Mastering 9 box matrix

What is the 9 box grid? A definition

• he 9 box grid is a well-known talent management tool in which employees are
divided into nine groups, based on their performance and potential.

• When assessing employee performance, managers often pay attention to two

things. First, how well they perform today, and second, how well they are likely to
perform in the future (i.e. their growth potential).

• For example, hardworking employees who do well in their role but have little
growth potential are great to have in your team, as well as All-stars who perform
well and have great potential. However, low-performing employees with low
potential will require a lot of management attention and are unlikely to improve.
They require a different approach.
Creating a 9 box grid
 Assessing performance
Assessing Potential
Bringing it all together
Bad hires
• We prefer the term bad hires – you should not
have hired these people in the first place. But
now that you have, you need to deal with
them quickly but fairly.

• If these bad hires stay too long, they will

become icebergs, threatening the success of
your organization. This is because investing in
these employees will take away time, money,
and other resources from employees with
more potential to grow. Their work quality will
also set lower standards for colleagues, who
will spend more time cleaning up the mess of
underperforming team members instead of
adding value to the organization.
Action plans- Bad hires
• Identify personal roadblocks that may cause the low performance and
lack of growth. However, be careful to not over-invest in these people.
That would be unfair to the rest of the employees who do perform well.
• Sit with the individual to see if there is a more appropriate assignment
where they (and you) can utilize their skills better.
• If the first two options don’t bring quick wins, you should create an exit
plan together where you help the person find a role that better suits
their skills outside of your organization.
• IIf bad hires are a common phenomenon in your organization, review
your talent acquisition and your selection process.
Up or out
• They include the medium
performers with low potentials (up
or out grinders) and the medium
potentials with low performance (up
or out dilemmas).
• The grinders or effective specialists
are medium performers but they do
a good enough job to not fire them.
This makes them a challenging
group. They are low potentials so
investing time and money in training
them will not pay off.
Up or out
• The dilemmas or inconsistent
players have some potential to
be great but they are not
performing. Here the question is
why they are not performing.
Here you go through the same
process as before and try to
identify what causes their
mediocre performance.
Action plan- UP or out
• Create a personal improvement plan by going over personal roadblocks
and skills required for the role that need to be worked on by the
employee. Provide measurable expectations and clearly define what good
performance will look like. The employee should clearly know what is
expected of them.
• Check in every month and evaluate progress on the plan. Always
document these meetings well as this will help you make a better decision
and the employee is likely to benefit from a structured plan and feedback.
• If performance does not improve within 6 months to a year, you should
create an exit plan together where you help the person find a role that
better suits their needs outside of your organization.
Workhorses and dysfunctional geniuses
• The workhorses or trust professionals
score high in performance but low in
growth potential. They are the ones who
you should take care of in your
organization. They perform well and
have a good work mentality.

• However, they don’t have much potential

for growth. This means that you should
keep them happy and reward them but
be careful of over-rewarding them. This
will create a golden cage – something
we’ve seen in the global banking sector
Workhorses and dysfunctional geniuses
• The dysfunctional geniuses, also
referred to as enigmas or rough
diamonds, are on the other end of the
spectrum.
• They score high in potential but low in
performance. An example could be a
management trainee from a
prestigious university. They haven’t
learned the ropes yet but they are
eager to learn. Here it is key to
continuously track their performance
– they should grow and increase their
performance rapidly
Action plan – workhorses or dysfunctional
geniuses
• Give the dysfunctional genius time to develop but monitor their performance.
You are not only looking for improvements but for stable, solid performance.
Keep in mind that it is easy to improve if performance is bad; if they are high in
potential, they should be able to perform at a medium to high level within six
to twelve months.
• Communicate clear expectations for their current role so they know what is
expected of them.
• Communicate that you believe in their potential but also that they should
improve their current performance.
• If they still score low in performance a year onward, you should create an exit
plan together where you help the person find a role that better suits their skills
outside of your organization.
Future stars
• our high potentials or growth
employees score high in potential
and average on performance.
Oftentimes, this is because they
haven’t had time to fully grow in
the role yet. The priority here is
to move them to the right
position in the 9-box grid so they
are in the top-right corner. The
approach and action plan is
similar to your core players.
Future stars
• Your core players are the ones
who are reliable performers and
who also have the potential to
grow further in their current
roles. Your main performance
management priority is to bring
these people to the right of the
9-box grid, where they score
high on performance. The steps
here are similar to those for your
high potentials.
Future stars
Stars
• The stars, also referred to as
future leaders, are your high
performers who are also capable
of taking on new roles.
• These are your A-players and
most valuable employees. They
also play a critical role in
succession management.
Stars
• . Give your stars challenging assignments – they are the
most likely of all your employees to pull it off. Examples are
important internal projects, turnaround projects, or more
external opportunities in start-ups or spin-off companies.
• Check-in with them regularly and assess if they are still
happy in their current role. Ensure that you spot early signs
of dissatisfaction. Praise them lavishly and ensure that they
feel appreciated for the contributions they make to the
company.
• Provide mentorship with more senior members of the
organization
• Create networking opportunities with other stars and with
senior members of the organization. These opportunities
help to build a network between your top performers and
your senior leadership.
• If they are interested in it, roles in external boards and
committees could incentivize them, raise their public
profile, and provide an interesting challenge and networking
opportunity for them.