What is The 9-box Grid Model? 9-box Grid Model In A Nutshell

Q: Are there any disadvantages to using a nine box grid for succession planning?

Competition : to make the 9-box grid model successful, the methodology used to rank employees should be open and shared. Otherwise, this might result in negative peer pressure and lousy competition, which might cause the team's dismantling. Review frequency : to make it more effective, the model must be used in conjunction with other HR performance tools like SMART Goals or, better yet, OKR . Otherwise, the risk is transforming the tool as wholly ineffective and only used for internal politics. Categorization problems : if not openly shared, this tool can become a double-sword as employees might be wrongly classified, thus completely wrecking off employees' morale.

The 9-box grid model is a tool that facilitates discussion about employee development and succession planning. The 9-box grid model helps an organization find these employees. Using a matrix consisting of nine cells, each employee is measured against two factors: Performance in their current role on the x-axis (rated as low, medium, or high). Their potential to develop personally or professionally in line with company values on the y-axis (also rated as low, medium, or high).

Box	Description	Explanation	Implications	Examples	Typical Location in Grid
Future Leader	Individuals who excel in their current roles and show high potential for challenging leadership positions.	Future Leaders are top performers with the potential to take on strategic roles.	Implications include leadership development, mentoring, and fast-track career progression.	A top-performing sales manager with leadership potential.	Top-right
Growth Employee	Valuable team members with growth potential but room for performance improvement.	Growth Employees have untapped potential that can be developed through targeted growth opportunities.	Implications involve training, coaching, and gradual challenges to improve performance and readiness.	A software engineer with potential but in need of additional training.	Top-left
High Impact Performer	Employees who consistently exceed performance expectations and may be ready for promotion with skill development.	High Impact Performers deliver consistently but may need specific skills or experiences for promotion.	Implications include skill development and lateral moves while maintaining their current effectiveness.	A marketing manager excelling but needing strategic planning skills for senior roles.	Top-right
Enigma	High-potential individuals who currently underperform due to factors like low confidence or motivation.	Enigmas have untapped potential that, when nurtured, can lead to significant performance improvements.	Implications involve coaching, mentoring, and support to boost confidence and motivation.	A junior project manager capable of leadership but struggling with self-confidence.	Top-left
Core Employee	Consistent performers meeting expectations, with potential for increased responsibilities through development.	Core Employees are dependable contributors who can grow with structured development plans.	Implications include creating development plans to enhance skills and prepare for more challenging roles.	An administrative assistant consistently managing tasks who can take on supervisory roles with training.	Middle-right
Trusted Professional	Employees unlikely to progress to higher roles but strong performers who may need additional stimulation.	Trusted Professionals are strong performers who may require recognition and engagement opportunities.	Implications involve recognition and opportunities to contribute expertise or mentor others to maintain engagement.	A senior technical specialist excelling but not aspiring to higher roles.	Middle-left
Dilemma	Employees with moderate potential but hindered by low performance, requiring skill development or performance improvement.	Dilemmas show potential that can be realized through skill development or performance improvement.	Implications include performance improvement plans (PIPs) and skill development programs to unlock potential.	A junior sales representative with potential but struggling to meet sales targets.	Middle-right
Effective	Contributors at a basic level with limited potential for significant advancement or leadership roles.	Effective employees may not aspire to leadership roles but can benefit from incremental skill improvement.	Implications involve retaining Effective employees within current roles and providing opportunities for skill enhancement.	An accounts payable clerk consistently performing routine tasks.	Middle-left
Underperformer	Consistently fall short of expectations and may require extensive training, reassignment, or termination.	Underperformers struggle to meet job requirements and may need significant intervention for performance improvement.	Implications include upskilling, reassignment, or, in some cases, considering termination to address performance issues.	A customer support agent consistently receiving complaints and failing to meet service standards.	Bottom

Table of Contents

Understanding the 9-box grid model

Employee development and succession planning involve the identification and training of future leaders.

The process is often overlooked because of more pressing priorities, but it nevertheless plays a vital role in the long-term success of a company.

Well-executed succession planning enables a business to make powerful decisions that provide a means of identifying and grooming high potential employees for certain roles.

This planning can also help pinpoint knowledge gaps where external recruitment may be required.

The 9-box grid model helps an organization find these employees. Using a matrix consisting of nine cells, each employee is measured against two factors:

Performance in their current role on the x-axis

Rated as low, medium, or high.

Note that the specific performance criteria and the way they are evaluated will vary from one company to the next.

Employee potential to develop personally or professionally in line with company values on the y-axis

Also rated as low, medium, or high.

This can be a difficult subject to grasp for some businesses.

Therefore, it is helpful to think of potential as the degree to which an employee is expected to grow, learn, and apply knowledge in a variety of job contexts.

Put differently, potential describes future behavior while performance describes past behavior.

Evaluating performance and potential with the 9-box grid model

Using the matrix, the performance of the employee is rated against their potential giving nine potential combinations.

Each combination describes a class of employees embodying a particular set of traits that guide future actions:

Future leader (high potential/high performance)

Or individuals who have mastered their current role and need to be challenged with something more difficult.

Growth employee (high potential/moderate performance)

A valuable team member with room for improvement who must be gradually challenged to do better.

High impact performer (moderate potential/high performance)

Or an individual who has exceeded expectations. They should be targeted for promotion once certain skills have been developed.

Enigma (high potential/low performance)

Employees who must be coached to develop confidence and increase motivation.

Core employee (moderate potential/moderate performance)

Or an employee who is consistently meeting expectations. There may be potential to increase responsibilities through a development plan.

Trusted professional (low potential/high performance)

Unlikely to progress to a higher role but a strong performer, nonetheless. These individuals may require stimulation to remain engaged.

Dilemma (moderate potential/low performance)

Employees in this class show some potential but are hampered by low performance.

Here, the focus should be developing skills or a performance improvement plan (PIP).

Effective (low potential/moderate performance)

A consistent contributor with limited potential.

Underperformer (low potential/low performance)

Or an individual who simply does not meet expectations.

They may need to be upskilled or moved to a different role. In some cases, termination may be the best course of action.

Quantifying potential and performance

While a future leader or underperformer may be easily identified, the team may have difficulty placing employees in the middle classes.

To quantify performance, criteria should be set for each class that outlines certain non-negotiable standards. These standards must be universally accepted within the organization.

Defining potential is more difficult because it is a future prediction of success. To ensure that everyone is on the same page, a single definition of the potential for an employee to progress to a leadership role is helpful.

Potential can also be quantified using set criteria that encompass desirable employee attributes or other metrics the business deems important.

The 9-box grid model is a very flexible approach.

While attributes used to measure performance and potential are not that important, maintaining attribute consistency for every employee evaluation is much more critical.

Advantages of the 9-box grid model

In the final section, we will outline some general advantages and disadvantages of the 9-box grid model.

Increased transparency

As hinted at earlier, the 9-box grid model facilitates open and honest communication between leaders and subordinates.

Aside from creating a culture of trust and empowerment, the subordinate can easily understand what is required of them in terms of leader expectations and organizational goals.

Easier workforce planning

The 9-box model is a simple yet detailed way to categorize the various types of employees for use in human capital deployment.

Each box in the grid offers a recommended course of action which makes the deployment process more efficient and allows the organization to maximize its strengths and minimize its weaknesses, so to speak.

In budget planning, for example, low-performing employees with high potential could be allocated more resources than low-performing employees with low or medium potential.

Simplicity

The 9-box grid model is easy to use, has a simple structure, and be completed based on personal observation.

What’s more, it can be used in almost any industry or organization and requires little in the way of data collection or background research.

These qualities make the model very attractive to managers who want a quick and easy way to classify employee performance.

However, as we will see below, a preference for quick wins, can cause problems in the future.

Disadvantages of the 9-box grid model

Competition

In workplaces where talent management practices are less transparent, the 9-box grid model results in a system where employees are ranked and compete against each other to avoid termination.

Transparency is key in avoiding this situation. Indeed, it should be explained to employees that the model is designed to cultivate talent and does not require one person to lose for another to succeed.

Review frequency

The 9-box grid model is a more traditional form of performance management characterized by annual reviews by a subordinate’s manager.

However, most businesses now favor an approach that emphasizes continuous feedback.

To make the 9-box model more relevant today, it is recommended that it be used in conjunction with SMART goals, objectives and key results (OKRs), and as many data points as possible.

Categorization problems

The categorization of employees into either low, medium, or high boxes can be problematic since the boundaries between each are in most cases arbitrary.

This can be alleviated to some extent by clearly and concisely outlining the competencies and behaviors associated with each category.

However, there can still be issues when assessing employees across multiple positions or departments where competencies and behaviors tend to vary.

When to Use the 9-Box Grid Model

Suitable Scenarios:

Talent Management: Useful for identifying high-potential employees for succession planning and leadership development.
Performance Reviews: Can be employed as a tool during performance review processes to categorize employees based on performance and potential.

Strategic Application:

Workforce Planning: Assists in strategic workforce planning by identifying where training or development might be needed.
Identifying Training Needs: Helps in pinpointing areas where specific employees or groups might benefit from additional training and support.

How to Use the 9-Box Grid Model

Implementing the Model:

Define Criteria: Clearly define what constitutes ‘high performance’ and ‘high potential’ within the organization.
Assess Employees: Managers assess employees based on performance and potential, placing them in the appropriate box on the grid.
Calibration Meetings: Conduct meetings with management to discuss and calibrate employee placements to ensure consistency and fairness.
Development Plans: Develop plans for employee development based on their placement in the grid.

Best Practices:

Objective Criteria: Establish objective, clear criteria for assessment to minimize subjectivity and bias.
Employee Involvement: Involve employees in discussions about their placement and development plans.
Regular Review and Update: Periodically review and update placements, as employees’ performance and potential can change over time.

What to Expect from Implementing the 9-Box Grid Model

Insight into Employee Capabilities:

Talent Identification: Helps in identifying employees with high potential for future leadership roles.
Performance Management: Aids in categorizing employees based on performance for more targeted management and development efforts.

Organizational Impact:

Enhanced Talent Management: Can improve the overall management of talent within the organization.
Succession Planning: Useful for succession planning, helping identify and prepare future leaders.

Potential Challenges:

Managerial Training Needs: Requires training for managers to effectively and fairly assess their employees.
Employee Perceptions: How employees perceive the process can impact its effectiveness and their engagement with the organization.

Key takeaways

The 9-box grid model is an evaluation tool used in employee development and succession planning.
The 9-box grid model is represented by a nine-cell matrix. Each cell, which guides future action for management, represents a class of employees based on varying degrees of performance and potential.
The 9-box grid model is a flexible approach to employee evaluation. The chosen attribute set is less important than consistently evaluating each employee using the same criteria.

Key Highlights

9-Box Grid Model Overview: The 9-box grid model is a tool for employee development and succession planning. It evaluates employees based on performance and potential, using a matrix with nine cells.
Purpose of Employee Development and Succession Planning: Proper succession planning identifies and grooms future leaders, ensuring a company’s long-term success and addressing knowledge gaps.
Performance and Potential Evaluation:
- Performance is assessed on the x-axis (low, medium, high).
- Potential is evaluated on the y-axis (low, medium, high).
- Potential is the expectation of growth and learning in various contexts.
Nine Potential Combinations and Employee Traits:
- Future Leader (high potential/high performance)
- Growth Employee (high potential/moderate performance)
- High Impact Performer (moderate potential/high performance)
- Enigma (high potential/low performance)
- Core Employee (moderate potential/moderate performance)
- Trusted Professional (low potential/high performance)
- Dilemma (moderate potential/low performance)
- Effective (low potential/moderate performance)
- Underperformer (low potential/low performance)
Quantifying Performance and Potential:
- Set criteria for each performance class.
- Define potential as the prediction of future success.
- Standardize the understanding of potential for leadership roles.
Advantages of the 9-Box Grid Model:
- Increased Transparency: Enhances communication, trust, and alignment.
- Easier Workforce Planning: Simplifies employee categorization for efficient human capital deployment.
- Simplicity: Easy-to-use structure adaptable to various industries.
Disadvantages of the 9-Box Grid Model:
- Competition: May foster competition among employees; transparency is crucial.
- Review Frequency: Traditional annual reviews might not align with modern continuous feedback practices.
- Categorization Problems: Arbitrary boundaries between performance levels can be problematic; clear competency definitions help.
Key Takeaways:
- The 9-box grid model assists in employee development and succession planning.
- The model categorizes employees based on performance and potential.
- Clear criteria and transparent communication are vital for effective use.
- The model’s simplicity can be an advantage, but careful implementation is necessary to avoid disadvantages.

Related Frameworks	Definition	Focus	Application
9-box Grid Model	A talent management tool used for assessing and plotting employees based on their performance and potential, typically on a matrix with nine cells, helping organizations identify high-potential individuals, succession planning, and development strategies.	Focuses on evaluating employees’ performance and potential to make informed decisions regarding talent development, succession planning, and resource allocation.	Human Resource Management, Talent Development
McKinsey 7-S Framework	Developed by Tom Peters and Robert H. Waterman Jr., it identifies seven interrelated factors: Strategy, Structure, Systems, Shared Values, Style, Staff, and Skills, offering a holistic approach to organizational analysis and change management.	Focuses on aligning organizational elements to achieve strategic objectives and facilitate organizational effectiveness and change.	Organizational Development, Change Management
SWOT Analysis	A strategic planning tool used to identify Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats related to a business venture or project.	Broad analysis covering internal and external factors impacting a business, helping in strategic decision-making and planning.	Strategic Planning, Business Analysis
Porter’s Five Forces	Developed by Michael Porter, it analyzes the competitive forces within an industry: Threat of New Entrants, Bargaining Power of Suppliers, Bargaining Power of Buyers, Threat of Substitutes, and Competitive Rivalry, to assess industry attractiveness and competitive intensity.	Focuses on understanding industry structure and competition to formulate strategies based on competitive forces and industry dynamics.	Competitive Strategy, Industry Analysis
Balanced Scorecard	A strategic planning and management system that aligns business activities to the organization’s vision and strategy, using four perspectives: Financial, Customer, Internal Processes, and Learning and Growth.	Provides a holistic view of performance by incorporating financial and non-financial metrics across different organizational dimensions.	Performance Management, Strategic Planning
McKinsey Growth Model	A framework for understanding and managing organizational growth, consisting of three horizons: Horizon 1 (Core Business), Horizon 2 (Adjacent Growth), and Horizon 3 (Transformational Growth), helping organizations balance short-term performance with long-term innovation.	Focuses on managing growth by allocating resources across different business horizons to sustain current operations and foster future opportunities.	Strategic Management, Growth Strategy
McKinsey Three Horizons Model	A strategic framework that categorizes innovation initiatives into three horizons: Horizon 1 (Core Business), Horizon 2 (Adjacent Opportunities), and Horizon 3 (Transformational Opportunities), aiming to balance short-term goals with long-term strategic vision.	Focuses on managing innovation by allocating resources across different horizons to ensure sustainable growth and competitive advantage.	Innovation Management, Strategic Planning
BCG Matrix	Developed by the Boston Consulting Group, it categorizes a company’s product portfolio into four quadrants: Stars, Cash Cows, Question Marks, and Dogs, helping in resource allocation and strategic decision-making regarding investment and divestment.	Focuses on managing a diversified portfolio of products by categorizing them based on market growth rate and relative market share to determine investment priorities.	Portfolio Management, Strategic Planning

Why the 9 box grid is outdated?

The 9-box grid model is a decent strategic tool for employee development. As with any strategic tool, it should be used to stimulate team building and motivate the team to grow within the organization. Thus, knowing how to balance the 9-box grid model with other HR tools is critical. Other tools, like OKR, might be more in line with the current market landscape.

Can you create a 9 box grid in Excel?

Using a matrix consisting of nine cells, each employee is measured against two factors:

Performance in their current role on the x-axis (rated as low, medium, or high).
Employee potential to develop personally or professionally in line with company values on the y-axis (also rated as low, medium, or high).

Are there any disadvantages to using a nine box grid for succession planning?

Competition: to make the 9-box grid model successful, the methodology used to rank employees should be open and shared. Otherwise, this might result in negative peer pressure and lousy competition, which might cause the team’s dismantling.
Review frequency: to make it more effective, the model must be used in conjunction with other HR performance tools like SMART Goals or, better yet, OKR. Otherwise, the risk is transforming the tool as wholly ineffective and only used for internal politics.
Categorization problems: if not openly shared, this tool can become a double-sword as employees might be wrongly classified, thus completely wrecking off employees’ morale.