Specialist career in IT within medium-sized businesses

Cjt Systemsoftware AG is a medium-sized IT services company currently employing around 70 people in Karlsruhe; the company was founded in 1991. Its core services include software and network consultancy and the development of innovative software products. Cjt has been recognised as a ‘Top Company’ by the employer review platform kununu for several years running. Daniel Stengel is the company’s Head of Human Resources and authorised signatory.

At the start of the specialist career programme, the company had limited staff development opportunities. Performance reviews did take place, but these tended to occur when there was cause for criticism or when an employee had a concern.
Transparency regarding the expectations placed on staff and opportunities for development were key issues: “I feel there’s a lack of prospects for people who’ve been here a few years longer.”

The aim was to introduce horizontal career paths. This led the company to adopt specialist career paths.

• Daniel Stengel, Head of Human Resources at cjt, and Regina Bergdolt, systems architect for specialist career paths, have jointly introduced specialist career paths within the company.
• In the design phase, the company opted for a broad-based model of specialist career paths with two core job families: Software Developers and IT Consultants.
• Working with the consultant, the company initially developed three career levels per job family, as well as a separate role description for each level.
• The consultant developed the profile of personal, social and entrepreneurial competencies for each role using a specific methodology – the Critical Incident Interview – in consultation with decision-makers.
• For discussions with staff, there is now a feedback form for each role and career level, featuring descriptions of skills on a scale.
• It was important to involve staff in the introduction of the specialist career path. The involvement of senior staff, in particular, was crucial.

• The specialist career programme was launched in 2018 and completed in 2019.
• By introducing specialist career levels, the company has created transparency and set out structured staff development options for employees.
• Through these specialist career programmes, the company has thus established a staff development system.
• Employee surveys show a high level of satisfaction amongst specialist staff with the horizontal career paths.
• The company positions itself as an attractive employer for specialists.
• A specialist career path also offers systematic professional development for junior staff following their training, thereby directly contributing to increased value creation.

The introduction of the specialist career path at cjt Systemsoftware demonstrates that horizontal, specialist development pathways are a key factor in staff retention and value creation. The company is continuously refining both the specialist career model and its leadership roles.

• “For all businesses, from small to medium-sized enterprises, a specialist career path makes perfect sense. After all, the people who work there want to have prospects.”
• “Basically, every time we discussed the stages of a specialist career path, we ended up with more questions than answers… The real breakthrough came when we brought in external consultancy – in this case, you.”
• “When we rolled it out, our aim was to get everyone on board.”