Tier Advancement

Cycles of Tier Advancement

Tier Advancement is offered once annually. Employees may complete assessments, and managers may score them, at any time during the year.  Proctored testing is held only during the Tier Advancement cycles. Managers are encouraged to use the assessments as tools for onboarding, training, and evaluating staff performance.

Staff in the Coordinator or Clinical Data Manager positions are required to obtain:

• 36 points to achieve Tier 2
• 84 points plus pass successful committee review of their portfolio to achieve Tier 3

Staff in the Research Program Leader positions are required to:

• Pass successful committee review of their portfolio to achieve Tier 2

Eligibility 

(official policy can be found here)

Staff mapped into, or hired into, any of the five classifications below may be eligible:

• Clinical Research Coordinator (1201)
• Clinical Research Nurse Coordinator (1203)
• Regulatory Coordinator (1219)
• Clinical Data Manager (1334)
• Research Program Leader (1280)

These staff are eligible if they:

• Have not reached the top tier for the classification (Tier 3, except in the case of Research Program Leader, which is Tier 2).
• Have not received an overall “Needs Improvement” on their most recent performance appraisal or mid-year review (if applicable) prior to announcing intent to go through tier advancement.
• Appropriate parties believe the candidate is ready for tier advancement.  Appropriate parties may include faculty, managers, and those in human resources – those who are associated with the professional development of the clinical research staff member.

Process Overview

• The RPM will be responsible for serving as the Single Point of Contact (SPOC; official policy can be found here) and completing a REDCap survey for each employee applying for Tier Advancement. The link to complete this survey can be located on the RPM Teams Group.  It is the department/center/institute’s responsibility to ensure appropriate parties (faculty, HR, others) are included in the conversation about whether an employee is ready for advancement.
• WE-R will contact employees participating in tier advancement. Employees will:
  • Complete a survey to record the competencies and level at which they would like to be tested.
  • Drive the process and complete assessments in a timely manner.
• The manager will:
  • Review the employee’s survey submission and make necessary adjustments.
  • Review with the employee the list of assessments that will need to be completed.
  • Conduct and score relevant assessments.
  • Input the results of employee assessments into REDCap by the cycle due date.  We strongly encourage early submissions.
• WE-R will:
  • Input scores from centrally-reviewed and proctored assessments.
  • Confirm final point tally.
  • Convene committees for review of applications for staff advancing to Tier 3 (CRC, CRNCs, Reg Coordinators, and CDMs) or those advancing to Research Program Leader Tier 2; input outcome of committee meetings.
  • Communicate employee results to the department/center/institute RPM in October. It is the department/center/institute’s responsibility to share the results with the employee.

Tiering Results & Salary Implications

Staff and their managers will be notified of results of their testing in September, with an expected effective date of November 1st. The salary increases will be as follows:

• 3% for advancement to Tier 2
• 5% for advancement to Tier 3, or for those advancing from a Research Program Leader Tier 1 to Research Program Leader Tier 2

Welcome Packets

These documents provide employees and managers with a comprehensive look at the Tier Advancement process.

Employee Welcome Packets

CRC, CRNC, CDM, and Regulatory Coordinator Welcome Packet
Research Program Leader Welcome Packet

Manager Welcome Packets

Manager of CRC, CRNC, CDM, and Regulatory Coordinator Welcome Packet
Manager of Research Program Leader Welcome Packet

Sign Up for Office Hours

Virtual Office hours for WE-R Tier Advancement will be held every Monday (with the exception of Holidays), 12PM-1PM, from March 8 to June 28. We will speak individually with people who have questions; please prepare your questions in advance. To sign up for a 15 minute slot, click this link. Sign up for Office Hours. A WE-R team member will call you during your designated time. If you become unavailable during your selected time, please contact WER-jobs@dm.duke.edu.

Readiness Tool

Use this tool to plan for Tier Advancement for clinical research job classifications at Duke. This is to be used by employees and their supervisors, faculty, and HR managers to decide whether tier advancement is appropriate. Note – this is a self-assessment tool. Candidates applying for Tier 3, and Tier 2 for RPLs, will also receive committee review of their application.  

CRC, CRNC, CDM, and Regulatory Coordinator Readiness Tool
Research Program Leader Readiness Tool

Assessments

Below are the assessments for tier advancement. If you have questions, please contact wer-jobs@duke.edu.

Note: * This is a proctored assessment and learning objectives are provided below.

Research Operations

Safety and Ethics

Data

Scientific Concepts

Site and Study Management

Expert/Senior and Other

**Employees may only test for one “Other Competency”. Employees and managers will alert WE-R to the chosen “other competency” via a separate process, using this survey: Other Competency REDCap Survey. This survey will need to be completed by the employee and confirmed by the manager no later than March 29th to be considered for approval. You will receive an email from WER-jobs@duke.edu with a final determination by April 2nd.

Competency assessments for RPLs

Complete this template, upload into your Box folder

Leadership assessments for RPLs

Complete this template, upload into your Box folder

Leadership assessments for CRCs, CRNCs, CDMs, and Reg Coordinators seeking Tier 3

Complete this template, upload into your Box folder

Guidelines for Portfolio Submissions

Cover page for RPLs
Guidelines for RPLs
Cover page for CRCs, CRNCs, CDMs, and Reg Coordinators seeking Tier 3
Guidelines CRCs, CRNCs, CDMs, and Reg Coordinators seeking Tier 3

Training for Tier Advancement

Training for All Staff and Managers

Training for Managers and Leaders