An Exploratory Study on the Weighting of Career Level Diagnostic Factors for Employees Using AHP

Purpose: This study aims to explore the relative importance of diagnostic factors for assessing employee career levels using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and to interpret the findings from a quality management perspective.Methods: A hierarchical diagnostic framework consisting of seven first-level factors and 43 sub-items was constructed based on career theory and competency models. AHP pairwise comparisons were conducted with 20 experts from academia and industry. Group weights were derived using the geometric mean method.Results: The findings indicate that ‘Self-understanding (0.26)’ and ‘Career Goal Setting and Planning (0.18)’ were identified as the most influential factors, followed by ‘Organizational Governance Knowledge (0.16)’. The top three factors accounted for approximately 72% of the total weight.Conclusion: The study proposes a weighted diagnostic framework that enhances measurement quality and standardization in career assessment. Implications for HRD and quality-based evaluation systems are discussed.