Good day Sara -
My program (and many others) have successfully implemented such ladders. I would highly recommend reading through the "Clinical Exercise Physiologist Compensation Strategies..." white paper available through acsm-cepa.org website under the 'Advocacy' tab. Therein you will find some useful information and important cautions as you pursue ladder opportunities. The article outlines popular methods of career ladder implementation.
"In short, rewarding practitioners for years of service,
academic background and/or achievement of certification without meaningful differences
in duties performed is a contributing factor to pay inequity that may inhibit the long-term compensation environment for CEPs at the cost of quick gains." This is an important aside as unification within our profession toward these ladders can benefit, or hurt us all on a broader scale.
Therefore, I would recommend the following. First - take time to align position titles within your department. Second - make sure job descriptions are up to date and accurately represent duties of the position. If you are going to implement a 'tiered' system you will need distinct job descriptions for each position. Third - establish clear minimum requirements that distinguish positions. These are approaches that should be coordinated with your human resource and talent acquisition departments to ensure fair compensation through accurate market analysis.
I hope this provides a helpful direction for you and your team. A very worthwhile cause! After you have some time to read the white paper and digest, let us know if we can be of further assistance.
Best,
Matt Thomas
Director, Cardiopulmonary Rehab
matthew.thomas525@commonspirit.org