You set up a grade ladder using the Total Compensation Setup Wizard. The wizard guides you through the steps for creating a new grade ladder or updating an existing grade ladder.

You can save your work at any stage of the grade ladder setup process and make changes to a completed grade ladder at any point. Grade/Step Progression uses the grade ladder setup that is valid at the time of running the grade/step progression process. For example, if your existing grade ladder uses automatic approval and you change it to use manual approval on 01-JAN-2003, progression that occurs after that date uses manual approval.

The application does not, however, allow you to remove a step or a grade from a grade ladder if employees exist on that step or grade.

1. Using the Total Compensation Setup Wizard Welcome page, select the Grade/Step Progression business area.

2. Using the Search: Grade/Step Progression page, click Create Grade Ladder to open the Grade/Step Progression Task List page.

   If you want to make changes to an in-progress grade ladder, use this page to find the ladder and complete any of the following outstanding tasks.

3. Using the Grade/Step Progression Task List page, select the first task in the list to navigate to the Task 1: Grade Ladder page.

   Note: If a Grade/Step Progression Plan Type does not already exist in your business group, you can create the plan type with an effective start date, not earlier than 01-JAN-1951, using this page. The application uses this date as the effective start date for the various compensation and benefits objects that it creates when you submit the grade ladder. The application also creates the Grade/Step Progression life events with this effective date, if they do not already exist in the business group.

   Using this page you can:

   • Enter basic details about the grade ladder, such as its name, and its effective date.

   • Specify if the grade ladder is the default grade ladder for the business group. You need not manually assign a grade ladder to assignments on grades that are part of the default grade ladder. The application treats them as assigned to the default grade ladder.

   • Specify the Posting Style, which identifies if the application must automatically progress an eligible employee to the next grade/step or if you must approve the proposed progressions manually.

   • Specify the Progression Style, which identifies how the employees progress on the grade ladder - next step or next grade or grade and step, or no progression at all.

   • Use Progression Points if more than one grade uses the same sequence of steps.

   • Specify the Progression date, which is the date when eligible employees on this grade ladder progress to their next step/grade on the ladder.

   • If you have selected Manual as your Posting Style, you can:

     • Rank your employees to determine the people you want to progress from a group of eligible employees.

     • Use Oracle Workflow to notify managers for the approval of the proposed progressions.

4. Enter salary information for the grade ladder (Task 2: Salary Information) :

   • Specify the currency to use for grade and step rates, and if the application should update salaries automatically upon progression, based on pay administration rules.

   • If you have set up the grade ladder to update salaries automatically upon progression, you can also specify how you want the application to pass employees' salary to payroll. Use Salary basis if you use Salary Administration. Use the default Salary Element and Input Value, if you want the application to update the salary element entries directly.

     The application enables switching between salary basis and salary element and input value as the salary update method for an assignment. This feature offers you the flexibility to continue with automatic salary updates when you move a person from one grade ladder to another with a different salary update method, for example.

   • You also specify if you can manually override system-updated salaries using the Salary Administration window. You must choose this option if you want to update salaries manually in the Salary Administration window.

   Even if you are not linking salary updates to a grade ladder, but you use grade and step rates, you need to review the currency and rate information on this page.

   Oracle recommends that you use the default currency that the business group uses.

   if you are creating multiple grade ladders for the same business group, use the same rate period for each grade ladder. If you select different rate periods, there may be conflicting values for a grade that is shared across grade ladders.

5. Select or create grades to attach to this grade ladder and place them in sequence on the grade ladder (Task 3: Grades). You can attach existing grades that you created in the Grades window. However, we recommend that you use the Total Compensation Setup Wizard to create any new grades for use on grade ladders.

   Note: You can add a grade to a grade ladder only if the grade is valid on the grade ladder's effective date.

   You can reuse grades in other grade ladders, but the grade ladders must use the same Period. (You set this up as part of the grade ladder's salary information). Also, if the grade uses progression points, you can only add the grade to other grade ladders that also use progression points.

6. Optionally, create and add steps to the grades on the grade ladder and define the step ceiling for each grade (Task 4: Steps). A ceiling step is the highest step attached to a grade to which an employee may progress.

   If your grade ladder uses progression points, use this page to create (or reuse) pay scales and use those pay scales to create steps. Please omit this task if your grade ladder does not use steps.

7. Optionally, define the default and (if required) criteria salary rates for your grades or grade steps (Task 5: Rates). You can also set up variable rate profiles for use in Grade/Step Progression criteria sets using the Variable Rate Profiles window.

   See: Defining General Information for a Variable Rate Profile

   See: Defining the Criteria in a Variable Rate Profile

   As part of your ongoing administration, you can at any time update the grade/step rates on a grade ladder. To update all the rates you attached to a grade ladder in a single step, use the Mass Update region on the Update Rates pages.

   Please omit this task if your grade ladder does not link salary rates to grades.

8. Specify the progression rules for this grade ladder (Task 6: Progression Rules). Select the criteria (as an eligibility profile) an employee must meet to be eligible for progression.

   Define your eligibility profiles ensuring they are valid for the grade ladder start date. You define eligibility profiles using either the Participation Eligibility Profiles window or directly in the Total Compensation Setup Wizard. You can also reuse existing profiles. You attach an eligibility profile at the grade ladder, grade or step level.

   See: Defining an Eligibility Profile

9. Review, save, and validate the grade ladder setup (Task 7: Review and Submit). When you are satisfied that your grade ladder is complete, you can activate it to make it available for employee progression.