How to Build Career Pathways That Drive Retention, Without a Fancy HR System

Why CHROs Need This
If your best people can’t see a future at your company, they’ll build it somewhere else. In this practical, no-fluff session, Angela Cheng-Cimini, Head of HR at The Chronicle of Philanthropy and former CHRO at Harvard Business Publishing, breaks down how she created a DIY career pathways system—using nothing more than Excel—that increased internal mobility, enabled honest promotion conversations, and addressed turnover head-on.

This isn’t about creating bloated frameworks that sit on a shelf. It’s about giving your managers and employees a shared language for development—and your business a path to stronger margins and performance.

What You’ll Learn
✅ The 3-part framework for career pathing (Core, Technical, Leadership)
✅ How to define skill mastery across four experience levels
✅ Why employees leave without this—and how to stop it
✅ A proven approach to equitable, peer-reviewed promotions
✅ How to build your own version using AI and Excel—no tech stack required

Duration
31 minutes

Best For
CHROs and HR leaders facing high turnover, stalled internal mobility, unclear development paths, or needing a simple structure to support talent development and performance—especially in lean or high-growth environments.

Ps. Not a CHRO Mastermind member yet? Learn more here: https://www.chropartners.com/