Employee engagement is a challenge across industries. According to Gallup, 77% of workers in the U.S. are not engaged or are actively disengaged, which results in lost productivity, low morale, and a stalled culture of innovation. Avia (also known as Aviagames), one of the leading mobile gaming companies in the real money gaming industry, believes that one of the most powerful ways to reverse this trend is to give team members more control over their professional development, starting with how promotions are handled.
Rather than waiting for recognition or relying solely on traditional annual reviews, Avia employees are given a unique opportunity: they can pitch themselves for a promotion. This approach is designed not only to create a fairer process but also to encourage ownership, transparency, and long-term motivation.
Why Avia Lets Employees Pitch Themselves?
The traditional promotion system often leaves employees in the dark. Opportunities can feel random, feedback may be vague or infrequent, and the sense of forward momentum gets lost. This disconnect fuels frustration, limits growth, and weakens team culture.
At Avia, they’ve flipped the script. Since they also create some of the best mobile games that require effort and skills to be rewarded, why not apply the same concept to their employees? By inviting them to advocate for their advancement, they empower them to take initiative in their career journey. This fosters a deeper sense of purpose and accountability, two key ingredients for engagement and performance.
How Avia’s Promotion Pitch System Works
The gaming company structured a transparent, fair, and rigorous process that gives every eligible employee the chance to present their case for promotion, while also ensuring that each decision is based on clearly defined standards. Here’s how it works:
Biannual Pitch Opportunities
In addition to regular performance reviews, Avia employees can pitch for a promotion once a year, giving them two chances annually to pursue career advancement.
Clear Promotion Criteria
Every pitch is evaluated based on a comprehensive framework that applies to both self-nominations and leadership nominations. These standards are published and easily accessible to ensure clarity and fairness.
Structured Multi-Step Process
The promotion cycle includes leader nominations, employee presentations, skill demonstrations, and review panels. This process, lasting about six weeks, helps eliminate bias and ensures timely feedback and decisions.
Transparent Evaluations
Each pitch is reviewed by a diverse panel made up of leaders both inside and outside the employee’s immediate team. This cross-functional review reduces favoritism and ensures that all perspectives are considered.
Actionable Feedback
Even when pitches don’t result in a promotion, employees receive constructive feedback that helps guide their growth and development going forward.
Real Results from a People-First Process
In the second half of 2024 alone, about 100 Avia employees met the basic criteria to be considered for promotion. Following leadership assessments and the pitch process, nearly 40 employees were formally nominated, and an impressive 80% of them earned promotions. This is well above the industry average; for context, only 7.3% of U.S. employees were promoted to managerial roles as of early 2024.
What’s more, promotions at Avia come with significant, competitive compensation increases. It’s not just about the title, it’s about recognizing and rewarding real contributions.
Creating a Culture of Continuous Growth
When employees know they have an opportunity to advocate for their next step, they’re more likely to challenge themselves, expand their skills, and aim higher. It's just like how Avia's skill games inspire their players to hone their skills and score high for opportunities to win real cash. This kind of mindset drives performance, collaboration, and innovation across teams.
By allowing employees to pitch for promotions, they're doing more than changing how advancement works; they’re shifting the culture. They’re promoting a workplace that values transparency, merit, and personal initiative. Employees don’t have to wait and wonder. They can prepare, present, and participate in shaping their future.
Final Thoughts: Career Growth Starts with Ownership
Avia’s pitch-for-promotion model is more than a process—it’s a philosophy. It reflects their belief that empowered employees are the key to a thriving, innovative workplace. By trusting their team to steer their own careers and giving them the tools to do so, they’re creating a more motivated, engaged, and successful workforce that ultimately produces high-quality casual games. Avia doesn't just talk about growth, they build it from within.
