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). 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.