How to Build a ClickUp Job Leveling Matrix

A structured job leveling matrix designed in the spirit of ClickUp helps you create consistent role definitions, clarify expectations, and support transparent career growth across your company. By following a clear framework, you can document responsibilities, skills, and impact for every level in every role.

This how-to guide walks you step by step through creating a job leveling matrix similar to the approach described in the ClickUp job leveling framework, so you can scale your team with clarity and fairness.

What Is a Job Leveling Matrix?

A job leveling matrix is a structured document that outlines how roles progress from one level to another. Each level describes:

• Scope of responsibilities
• Required skills and competencies
• Expected impact on the team and business
• Indicators of readiness for promotion

Well-designed matrices align hiring, promotions, and compensation, reduce bias, and make performance conversations more objective.

Step 1: Define the Purpose of Your ClickUp-Style Matrix

Before you start writing levels, clarify why you are building a matrix inspired by ClickUp’s approach. Common goals include:

• Standardizing titles across teams
• Creating transparent promotion paths
• Aligning compensation bands with levels
• Supporting managers during performance reviews

Write a short purpose statement. This helps you make consistent decisions when details get complicated.

Step 2: Choose Job Families and Tracks in ClickUp Fashion

Next, group roles into logical job families, similar to how ClickUp organizes responsibilities in their framework.

Examples of job families:

• Engineering
• Product Management
• Design
• Marketing
• Sales
• Customer Support or Success

Within each family, create tracks if needed. For instance, engineering might have:

• Individual contributor track
• Management track

This keeps progression clear whether someone wants to grow as a specialist or as a people manager.

Step 3: Define Your Levels the Way ClickUp Does

Now outline levels for each track. Many teams, including the ClickUp example, use a numbered structure such as:

• Level 1–2: Junior / Associate
• Level 3–4: Mid-level / Professional
• Level 5–6: Senior / Staff
• Level 7+: Principal or Executive

For each level, keep titles consistent across job families when possible. For example, “Senior” should represent similar scope and expectations whether it is in design or engineering.

Key Elements for Every ClickUp-Style Level

For each level, clearly document:

• Scope: Size and complexity of problems they solve
• Autonomy: How independently they work
• Collaboration: How they work with teams and stakeholders
• Impact: How their work moves company goals
• Leadership: How they influence others, with or without direct reports

Use precise, observable language rather than vague adjectives.

Step 4: Create ClickUp-Inspired Competency Categories

A strong matrix, much like the one described in the ClickUp blog, uses consistent competency categories across roles. This makes performance conversations clearer and more equitable.

Common competency categories include:

• Craft or Technical Skills – ability to execute core job tasks
• Execution and Delivery – reliability, quality, and timeliness
• Collaboration and Communication – working with others, sharing context
• Ownership and Drive – initiative, follow-through, and accountability
• Leadership and Influence – mentoring, guiding, or managing others
• Business Impact – contribution to team and company outcomes

For each category, define how expectations change from level to level.

Write Behavioral Indicators for Each Level

Within every competency, list observable behaviors. For example:

• Junior level: Delivers tasks with guidance; asks for help when blocked.
• Mid-level: Plans work independently; reliably ships projects.
• Senior level: Anticipates problems; improves systems and processes.

This style, consistent with the ClickUp matrix approach, gives managers clear language to use in reviews.

Step 5: Map Levels to Roles and Titles Like ClickUp

Once competencies are defined, map them to specific roles and titles.

1. List every current role in your company.
2. Assign each role a default level or level range.
3. Verify that responsibilities match the defined level.
4. Adjust titles where expectations are misaligned.

Document examples of roles at each level. For instance:

• Product Designer I – Level 2
• Product Designer II – Level 3
• Senior Product Designer – Level 5

Aligning titles to consistent levels, as seen in the ClickUp example, reduces confusion and title inflation.

Step 6: Connect Compensation Bands to Your ClickUp Matrix

With levels in place, link them to compensation ranges. Although exact numbers will vary by company, the ClickUp-style structure makes it easier to:

• Ensure pay equity across teams and locations
• Explain how promotions affect salary bands
• Support recruiting with clear pay ranges

Work with finance and HR partners to define ranges for each level. Document the philosophy behind your ranges so you can explain them transparently.

Step 7: Document the Matrix in a ClickUp-Like Layout

Present your matrix in a format that is easy to scan and update, taking cues from the ClickUp blog layout.

Useful formats include:

• A table with levels as rows and competencies as columns
• Separate pages for each job family
• Overview diagrams showing how tracks relate

Ensure employees can access a single, authoritative version so they always know where to look.

Core Sections to Include

• Purpose and principles of the matrix
• Definitions of all levels
• Competency descriptions by level
• Role and title mapping to levels
• Promotion and calibration guidelines

Mirroring the clarity of the ClickUp example will increase adoption and trust across your teams.

Step 8: Roll Out Your ClickUp-Style Matrix to the Team

How you launch the matrix matters as much as the content. Plan a rollout in phases:

1. Leadership alignment: Walk leaders through the structure and gather feedback.
2. Manager training: Teach managers how to use the matrix in reviews and hiring.
3. Company-wide launch: Share the matrix, FAQs, and examples.
4. Feedback loop: Collect input and refine where needed.

Be explicit that the matrix is a living document. As your company grows, revisit it regularly, just as ClickUp updates its own frameworks to match new realities.

Step 9: Use the ClickUp Approach in Performance Reviews

Integrate the matrix into your review process so it becomes a daily tool, not a static document.

Ways to use it:

• Structure self-reviews around competency categories.
• Guide manager assessments with level descriptions.
• Identify gaps between current performance and the next level.
• Align growth plans with clearly defined behaviors.

This keeps reviews focused on observable outcomes and future growth rather than vague impressions.

Step 10: Learn Directly from the ClickUp Example

For a detailed reference, review the original ClickUp job leveling matrix article. It provides concrete examples of how a fast-growing company structures levels, competencies, and impact expectations.

You can read it here: ClickUp job leveling matrix guide.

Next Steps and Helpful Resources

If you want expert help operationalizing a ClickUp-style matrix, implementing it inside your HR or project management stack, or aligning it with OKRs and team workflows, consider consulting a specialist.

For additional support with systems design, performance frameworks, and process optimization, you can explore services at Consultevo.

By following these steps and taking inspiration from the structure and clarity of the ClickUp framework, you can design a job leveling matrix that scales with your organization, supports fair decisions, and gives every employee a transparent path for growth.

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