---
title: "The talent review (9-box)"
description: "Place each employee in the 9-box grid, propose as a manager, calibrate as HR, then close the review."
url: "http://illizeo.com/en/centre-aide/performance-talent-review/"
updated: "2026-11-01"
category: "Performance & Goals"
---

# The talent review (9-box)

The talent review places each employee in a performance campaign on a nine-box grid (the “9-box”) that crosses their performance with their potential. Managers propose a box for their team, then HR calibrates the whole before closing. This article is for HR and managers.

## Before you start

- The talent review opens on an **ongoing** performance campaign, that is a cycle already launched or activated (see [Launching, tracking and closing a campaign](https://illizeo.com/en/centre-aide/performance-launch-and-track/)). Its participants are the campaign's participants. A campaign has only one talent review.
- “Place one’s team in the talent review (9-box)” permission (PERFORMANCE section of the role matrix): at the Access level, read your team's grid; at the Execute level, place people while the review is open. By default: Administrator, HR Manager and Manager.
- “Calibrate and close the talent review” permission: at the Access level, read the population covered by your role; at the Execute level, open the review, set the calibration date, start calibration, move a proposal and close. By default: Administrator and HR Manager.
- The review has no settings page: everything happens in the **Talent review** tab of your own Performance space. This tab never appears on another employee's profile.

## Opening the review

1. Open your Performance space, **Talent review** tab.
2. If there are several campaigns, choose one in the **Campaign** list (the number of participants is shown in brackets).
3. On the opening card, you may fill in the **Calibration date** (today or later) and the **Reminder to managers (days before)**: 3 by default, from 0 to 30, 0 for no reminder.
4. Click **Open the talent review**. The message “Talent review opened: managers have been notified.” confirms it.

The review moves to the **Open to managers** status. Each manager with people to place receives an email and a notification.

## Reading the grid

The horizontal axis is **Performance**, the vertical axis **Potential**, with high potential at the top. The header shows the campaign, the status, how many people are placed and the calibration date.

| Potential / Performance | Below expectations | Meets expectations | Exceeds expectations |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| High potential | Enigma | Growth talent | Star |
| Growing | Needs support | Core player | High performer |
| To develop | Risk | Solid contributor | Trusted expert |

Each box shows its name, the number of people and a badge per person (their job title appears on hover). The **To place** column lists participants without a box; when it is empty, it reads “Everyone is placed.” A badge with a coloured outline marks a person moved during calibration.

![The Talent review tab: header with the campaign name, the Open to managers status, the number of people placed and the calibration date, nine-box grid crossing Performance and Potential, To place column and confidentiality note](https://i0.wp.com/illizeo.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/performance-talent-review-01.en_.png?resize=800%2C333&quality=80&ssl=1)
The talent review grid (9-box).

## Placing your team (managers)

While the review is **Open to managers**, each manager sees the participants they manage (the contract's manager, otherwise the manager on the employee file) and places them:

1. Click a person's badge, in a box or in the **To place** column.
2. Choose a **Performance** level and a **Potential** level. The **Box:** preview shows the resulting box.
3. If you wish, rate the three criteria that guide potential, each **Low**, **Medium** or **High**: **Aspiration** (do they want to grow and take on more responsibility?), **Learning agility** (do they learn quickly in a new situation?) and **Engagement** (do they invest themselves beyond their scope?). They do not change the box.
4. Add a **Comment** (2,000 characters at most).
5. Click **Save**.

A manager's placement is a proposal. They can change it while the review is open.

![The placement window for a person: manager's proposal, three Performance levels and three Potential levels, Aspiration, Learning agility and Engagement criteria, box preview, Comment and the Cancel and Save buttons](https://i0.wp.com/illizeo.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/performance-talent-review-02.en_.png?resize=592%2C801&quality=80&ssl=1)
Placing a person: performance, potential, criteria and comment.

## Calibrating (HR)

HR users holding “Calibrate and close the talent review” at the Execute level see their role's whole population and can place or move anyone, during both the **Open to managers** and **In calibration** statuses.

- Placing someone who has no proposal yet amounts to proposing yourself.
- Changing the box proposed by a manager is a calibration move: the **Reason for the move** field (500 characters at most) becomes required. The manager is notified, with the new box and the reason, so the reason must be explainable to them.
- The placement window recalls the manager's proposal (“Proposed by…”) and, where relevant, the calibration (“Calibrated by…”, with the reason).

To take the hand away from managers, click **Start calibration**, then confirm. Managers can no longer place; only HR adjusts. This step sends no notification. While the review is open, the calibration date can still be changed in the grid header.

![The Start calibration? confirmation with the text Managers will no longer place; only HR adjusts, and the Cancel and Start calibration buttons](https://i0.wp.com/illizeo.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/performance-talent-review-03.en_.png?resize=476%2C190&quality=80&ssl=1)
Starting calibration takes the hand away from managers.

## Closing

1. From the **In calibration** status, click **Close the review**.
2. Confirm with **Close**.

The review moves to the **Closed** status: it is frozen and remains readable. Managers are notified.

## Confidentiality

- Only managers and HR see the boxes. The person placed never sees their own, even if they hold an HR role themselves.
- The person placed receives no notification about the review.
- They can, however, obtain their box through their right of access: the export of their personal data includes their placements (levels, criteria, comment, proposal and calibration, with the reason).
- The activity log keeps who placed or moved whom, but neither the box, the comment nor the reason.

## Notifications and reminder

Notifications go by email and to the bell (**Performance** tab), to the managers concerned, never to the person who performed the action. Their wording can be customised in **Settings › Manage Illizeo › Email**, HR & Workflows category.

| Event | Who is notified |
| --- | --- |
| Review opened | Each manager with people to place |
| Move during calibration | The manager or managers of the person moved |
| Review closed | The managers who have a team in the review |
| Reminder before calibration | The managers who still have people to place |

The reminder is sent once, automatically, from the first day of the “N days before calibration” window, if a calibration date is set and the review is still open. Everyone can switch these notifications off in their personal settings, Notifications tab, “Talent review” line.

## Good to know

- The number of reminder days can no longer be changed after opening. Changing the calibration date afterwards does not resend a reminder that has already gone.
- A person with several contracts may have several managers: the box belongs to the person.
- The talent review does not use skills and offers no export of the grid.

## FAQ

### The tab shows “No talent review concerns you yet”.

No review is open on a campaign where you have people to place. For HR, a campaign must be ongoing for the opening card to appear.

### I cannot click a badge.

The review is closed, or it is in calibration and you are a manager, or the person is not within your role's population.

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