The How's and Why's of 9-Boxing
What is a Nine-Box Grid?
A nine-box grid is a popular talent management tool that helps organizations assess employees based on two factors:
- Performance (How well someone has performed in their current role)
- Potential (Their ability to grow into more complex or leadership roles in the future)
The grid is made up of a 3x3 matrix, with performance plotted on the horizontal axis and potential plotted on the vertical axis. The intersections form nine distinct “boxes” where employees can be placed based on their current performance and future potential.
How is the Nine-Box Grid Set Up?
The nine-box grid looks like this:
| High Potential | Moderate Potential | Low Potential | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High Performance | Future Leader | Core Performer | High Professional |
| Moderate Performance | Rising Star | Core Contributor | Professional |
| Low Performance | Inconsistent Performer | Contributor | Underperformer |
- Performance is assessed from low to high across the horizontal axis.
- Potential is assessed from low to high along the vertical axis.
Each box is a quadrant representing different combinations of performance and potential:
- Future Leaders (High Performance / High Potential): Employees in this box are your future stars. They are already performing well and are highly capable of taking on more responsibilities.
- Core Performers (High Performance / Moderate Potential): These employees are consistently good at their jobs but may not have leadership aspirations or capacity for higher roles.
- Rising Stars (Moderate Performance / High Potential): Employees in this box are expected to grow. They might need more experience but have significant potential.
- Underperformers (Low Performance / Low Potential): These employees may need targeted interventions or may not be a long-term fit.
Why Use a Nine-Box Grid?
The nine-box grid is useful for several reasons:
-
Talent Identification: It helps you identify high-potential employees who can move into leadership or more complex roles, allowing you to plan for succession and development.
-
Development Planning: By categorizing employees, you can create tailored development plans. For example, “Future Leaders” may need leadership training, while “Rising Stars” could benefit from mentorship and skill-building.
-
Strategic Workforce Planning: It gives you a big-picture view of your talent pool, helping with decisions on who to invest in for the future and where you may have gaps.
-
Performance Improvement: For those in the lower-performing quadrants, the nine-box grid can spark performance management conversations to either improve performance or move them into more appropriate roles.
-
Succession Planning: It is an excellent tool for succession planning, helping you ensure that key roles in your organization always have potential successors being trained and developed.
How to Use It Effectively
- Gather objective data on employee performance and potential (don’t rely solely on manager opinions).
- Use it in combination with regular feedback and coaching to guide employees’ career development.
- Ensure it’s part of a broader talent strategy that looks at long-term workforce planning, not just current talent needs.
In short, the nine-box grid is a simple yet powerful tool for visualizing talent and making strategic people decisions. It’s especially useful if you’re serious about developing leadership and planning for the future of your organization.