What are General Expectations Profiles [GEP]? + FAQs
A "General Expectation Profile" (GEP) is a classification system that identifies the level of exposure to technical or managerial complexity expected for a role. It helps to segment every role in an organisation based on a universal framework. There are seven GEPs, ranging from "Support" (the least complex) to "Strategy Development" (the most complex). Each GEP outlines the typical tasks, decision-making responsibilities, and leadership requirements for the role.
The GEP system helps ensure consistency, provides qualitative job descriptions, and facilitates better talent management, reward structure, and organisational design.
Two conditions for expectations to be super clear in our organisation: - Managers and HR always refer to GEPS when discussing business expectations- All team members know the GEP of their role and that of their colleagues
Below ,you can find all the definitions for the 7 general expectation profiles
Below ,you can find all the definitions for the 7 general expectation profiles
FAQs
IS THERE A HIERARCHY BETWEEN THE DIFFERENT GEPs?
Let’s take the example of a role with a GEP4 Implementation Management. Does it necessarily imply that the GEP of the roles below will hierarchically be positioned at GEP 3 Coordinator and that the GEP of the roles above will necessarily at GEP5 Operational Development. The answer is NO! They only reflect differentiation in levels of exposure to technical or managerial complexity. In fact, in this context, it regularly happens that the GEP of the role of a manager is identical to the GEP of the roles of their direct reports.
Take the example of an engineering team. The team leader’s role has been identified as GEP4 Implementation Management. In the team, there are two engineers specialised in the development of technical solutions. Their job has a high degree of complexity and autonomy and they also have a GEP4 Implementation Management.
Their exposure to technical or managerial complexity are similar to their boss, simply they do not have a “people management” responsibility like their boss.
HOW WERE THE 11 GENERAL EXPECTATIONS SELECTED?
The 11 general expectations stem from PMC research. They account for over 90% of what organisations usually try to describe when they draft a job description.
They are also at the heart of the questions that are asked during recruitment interviews. Finally, they are also used by the major global providers of job evaluation and job classification methods such as Mercer, Hay, or Willis Towers Watson to distinguish the different classes of jobs.
WHY ARE THERE ONLY 7 GENERAL EXPECTATIONS PROFILES?
This segmentation was created with the help of managers and specialists in job levelling.
Their mission was to build a simple matrix that was easy to understand by both managers and team members. They benchmarked major global providers of job evaluation and job classification methods.
They also benchmarked a series of large corporations such as Xerox or Procter & Gamble. It appeared that there was no need to go into further details because, as you will experience, those 7 profiles do cover the vast majority of situations in organisations across the globe.
These definitions have been refined over 15 years of research involving dozens of local and global organisations.
HOW WAS THE DENOMINATION OF EACH GEP CHOSEN?
During research, it appeared that many organisations wanted to avoid a “class” approach. To meet this demand, the managers and consultants involved in the creation of the matrix were asked to give a name to each GEP rather than a number.
These names evolved over the past 15 years. They may not be perfect but they have been used since with success across every continent. We welcome any suggestions to continue making these denomination evolve. After a few years of testing, it also came to light that many managers didn’t seem to remember the names and prefer to use numbers. This is the reason why PMC finally combined both names and numbers, even if we agree that numbers are not ideal if you want to avoid a hierarchical connotation.
DO ALL THE ROLES HIERARCHICALLY REPORTING TO A GIVEN MANAGER NECESSARILY HAVE THE SAME GEP?
No, absolutely not. Remember that PMC is not about grades or levels in the hierarchy. It’s about differentiating the type/profile of expectations behind each role. It’s a management tool. Say, for instance, that you need to hire a Software Developer to produce standard lines of codes following standard working methods. That role will most likely have a GEP2 Administrator. The role title could be Developer.
Now, say that you also need a Software Developer who has the capacity of identifying code structure issues requiring advanced analysis skills. That role will most likely have a GEP3 Coordinator. In that case it would also have a different role title, for instance Developer Analyst. As you can see, even with roles that look similar and report to the same manager, there can be a difference in the GEPs. In this particular case, these two roles will have different role titles and will also have different reward & benefits conditions.
WHAT DOES THE TIME SPAN OF CONTROL DIMENSION MEAN?
The time span of control measures how long it takes to see the impact of a decision or how long an employee can work autonomously.
- Examples given:
- Short-term: Bread baking (immediate results).
- Long-term: Merging companies (years to see full impact).
GEP REVISION TOOL