Your development matters to us! This page helps you navigate all things related to your learning and development here at Flink!
📚 Learning & Development Support from Flink
Germany 🇩🇪 Career Development Benefits
The Netherlands 🇳🇱 L&D Budget
🙋♀️ Questions on this page? Please reach out to Grace from the People Team.
Career Path at Flink
Career Path Framework
A career path framework is a general occupational roadmap to support Flinkers’ professional development. This framework is to give transparency about which level you are in and what roles you could progress into in the future.
Generally and in most cases, there are 2 career paths to pursue at Flink:
Individual Contributor (IC):
👉🏼 The work of an IC is achieved through individual contributions to projects, products, or services.
👉🏼 You deliver impact through your technical expertise.
Management (M):
👉🏼 Managers are accountable for managing teams and allocating resources.
👉🏼 You deliver impact through the results of the team by effectively managing, supporting people development, and bringing in your expertise.
For the levels following the IC3 level, Flinkers can generally choose either to remain in IC and pursue a specialist route or to pursue a management route. Please reach out to your managers to ensure the right information is in your team and function.
Levels and Description
There are different expectations in terms of focus, scope, and collaborative reach for each career level at Flink. The definition below provides clarity on what is generally expected for each level and what is generally needed to progress to the next career level.
📌 You can download the pdf file below here.
Career Development Talks
What is Career Development Talks
Career Development Talks are ongoing conversations between a manager and a direct report focused on career goals, aspirations, and development planning. The aim is to help each employee create a development plan, with the manager offering support and guidance.
Managers should be ready to support, coach, and challenge thinking, while allowing the employee to lead the agenda.
When & How Often
The frequency should be based on the employee’s development needs, with more frequent check-ins if goals or direction evolve quickly.
That said, we recommend at least two formal Career Development Talks per year, ideally after each performance review/check-in.
These should be separate from performance reviews to create space for forward-looking, growth-focused conversations.
Performance Review at Flink
Performance Reviews process at Flink is structured around 2 key review moments per year, each with a clear purpose: to support growth, reflection, and alignment - not just evaluation. The process is structured to give employees meaningful feedback and help them develop.
Although we encourage a healthy and continuous feedback culture at Flink, the purpose of performance reviews is to have formal reflective conversations to get 1% better every day.
1. 360° Feedback Cycle
When: Every September/October
Purpose: A full-year review focused on your performance and development. It helps guide decisions around your growth, promotions, and compensation, and ensures you have a clear path to continue developing in your role and beyond.
What it includes:
360° feedback: self-assessment, peer feedback, upward feedback (feedback to your manager), and manager assessment
A calibration process to ensure fair and consistent evaluations across teams
Inputs used for development planning, salary adjustments, and promotion decisions
2. Performance Check-In
When: Every March/April. The upcoming one is March 2-31, 2026.
Purpose: A mid-year check-in to track your progress and make sure you’re on the right path.
What it includes:
Self-assessment and manager review
Focuses on whether you’re On-Track or Off-Track in your role
A chance to course-correct early if needed and get support where it matters
Why it matters:
This check-in helps make sure everyone has what they need to succeed and gives managers an early heads-up to step in if support is needed. You'll be able to read more supporting materials here!
Eligibility for Salary Increase & Promotions
We are a performance-driven company and reward people who have shown to make a measurable impact on our business and accomplish this in line with the Flink values. This means we do not reward collectively and reward on an individual basis.
Promotions and/or salary increases are considered only during our 360° Feedback Cycle. Employees can be eligible for promotion and/or salary increases after 1 year at Flink. You can read more here.
Off-cycle adjustments are only reviewed in exceptional cases and must follow the formal approval process - for example, when someone takes on managerial duties after a manager leaves. Please connect with your department lead for details on the policy and steps.
We commit that all salaries offered to our employees are fair and competitive for their position and experience according to market standards. Defined salary bands for each position allow for required flexibility in salary decisions depending on an individual’s experience and performance.