The Business Club.
← Scaled Operator
Guide15 min readFocus · October

Building a People Operating System

Comp bands, leveling, and performance at 100+ headcount.

Focus for October

Year-end calibration

October: calibration before reviews, not after.

Refreshes on the 1st of every month

Run cross-functional calibration sessions before year-end reviews. Same standards across teams = trustworthy reviews and defensible bonuses.

  • Calibration sessions calendared before reviews
  • Rating distributions discussed cross-team
  • Documented adjustments per leader
  • Outcome briefed to LT
01

Leveling without bureaucracy

A simple 5-level framework gives people a path without burying you in titles.

LevelLabelScopeTypical years
L1AssociateTasks assigned and supervised0-2
L2SpecialistOwns a domain, works independently2-5
L3SeniorOwns outcomes, mentors L1-L25-10
L4Lead / ManagerOwns a team or critical function8+
L5Director / PrincipalOwns a department or P&L line12+
02

Comp bands that hold up

Each level gets a band with a min, mid, and max. New hires generally enter at min-to-mid; mid is fully proficient; max is reserved for top quartile or rare-skill retention.

  • Use 2 external benchmarks per role (not just one)
  • Refresh bands annually, not deal-by-deal
  • Document why exceptions happen — they will
  • Communicate band ranges openly to managers, target to employees
03

Performance, honestly

Twice-a-year cycles that take a week — not a quarter — and actually change behavior.

  1. Self-review: 5 questions, 1 page max
  2. Manager review: rates against scorecard + leveling expectations
  3. Calibration meeting: managers compare across teams to align ratings
  4. Conversation: manager + employee, 60 min, future-focused
  5. Comp/promo decisions made in calibration, communicated in the conversation
More for Scaled Operator

Keep reading.

Playbook

EBITDA Quality Workbook

Add-backs, normalizations, and how a buyer will read your P&L.

Read →
Template

Three-Statement Model

Driver-based forecast linking ops decisions to cash.

Read →
Workshop

Capital Stack Strategy

When to use debt vs. equity vs. retained earnings.

Read →