Workforce Planning & Organizational Design

Time in Role & Time in Level

Also known as: Role Tenure Level Tenure Time in Position

Definition

Time in Role measures how long an employee has been in their current position, while Time in Level measures how long they've been at their current job level. The critical distinction: Time in Role resets to zero when an employee makes a lateral transfer (same level, different position), but Time in Level does not reset—it continues accumulating until a level change occurs. These metrics help identify employees ready for advancement, detect career stagnation, optimize development timing, and understand talent mobility patterns. Together, they reveal whether employees are gaining breadth (frequent role changes) or depth (long tenure in role) in their careers.

In Deckata: Time in Role & Time in Level is automatically calculated from your HR systems and updated in real-time—no spreadsheets or manual work required.

How to Calculate

Time in Role

Formula
Current Date - Most Recent Role Start Date
Example
Current Date: January 1, 2025
Most Recent Role Start Date: March 15, 2023
Previous Role End Date (lateral transfer): March 14, 2023
Calculation: Jan 1, 2025 - Mar 15, 2023 = 1.8 years
Time in Role: 1.8 years (21 months)
Time in Role resets with every job change, including lateral transfers. If someone transferred from 'Sales Rep A' to 'Sales Rep B' (both IC3's, say) on March 15, 2023, their Time in Role starts fresh from that date—even though they've been at IC3 longer.

Time in Level

Formula
Current Date - Most Recent Promotion/Hire Date at Current Level
Example
Current Date: January 1, 2025
Last Promotion to Level 3: June 1, 2021
Lateral transfers since promotion: 2 (didn't reset level)
Calculation: Jan 1, 2025 - Jun 1, 2021 = 3.6 years
Time in Level: 3.6 years (43 months)
Time in Level only resets upon promotion or demotion—lateral moves don't affect it. This employee has been an IC3 for 3.6 years despite changing roles twice. Time in Level reveals readiness for promotion, while Time in Role shows role-specific expertise development.

Skip the manual calculations

Deckata automatically pulls data from all your HR systems, calculates Time in Role & Time in Level in real-time, and updates your executive decks instantly.

See it for yourself →

How to Visualize

01

Dual Distribution Histogram

Side-by-side histograms showing the distribution of Time in Role vs. Time in Level across the organization.

Best for: Understanding overall tenure patterns, identifying if internal mobility is creating breadth
If Time in Level distribution is significantly right-skewed compared to Time in Role (longer tail), it indicates employees are gaining breadth through lateral moves. If distributions are similar, mobility is primarily through promotions, not lateral transfers.
02

Scatter Plot: Time in Role vs. Time in Level

Plot each employee with Time in Role (x-axis) and Time in Level (y-axis), with diagonal line representing equal values.

Best for: Identifying mobility patterns, spotting employees with diverse experience vs. deep specialization
Points on the diagonal line = no lateral moves since last promotion. Points above the line = made lateral transfers (Time in Level > Time in Role). Dense clusters above the line at 2-3 years may indicate systematic rotation programs. Color-code by performance rating to identify high potentials.
03

Time in Level Distribution by Department

Box plot or violin plot showing Time in Level distributions for each department, revealing which areas have longer or shorter tenure at level.

Best for: Identifying departments with promotion bottlenecks, comparing career velocity across functions
Look for departments with high median Time in Level (>4-5 years)—these may have limited advancement paths or pyramid constraints. Wide distributions indicate inconsistent promotion timing. Narrow distributions suggest systematic career progression. Color-code departments and sort by median for quick insights.
04

Time in Level Distribution by Job Level

Stacked or grouped histogram showing Time in Level distributions segmented by current job level (IC1, IC2, IC3, MGR1, etc.).

Best for: Understanding typical promotion timelines at each level, setting realistic advancement expectations
Entry levels (IC1, IC2) typically show shorter Time in Level distributions (1-3 years) with faster progression. Senior levels (IC4+, MGR3+) show longer distributions (3-7+ years) as advancement slows. Use this to calibrate promotion expectations and identify outliers who've been at a level unusually long.

Stop manually calculating Time in Role & Time in Level

Deckata automatically calculates Time in Role & Time in Level, creates presentation-ready visualizations, and updates your executive decks in real-time—freeing you to focus on strategic insights instead of spreadsheet work.

Book a Demo Join Early Access