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

Enjoyed this conversation? Join 150+ to the 10th Annual Big CHRO Event in Dallas area for an AI and HR Workshop.

Apply* to receive an invite: https://www.chropartners.com/bighr

*Exclusively for sitting CHROs and Chief People Officers at companies with 500 or more employees.