How to promote juniors to middle developers?

Question

Work organization

We are trying from below (well, maybe from the middle) to establish workflows in the office. Share your experience, how does a formal certification, an increase in the status of a developer, take place?
Prior to this, the director gathered "top management" and decided: let this experienced dude work for a long time as an engineer of the second category, and this lead programmer. But Vasya can dump him, let's appoint him "chief on skeet". Etc. Moreover, they themselves somehow decided that it was time.
I was promoted through long one-to-ones with the director, sometimes the head of the department and HR were involved. Filling out a questionnaire with stupid questions, like how do you see yourself through...
Now it was my turn to be on the other side of the barricades. Our HR has been lured away for a long time. Waiting for the bosses to mature in order to promote my juniors - so they will scatter earlier, just appointing and raising salaries is somehow wrong. I want there to be no resentment, why Misha was promoted, but not Petya. For everyone to understand, you need to do 1,2,3 ... learn a, b and c. And then everything will be.
The main development is carried out in C++.
I'm not asking for ready-made solutions. Although that would be ideal. Just throw in ideas, your real experience, links to normal articles, etc.
What so far has been found on the same Habré, for example. Idiot sheets with lists of all the technologies that the manager making this list has heard about.
PS: All name matches are random. :)

Answer 1

First you need to prepare the most complete classification of who is who in your company. For example, an abstract jun has such and such skills, solves such and such tasks, etc. Middle, can and knows everything the same as jun + something else for each of the points + possibly additional points. Starting with senior developers, it should already be written how the employee affects the business, etc.
Once you have a classification, decide on a system for moving between levels. It can be anything from one-on-one interviews to tests. It is better that decisions are made not by one person, but by two or three.
Further, it is necessary to clearly define the salary fork for each position, taking into account all bonuses and other goodies. This data may not be public, but it is better for everyone to know what they can expect.
That's probably the whole simple set of recommendations. It is important, in my opinion, to approach the implementation of each stage iteratively and as a team. Submit for public discussion, refine, etc.

Answer 2

Our company recently made open requirements for the grade. A junior specialist should do a narrow range of tasks, but under the control of his supervisor. A little higher grade is already an independent person. A senior specialist is already someone who may need to delegate their powers. That is, the level is already higher. Even higher leading specialist. There is also a calculation, the employee moves towards the manager or those specialists. For example, a team leader is more of a manager and moves into management. Tech specialist is moving towards consultant and architect. Each employee is given goals for the year. Then the results are evaluated. As a rule, goals are chosen to achieve grade and salary.

Answer 3

The main development is carried out in C ++

Abstractions are abstract - well, this is how it happens, you put meaning into the terms "middle" and "junior", you decide who to reward them with, there are no criteria ....
So that there are no offenses - let's give the developer a mini- a project or library for development (improvement/development) and after some time let's grade it up based on the result

Answer 4

Make a description of how you distinguish juniors from middles and the question will disappear by itself, and if you cannot formally distinguish them, then the question does not make sense

Answer 5

At my last job, they recently set the same goal (there were criteria there before, but here they decided specifically). In general, we asked all programmers what skills are important from their point of view, what tools they have, what knowledge, what experience, etc. and now, as far as I know, they are trying + - to draw up a working model according to the result.

Answer 6

And in my opinion, you are not from that end.
You will do something-do-do something, you will like it and it will seem that you are doing Good.
But the business doesn’t need this (maybe), and since the business doesn’t need it, they won’t give money (they won’t increase the salary), and as a result, the jun will get the maximum that some kind of formal grade.
Therefore, a more correct way, IMHO, would be: to declare a "short report at a meeting", where the Business will present the idea and plan "on the fingers" of what you want to do (describe categories, exams ...), but have not done it yet. What result do you expect (such-and-such documents, such-and-such a motivation system) from your work and as a means of transformation (motivation, turnover ...) Most likely, everyone will nod their heads with a smart look and it already makes sense to do it. And if they say "yes, everything is fine with us" - apparently, this is not necessary at all.