Promotion cooldowns are intended to prevent staff from moving around between positions too often, and to promote stability within DI's ranks. While on promotion cooldown, a member cannot be promoted to any L3+ position.
When a staff member (L3+) steps down, they will receive a minimum of a 3-month promotion cooldown in the following circumstances:
- They are involuntarily removed for any reason (eg. demoted, inactive, etc.).
- They fail to give a sufficient notice period prior to stepping down:
- L4 and L5 Officers must give 2 weeks notice of stepping down. L6+ Officers must give 1 month notice prior to stepping down.
- If they voluntarily step down from their position (for any reason, including unforeseen RL reasons), but:
- Their unit (eg. Division) is not compliant at the time of stepping down
- They did not prepare a successor for their unit to take over from them
- They did not serve 3+ Months in their current position (other positions, or total time as an officer is irrelevant)
- The 3-month timer starts when the officer's promotion is posted in a Monthly Announcement (so if an officer is promoted on the 6th, they will actually need to serve closer to 4 months before they can step down without a ban).
- Officers may move to another officer position within the same Division/Order without penalty, to preserve officer talent
- A Leader may waive a ban under exceptional circumstances/conditions for a Division Leader position.
- An Officer's "Manager" is responsible for posting the demotion request in the Demotion register in the Opium Den.
Promotion cooldowns can also be issued in the form of three-month cooldowns or can be issued as one or two year leadership bans dependent on the following factors:
- Higher rank: Higher ranked officers are held to higher standards and are expected to do their utmost best to leave their position on good terms, with a trained replacement and after serving their minimum months in position.
- Impact on unit: Some positions have critical impact on their units. For example, a division without a DL suffers in terms of growth, causing damage to the division over time.
- Performance: Underperforming in your role can lead to a higher cooldown due to negligence of duties. An officer should leave their position/unit in the best state possible so as not to dump a mountain of work on their successor.
- Conduct: Having poor conduct as an officer or showing a lack of leadership qualities and professionalism can lead to removal from position and a higher promotion cooldown.
- Standard Cooldown (3 Months): If none is specified this will be applied.
- Extended Cooldown (1 Year): A warning must be accompanied with this cooldown
- Maximum Cooldown (2 Years): A warning + approval from respective HL/OL must be accompanied with this cooldown
Officers may transfer to another Officer Position at any time if they they have:
- Completed 3+ months in their current position and, if applicable,
- Left their unit compliant