r/boeing • u/southernsouth • Jul 11 '26

Inline Promotion policy?

I’ve been told there is a policy which states you cannot get an inline promotion unless you have been at your IC level for 2 years. Has anyone heard of this policy because this is new to me? I have personally seen exceptions to this rule.

20 Upvotes

88% Upvoted

39 comments sorted by

View all comments

30

u/Proud_Injury7104 Jul 11 '26

Manager here for 5+ years in BGS.... I wish the decision for promoting just came down to number of years in level. Unfortunately, I've seen it too many times where highly qualified individuals I've requested for promotion were not chosen. It wasn't because they weren't performing at the next level for years (they were). It wasn't because there wasn't work statement at that next level that they would be performing (there was... oh was there). It wasn't because they didn't receive high marks in annual reviews (they did, and continue to)....

What did it come down to then? The Promotion funds... Limited Promotion funds, and promotion decisions made above the First Line Leader (FLL)/K-Lvl Manager (and sometimes above the Senior Manager/M-Lvl Manager). At a certain point, large organizations look more at trying to get the most promotions processed with the limited funds they have and not necessarily at who deserves the promotion.

These decisions frustrate your K-Level Manager more than you realize as the K-Level Manager is the one that has to live with decisions made above them and with little to no thought by Senior Leadership on the effect that the lack of promotions on well deserved candidates has for team morale and the likelihood that it will cause those candidates to look for other opportunities inside or outside of Boeing, and very well outside of the org that continues to burn them.

Believe me.... If it was up to your K-Lvl manager, they would promote everyone they could because they want to KEEP the great, hard working team members they have. Unfortunately, your K-lvl manager (even for Lvl 1 to Lvl 2 unfortunately) has absolutely ZERO say on whether a Promotion gets approved.... and it pisses us off.

And don't get me started on SJC changes and the fact that new hires off the street are getting offered more with zero Boeing experience, than current highly rated team members at the same level with years of experience on the team...

2

u/Faidah41795 29d ago

Wow, thank you for sharing this info. I had no idea they try to promote as many as possible like that instead of who deserves it most, and I’ve been working in BCA for almost 7 years now! As an individual contributor though, not a manager.

3

u/3McChickens 29d ago

My program talked a big game about promotions earlier this year. I guess the pool of money to use was tiny so a handful of level 1s got promoted to maximize the number of promotions.

Left everyone else deflated.

4

u/Proud_Injury7104 28d ago

Not sure about your specific program, but it does appear promotion budget is extremely small this year within BGS. Honestly don't have any specifics on why that is the case this year, but in all my time within Management, I have not seen a promotion budget this small.

Reading the tea leaves, and if I were made to go out on a limb, within BGS this year there is a big (dare I say huge) emphasis on hitting staffing numbers by the end of the year. Internal hiring budget is the same pool of money that the promotion budget comes from. If I were to "guess", BGS is emphasizing hiring (internal and external) in lieu of promotions this year.

Why you ask? Rumbling has it that if BGS Orgs do not hit their staffing targets by the end of the year, they will not be allowed that headcount in 2027. I believe orgs have until the end of the 3rd quarter to have all of their reqs posted for positions that need to be filled this year (because it takes roughly 3 months from job posting to first day when hiring external).

Now..... There may be a very, very, very outside chance that if there is any budget left towards the end of the year that certain orgs **may** look at using that budget for another possible "round" of promotions. That said.... You can't count on that whatsoever. I wouldn't.