Wahoo Fitness
A Career Framework to drive growth and nurture talent at Wahoo
[2021 → 2022]
As Wahoo's design team grew, it became clear that a more structured approach to career development was needed to foster talent and align with the company’s growth goals. I led the creation of a comprehensive design career framework that provided clarity, growth opportunities, and better alignment across teams. This framework not only improved team morale but also contributed to better retention and engagement within the design function.
Challenge
As Wahoo’s design team scaled, we faced a common challenge: providing a clear path for career development that would keep our growing team motivated, engaged, and aligned with company goals. Without a structured framework, it was difficult for designers to understand their growth trajectory, and we lacked a common language around expectations, roles, and performance metrics. This ambiguity was impacting morale, retention, and the team’s overall effectiveness.
Approach
I led the effort to create a design career framework that provided clarity on roles, responsibilities, and growth opportunities across the design function. We began by gathering insights from the team—what they needed to feel supported and how they viewed career progression. We also benchmarked frameworks from other companies in the tech and design space to see what could work best for Wahoo’s unique culture.
Defining Roles and Levels
We defined clear roles and levels within the design team, from junior to leadership positions. Each role was linked to specific competencies, impact areas, and expectations, making it easier for designers to understand what was expected of them at each stage of their career.
Core Competencies & Growth Areas
The framework included a set of core competencies—skills like collaboration, technical expertise, and leadership—aligned with Wahoo’s design values. Designers could track their progress in these areas and understand what they needed to develop to move to the next level.
Team Ownership & Buy-In
To ensure the framework resonated with the team, we involved designers in the development process. This gave them ownership over the framework, which increased engagement and ensured that it truly reflected their needs and aspirations.
Scalability
The framework was designed to scale with the team as it grew, making it adaptable to Wahoo’s expanding workforce and evolving design needs. It provided flexibility while maintaining a strong foundation for career progression.
Cross-Functional Input
Collaboration was key. I worked closely with HR, senior leadership, and other departments to ensure the framework aligned with broader company goals. This cross-functional input made sure that the framework didn’t just work for designers, but also aligned with how the rest of the organisation viewed career development and success.
Results
The implementation of the career framework brought clear, measurable benefits to Wahoo’s design team and the broader organisation:
By involving designers throughout the development process, the framework promoted psychological safety by giving transparency around role expectations and career progression. Designers knew what was required of them in their current roles and how they could grow to advance within the team.
It offered pathways for designers who didn’t want to move into management, allowing them to continue developing as individual contributors, while still contributing significantly to the team.
The framework simplified the annual goal-setting process, aligning individual goals with Wahoo’s mission. Designers had clear, achievable targets, and a straightforward way to track their progress. This made performance reviews and career conversations more objective, based on tangible data and evidence of growth.
Designers had sharable, measurable proof of their development, which not only helped in performance reviews but also fostered stronger career conversations. The framework brought transparency and data-driven discussions to career progression.
It helped leadership identify gaps in team capabilities, informing future hiring and development needs to ensure the team’s continued growth remained aligned with Wahoo’s evolving goals.
Designed with scalability in mind, the framework was adaptable as the team continued to grow. The broader organisation also recognised its value, with the Head of HR planning to roll it out across Wahoo’s 300+ employees, extending the benefits company-wide.
The framework reinforced Wahoo’s core values, or the “Wahooligan Way,” by embedding them in the design team’s growth and decision-making processes. This alignment created consistency in how the team approached both challenges and opportunities.
The framework not only improved morale and retention but also enhanced employee experience, enabling designers to clearly understand how their work contributed to team and company-wide OKRs. It became a trusted tool for setting goals, tracking progress, and fostering individual growth.
Overall, the framework was a critical step in supporting the development of both current and future design leaders at Wahoo, ensuring long-term success for the design team and the company as a whole.
Key Takeaways
The success of the career framework at Wahoo highlights the importance of clear, structured career pathways in fostering team engagement, growth, and retention. By focusing on transparency, scalability, and alignment with company goals, we built a tool that not only supported individual development but also contributed to the overall strength and performance of the design team and beyond.