How to Use the 9-box Grid for Better HR Planning

A 9-box grid provides a visual display of employee performance and is commonly used for succession planning. A 9-box, as seen in the example below, is a way of assessing employees on current performance and future potential within the organization.

Reference: https://fcw.com/articles/2013/02/07/assess-team.aspx

OrgChart offers built-in 9-box support, allowing you to import your employee data and provide a snapshot of performance across your organization and how it relates to the span of control. Color coded by green, yellow and red it provides an easy visual snapshot of the talent of each employee.

Using the 9-box grid with OrgChart holds many advantages for your company:

  • A standardized method of assessing talent across the organization.
  • Help identifying high potential and misplaced employees to target for development or redirection.
  • A useful tool for succession planning.

The 9-box chart is not without its detractors, however. Some potential cons are:

  • Evaluations often happen in secret and are hidden from employees.
  • Reviews are often held annually and the measurement doesn’t reflect change over time.
  • Employees get “boxed in” to siloes and perceptions become hard to change.

While being aware of the negatives, displaying 9-box data on an org chart can help orient management on the performance and potential of their employees to develop an effective succession plan for the organization. Follow these easy steps to create 9-boxes with OrgChart software.

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