Development and career paths
Employee development and career path software for small teams
LVL Up's development tools give a practice a skills matrix for each role, a career path that says what the next step is and what it takes to get there, and a development plan for each person that a manager and staff member write together. An AI assistant can draft suggestions for a plan, which the manager edits. It is built for an owner who keeps losing good people to the hospital system because the hospital offered a path and the practice offered a caseload.
How it works
A skills matrix per role
List the skills a role needs: for a dental assistant, perhaps radiographs, sterilization, chairside for crown and bridge, and the front-desk basics. Rate where each person is on each skill. The matrix shows who can cover what, and where the practice has one person who knows something nobody else does.
Career paths with named steps
A career path says what comes after the current role and what it takes to get there: assistant to lead assistant to office manager, or technician to lead technician. Each step lists the skills and the experience expected, so the answer to "what is next for me here" is written down rather than improvised.
Development plans written together
A manager and a staff member write a plan: the skills to build, how they will build them, and by when. The plan sits on the person's record, comes up in 1:1s, and is there at review time so the review is about the plan that was agreed.
An AI assistant that drafts, and a manager who decides
The assistant drafts suggestions for a development plan from the skills matrix and the career path you have set up. The manager edits, cuts and rewrites before anything is shared with the staff member. Each plan has a monthly allowance of requests; the number is on the pricing page.
How a practice uses it
The assistant who asks what is next for her here
A dental assistant in her third year asks the owner, in the hallway, where this is going. Without a path, the honest answer is a shrug and a raise. With a path, the owner can say: lead assistant, and here are the three skills between you and it. The two of them write the plan the following week.
Cross-training the front desk before someone leaves
A medical practice has one person who understands prior authorizations. The skills matrix shows it in a column with one filled cell. The office manager writes a development plan for a second front-desk coordinator to learn authorizations over the quarter, so the practice is not relearning payers one denial at a time when the first person takes a week off.
A lead technician who wants to become the practice manager
A veterinary practice's lead technician wants the practice manager's job when the current manager retires in two years. The career path names the step and the skills, from inventory to scheduling to the first management conversation. The development plan spreads them over the two years, and the 1:1s check progress.
What it does not do
The skills matrix, career paths and development plans are Growth features; Team does not include them. The product does not track continuing-education credits, does not verify a license with a board, and does not hold or deliver training courses. The AI assistant drafts suggestions from what you have entered; it does not know your staff, and a manager is expected to edit what it writes. It has a monthly allowance of requests that depends on the plan. It holds employment records for your staff, not patient records, and it is not built for protected health information.
Which plan, and what it costs
Growth — Up to 100 people
$79/month, or $758/year
Skills matrix, career paths and development plans are on Growth, which also covers a larger practice than Team and includes everything Team has. A single office under 25 people that wants these picks Growth for them.
- • Everything in Team
- • Goals & OKRs
- • More AI coaching (500 requests a month)
- • Skills matrix & career paths
- • 1:1 video calls
- • Recognition rewards & team rituals
- • LVL Proof™ portfolios
- • API access
- • Founder-led email support
No credit card. The trial runs on Growth so you can see everything; pick Growth when it ends.
Common questions
What is a skills matrix?
A grid with roles and skills along one edge and people along the other, showing each person's level on each skill. It answers two questions a practice owner asks often: who can cover this if someone is out, and where do we have one person who is the only one who knows something. In LVL Up, the matrix is set up per role and feeds the career paths and development plans.
Do career paths make sense in a ten-person practice?
Yes, if they are honest. A ten-person practice has two or three real steps: assistant to lead assistant, front desk to office manager, technician to lead technician. Writing them down, with the skills each needs, is what makes a good employee stay through the year the practice cannot offer a raise. Inventing a ladder with eight rungs does not.
What does the AI assistant actually do?
It drafts. Given the skills matrix and the career path you have set up, it writes a first draft of a development plan or suggests skills to work on. A manager reads it, edits it and decides what to keep before the staff member sees anything. It has a monthly allowance of requests that depends on the plan.
Does it track continuing-education credits?
No. LVL Up tracks licenses, certifications and their expiry dates, and stores documents. CE credits are not tracked, so keep your CE log where it is. A development plan can say that a course is part of the plan, and the certificate can be attached to the record when it is done.
Can staff see their own development plan?
Yes. The plan is written together and the staff member sees it on their own record, with the skills, the steps and the dates. The skills matrix for the whole practice is for the owner and managers.
Is this on the Team plan?
No. The skills matrix, career paths and development plans are Growth features. Team includes goals, 1:1s, reviews, recognition, surveys and the staff records; if the development tools are the reason you are here, Growth is the plan to choose.
What happens when the trial ends?
The trial is 14 days, no credit card, then read-only until a plan is chosen. Nothing you entered is deleted while it is read-only.
Related:
Try it with your own team
Import your staff list and set this up for one person this week. Growth fits a practice of up to 100 people.