If you’re a leader within a service and support organization, one of the biggest challenges is often creating clear career progression. Today, ‘quiet quitting’ is common and leaders have constant pressure to do more with less. Yet many organizations neglect a powerful retention tool: a clear, believable career path. Even when job titles differ, the transition is poorly defined. Worse, as technology grows more complex, the support team is stuck in old compensation bands that don’t reflect reality.

The result? Our top performers will leave for even a small raise or a more impressive title.

This challenging situation is something I’ll be covering at a 30-minute session at the HDI Service & Support World conference at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas this May. I’ll share my own case study of mapping out career progression for my team, and cover what was effective as I worked with our HR team.

The Retention Crisis is Real and Costly

Job turnover rates for service and support teams have continued to increase over the past few years, currently ranging from 30% to 45%. Surveys in 2025 reported an average of 42%! Statistics show that one in three technology professionals has changed jobs in the last two years, and 74% of organizations have expressed concern about bleeding IT talent.

It takes time and effort to bring a new support professional up to speed in their new role, and that can cost the organization anywhere from 80% to 150% of their annual salary when related activities are factored in (recruiting, onboarding, lost productivity and knowledge gaps). This directly impacts service levels, customer satisfaction and the bottom line. HDI’s “State of Tech Support in 2025” reports widespread feelings of being underpaid relative to workload, driving staff to look for roles elsewhere.

Why Traditional Career Paths Fail

Most organizations have a single-tiered, ‘up-or-out’ style career ladder. This can force deeply technical talent into people-leadership roles they don’t want. Job titles rarely match the actual scope of a job, the criteria for progression are vague or confusing and compensation either doesn't match what’s expected of the employee or doesn’t keep up with the market. Staff feel frustrated, disengaged and ready to seek opportunities elsewhere.

A Transparent Framework That Works

The solution: build clear career levels with well-defined responsibilities, tie competencies to industry standards such as HDI or ITIL and align compensation to market-aligned pay bands. A best practice is a multi-track model that offers employees the opportunity to advance in seniority without forcing them into roles they don’t want.

For example:

• Technical Track (individual contributor): Designed for staff who have deep subject matter expertise, but who want to continue working on and solving complex issues without the added burden of having to manage staff.
• Management Track: For those who have an interest in leading teams and driving strategy.

There are documented successes in doing this. Atlassian implemented this model, giving its top technical talent ways to advance through the levels without becoming a manager. Balancing pay across the tracks at every level helps prevent forcing analysts into roles that will cause burnout.

Practical Implementation & Getting HR and Leadership Buy-In

Building a plan for making these changes doesn’t take long. Start with a 90-day plan that assesses current gaps, work with the team to define the levels and research compensation using tools such as HDI Salary data. Rework job descriptions that define roles (avoiding simple task lists) and communicate the process transparently at every step.

When approaching HR and leadership, frame the conversation in terms of ROI. Reducing turnover by 10% can save tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars annually. Cite examples of organizations that have successfully adopted this model and reported higher engagement, better knowledge retention and improved resolution times. Focus on actual business outcomes.

Don’t let your top performers walk out for a $5K raise. Join me at HDI Service and Support World to gain valuable insights into building effective career paths that work to retain talent. Use promo code: SWNEWS to save $400 on your registration.