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 L4+ 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 (e.g. 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 (e.g. 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
The grace period for Divisional Officer position allows members to explore different officer positions without having to worry about potential cooldowns. This encourages members to find the best fit for their skills and interests.
- Position Trials: Divisional Officer positions are unique opportunities. You can try out one of these roles for a month without a penalty or cooldown.
- No Penalty for Stepping Down: If you decide the role isn't for you, you can step down within your first month without facing penalties or cooldown periods in general. You can still receive warnings related to performance such as strikes, performance plans or in extreme cases cooldowns if there is serious negligence without an initiation to step down from the person in the grace period.
- Limitations: Each specific role can only be trialed once within a 12-month period.
- Multiple Trials Allowed: You can trial different positions consecutively (e.g., try DL for one month, then DV, then TL) before deciding which one, if any, is the best fit for you.
- Exclusions: This grace period does not apply to Split DLs, Seed DLs or Officers who had their Leadership Ban waived. It also does not apply to Team Vices as this is an L3 staff role not an officer position.
- Division Transfers: Any promotion that involved a Division Transfer and steps down using Grace Period will be moved back to the original Division. Any fee paid will not be refunded.
- This also applies to L3 promotions being removed from position within their first month.