Dual ladder system

P G s reward and recognition system is best exemplified by our dual-ladder system for promotion. Employees in R D will choose, early in their career, whether to advance as a technical expert or as a manager of science. Both are equally valued, and this is important, so there is no stigma associated with one choice or the other. The management path for promotion is traditional and basically resembles all other industrial corporations, as well as the tenure track promotion system in academia. But the key here is that such a promotion system is public, not personal and private. It goes beyond a handshake and a raise and awards titles to individuals selected for advancement. Our titles include such terms as section head, associate director, director, company officers, etc. Others may use different titles, but the title used is far less important than its symbol, namely, the outward recognition of personal success. 

Although the details of dual-ladder arrangements differ from one company to another and, within one company, change from time to time, the system exhibits several common features. 

Hard questions. To devise equitable means for rewarding performance is not an easy task. For that reason it is essential to ask critical questions about the dual career ladder in any company that adopts this system. Here s a selection of such questions, which may find answers through networking or interviewing tact in voicing them is obviously desirable. Perhaps the best advice you can follow is to ask these questions when you have an offer in hand. 

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