What is the 9 box grid & how is it used in performance management?

What is the 9 box grid model?

The 9 box grid model is a way for leaders and managers to assess the performance of employees and to determine their potential, including their future and progression within a company. 

The 9 box grid uses performance and potential as the two key factors that can be used to create a progression plan for each individual. When these areas are analysed together, businesses can identify the top performers who are likely to suit promotion and progression versus the employees that need a little more support, or who aren’t 100% suited to their role. 

The current performance of an employee, including whether they are reaching targets and achieving what’s expected, is marked on the X axis of the 9 box grid, while their future potential is marked on the Y axis. Using this information, managers or HR teams can understand more about where each employee sits within the grid. 

What is the role of the 9 box grid in performance management? 

On its own, the 9 box grid offers a singular overview for each employee, and so its real value depends on how it’s used within a wider performance management process. 

The 9 box performance grid can become a shared reference point for managers, HR teams, and employees themselves. It can help to standardise how performance and potential is discussed across a team, instead of relying on inconsistent, one-off reviews. This is important when decisions about pay, promotions or development budget are being reviewed and considered, since employees are more likely to trust an outcome that’s part of a transparent and clear process. 

The 9 box grid model also plays a connecting role between day-to-day performance management and longer-term workforce planning. The X axis (performance) data is based on regular check-ins, objective setting, and feedback from other team members. The Y axis information comes from the employee’s ambitions, capability, and desire for progression. Bringing both of these together gives leaders a structure and a plan that allows them to see how each employee is performing right now, and where they could get to in the future. 

This is where a dedicated performance management platform, such as Talos Perform, can add real value, as you can record and monitor ongoing feedback, goals and review data in one place. 

Benefits of using the 9 box grid for performance management 

The benefits of using the 9 box grid for performance management include:

1. Identify stronger and weaker employees

Data from Gallup has found that companies fail to choose the right candidate for the job 82% of the time. With the 9 box grid model, this figure could be significantly reduced, as it allows HR and leadership teams to identify quality traits and skills in existing employees, and determine the ones that are more likely to succeed in their next role. Equally, it can pinpoint the employees that may be struggling in their existing role or aren’t hitting their targets.

2. Simplify employee performance analysis

Pages of information in a hefty document will likely never get read. The 9 box performance grid allows for easier analysis of information and breaks down the performance versus the potential of an employee into data that is quicker to glance over, for faster, yet informed, decision making. 

3. It’s versatile

The 9 box grid can be used alongside other performance management methods that your company may already use, making it a versatile addition to your performance reviews and appraisals that doesn’t need to be used as a standalone model. 

4. Get actionable insights

The 9 box grid for performance management allows you to determine the employees who look to be a good fit for more senior roles and create future development plans for them. This helps you to build a solid proposal for progression and promotion. Considering 60% of companies don’t have a plan for CEO succession, the 9 box method can help for these kinds of business-altering events that should be well planned for. 

5. It’s tried and tested

The 9 box grid method is a tried-and-tested method that’s used across a wide number of businesses across the globe. This might make it an easier system to use for new senior managers or leaders, who may already be familiar with how it works.

Limitations of the 9 box grid model

While the 9 box performance grid model can be an incredibly helpful tool, it does have some drawbacks too. These can include:

1. It provides a top-level overview

The 9 box grid method encourages employers to take an overview of every employee, potentially missing some information or becoming biased when it’s based only on a person’s performance and potential. As with any sort of analysis, every point of view should be considered. 

2. It isn’t personal

The 9 box grid performance vs potential analysis can be extremely useful, but it isn’t necessarily personal or tailored to each employee. It doesn’t take into account their exact and specific skills, knowledge or experience, or their unique contribution to the company. These factors should always be taken into account when looking at performance management or succession planning. 

3. The outcome may be unexpected for employees

The outcome of the 9 box grid exercise doesn’t necessarily need to be shared with employees, particularly if they have been flagged as low potential and low performance. Whether you choose to share the information or not, you must take the same approach for every employee – it isn’t fair to only share the positive outcomes and not the negative ones. 

4. It needs to be repeated regularly

As with any kind of performance review or goal setting exercise, the 9 box grid model needs to be repeated regularly to ensure each employee is moving in the right direction and working their way diagonally up the grid. 

How to create a 9 box grid 

The 9 box grid will look something like the below. If you’d prefer, you can add your own X and Y axis to track performance vs potential, and map onto the grid. 

When assessing performance, ask yourself if the employee is a low, moderate or high performer:

• Low would be someone who isn’t meeting expectations or achieving their targets. They might not have the drive, ambition or skills to progress, and may not be open to change, learning new things, or changing their behaviour
• Moderate is an individual who does well in their role and meets their targets. They are able to build on their skills and knowledge, and grow in their current role, possibly becoming more senior within the same team
• High is someone who meets their targets and more, and they exceed the expectations of their role. These individuals are completely open to learning and development, and will likely do all they can to excel in their career

How to use the 9 box grid for performance management 

Follow our steps below to complete the performance 9 box grid model: 

Step 1: Define what ‘performance’ and ‘potential’ mean 

Before you start rolling the 9 box model out across the business, it’s important that each leader or manager understands the criteria and the definitions of performance and potential. 

• Performance is usually about measurable outcomes, such as targets hit, quality of work, and consistency
• Potential is more of a judgement about capability and ambition

Everyone who will be using the 9 box grid needs to be on the same page about these definitions so the outcomes are fair. 

Step 2: Gather the necessary evidence

There will be some data that you need before the 9 box grid analysis can be completed. This might include performance review data, goal-tracking history, 360-degree feedback, and notes from any development conversations that might have already taken place. The more information you have, the less the exercise relies on bias. 

Step 3: Plot each employee on the grid

For each employee, weigh up the evidence you collected in Step 2 to place them into one of the 9 boxes. It’s beneficial to do this as a group exercise, with other managers and HR present, so that factors can be discussed and challenged, rather than decided by one person. 

Step 4: Interpret the results by box, not just employee

Clustering can be an issue with the 9 box grid in performance management. A number of high performers with low potential ratings could suggest that there aren’t that many progression opportunities within the company. At this point, the organisation chart should be reviewed, and the creation of new job roles considered. A cluster in the middle of the grid can show you have a number of dependable employees who could benefit from extra responsibility or additional training. 

Step 5: Create an action plan

The 9 box grid exercise is useless if there are no actions taken as a result. For each employee, consider what their next steps would be to move up through the chart. It could be new goals, a trial assignment, extra training, or a conversation about promotion. The employee should also be completely clear about what their next steps are, and what’s expected of them. 

Step 6: Review and replot the chart

The 9 box grid shouldn’t be treated as a one-off exercise, but as a rolling review that is revisited. You can choose how often you’d like to complete the grid, whether it’s annually, bi-annually, quarterly or monthly. 

How to apply the 9 box grid for succession planning

The 9 box grid model can also be used in succession planning to create a list of employees that could fill a gap when a more senior role becomes available. For succession planning, it’s most important to look at an individual’s potential, to ensure they have the skills, knowledge, and desire for career progression to a senior or director level. This means employees can be nurtured and prepared for the role, whether through training, goal setting or experience. 

Performance is still important for succession planning, as it shows whether an employee is meeting their targets at a high enough level. 

Transform your company’s performance management with Talos Perform

Move beyond ad hoc reviews and build a more consistent approach to performance and succession planning with Talos Perform. You can tailor employee reviews, easily set performance goals, and gather feedback in one central system to make performance management continuous and proactive. Book a demo today.