Succession planning templates

Succession planning only works if it's built on a clear, repeatable process. That starts with two essential tools: the talent bench review and the 9-box grid.

A talent bench review helps you take a closer look at who's on your bench. It looks at each employee's current performance, their potential for growth and how ready they are to step into a bigger role. The goal is to identify who needs development, who's ready to be developed into a leader and, in some cases, who might be better suited to a different role altogether.

The 9-box grid builds directly on that review. It's one of the most widely used tools in succession planning and it plots performance against potential, giving you a visual map of where your talent actually stands.

When used together, these tools show you the quality and depth of your talent pipeline, and where the gaps are.

Ready to build yours? We'll walk you through how to build a winning a talent pool-based succession planning process from the ground up, including templates to help you build your own grid and interpret the results.