setting high standards company-wide. | Freedom of decision making in all departments, partners with other senior leaders to provide proactively their strategic input. | Define and prioritize strategic and complex projects for which they will be following milestones and be consulted as expert. | - Recognised expert even outside of the company - Contribute to the company strategy |
Managers
⚠️ The following levels complement the manager roles already described in the simple framework.
| Influence | Responsibility | Level Hint |
M4 - | Manage a team of 3-8 individual contributors. Primarily focus on management and organizational tasks, with some operational responsibilities in their expertise. | Translate strategy and operational directives from their manager to their team. Lead team development and hiring plans. Serve as a role model, exemplifying company culture, values, and principles to their direct reports. | - Bigger team - Manage IC - Has full autonomy for hiring/firing - Lead people growth and people decision (hiring/firing) |
M5 - Head of | Own and are accountable for the performance of a team or multiple teams within a business unit. Contribute to strategy but typically defer final decisions to a C-level or VP. | Set team roadmaps aligned with company strategy. Propose budgets and workforce plans. Serve as role models, exemplifying company culture and values. | - Manages several teams - Manage IC and/or Team Leads and/or Managers - Owns the team’s roadmap - Propose budget and workforce planning |
M6 - Director | Manage an entire department with multiple team leads or managers reporting to them. Contribute to department strategy but usually defer final decisions to a C-level or VP. | Set direction, vision, and strategy for the department, holding managers and leads accountable for execution. Approve staffing and budget decisions. Serve as a role model, embodying company culture, values, and principles within the department. | - Contribute to, and influence the company wide strategy, possibly being a key decision maker - Owns 100% of the scope - Reports to CEO/COO/Board |
How to choose a Framework?
You already have a leveling framework
Great! You can match your existing framework to ours.
Now, choose between Simple and Advanced:
Exact match: If your framework matches one of ours, the choice is easy!
Similar but different: If you have differences (e.g., 5 IC/5 manager levels), the Advanced framework is likely a better fit. It will make mapping your employees easier and help you scale.
More levels: If you have more levels than our Advanced framework, you may need to consolidate some levels. Check our high-level definitions to help with this.
If you need help with matching, feel free to contact us for support.
You don't have a leveling framework and want to create one
If you haven’t needed a leveling framework until now, it’s time to create one.
Consider company size and anticipated growth:
Less than 200 employees and minimal growth expected: use the Simple framework with fewer levels.
50+ employees with substantial growth or over 200 employees: start with the Advanced framework. It offers more granularity and saves you from reworking your framework later.
You don't have a leveling framework and don't want to create one
If your team size or current organization doesn't require a leveling framework yet, that's okay. Choose between Simple or Advanced when setting up your account:
Less than 250 employees: Use the Simple framework—fewer layers of management mean less complexity.
More than 250 employees: The Advanced framework is better, as it allows more precise differentiation based on scope, responsibility, and influence.
FAQ
What if my job titles are not the same as Figures’? How do I map my employees?
What if my job titles are not the same as Figures’? How do I map my employees?
The most important part of the leveling framework is not the job titles, it’s the job definition! If your VP definition maps our Head of, then assign a Head of level. All companies are using different job titles, so we unfortunately not map 100% of yours all the time, but the definitions are made to be as precise as possible to guide you through the mapping
What if I am hesitating between two levels, how should I decide for one or the other?
What if I am hesitating between two levels, how should I decide for one or the other?
Sometimes the line between an intermediate and a senior, or between a manager and a head of, can be blurry! That’s why we’ve added some “level hints” to help you understand what really different between the level you are looking at and the previous one. This, plus descriptions, should be enough to support you in the level assignment.
If I chose a simple framework will I be able to see advanced data, and the other way around?
If I chose a simple framework will I be able to see advanced data, and the other way around?
If you use a simple framework, you will only have access to this view, though your dataset will include both simple and advanced data for common levels, with the following data mapping
Advanced IC2 → Simple IC2 // Advanced IC3 → Simple IC3 // etc.
Though it means you will not have access to Advanced IC1 and IC6 datasets, nor to Advanced M6 and M7 datasets.
If you use an advanced framework, you will have the possibility to use both views:
Simple framework, displaying datasets from clients using both simple and advanced framework
Advanced framework, displaying only datasets from clients also using the advanced framework (so we avoid shady mapping between levels… we can’t know if a “simple IC1” equals to and “advanced IC1” or “advanced IC2”
I am already a Figures’ client, do I absolutely need to re-map all my data?
I am already a Figures’ client, do I absolutely need to re-map all my data?
No, there’s not obligation for you to re-map your data if it’s already done. Our previous framework is the same as the Simple one, so you mapping is still valid.
Though, if at some point you want to switch from simple to advanced, you can do it whenever you want/need.
How does Figures’ leveling maps against other systems?
How does Figures’ leveling maps against other systems?
Ask your CSM, we have some supporting documents to compare with other providers