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Succession Planning With the 9-Box
Join Jed and Bob as they introduce the concept of the 9 Box Grid, and discuss how to roll it out in any organization.
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RACI Analysis – Responsibility Charting
Join Jed and Bob as they explore how to use a RACI Chart in any organization.
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Be a Game Show Contestant and Win Future Leaders
The 9-Box is a simple tool that helps you make better talent management decisions (for example, who to assign a special project). Get instant access to the 9-Box for Succession Planning Video and Cheat Sheet by becoming a Wily Manager member today.
There are many who find it distasteful that organizations have big war-rooms full of maps where they move their people around like pawns on a chessboard. It depersonalizes the people, and treats them more like material assets. General Electric pioneered the idea of putting people on a 9-box grid ranking them in their performance and their potential, as an integral part of the talent management process. Now many leading organizations use similar systems.
Even if you find such practices distasteful, it is easy to see their utility when managing a large organization.
Why not have a bit of fun with it? A 9-box grid looks a lot like a tic-tac-toe board, and that has been the foundation of many a game-show. Of course, in a viable organization, you wouldn’t want the over-manicured pretty-boy game show hosts, the mentally impaired contestants, or the “celebrities” desperately using the show as venue to launch their big come-back.
But you could have managers competing to get 3 high-potential, high-performers in a row. You could find a washed up HR guy with a nice haircut to facilitate, and you could over hear a District Manager say, “I’ll take Paul Lynde for the block”! (YouTube the Original Hollywood Squares if you don’t get the reference).
Not every manager would be comfortable managing their talent this way, but for those that either don’t like the idea, or don’t manage to compete well, we have some lovely parting gifts – including a one-year supply of Orville Redenbacher Gourmet Popcorn – most every kernel pops!
Next week we’ll be talking about onboarding new employees. You won’t want to miss out – become a Wily Manager Member today.
The 9 Box for Succession Planning
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The 9 Box is part of a talent management system to help organizations manage the capability of their workforce. The Nine Box is in wide use now in many companies, but is generally credited as having been pioneered by General Electric and McKinsey. Below we talk about the following aspects of the 9 Box:
- What is the 9 Box?
- The typical 9 Box grid.
- How to use the 9 Box.
- Common challenges to using the 9 Box.
What is the 9 Box?
The 9 Box is a Leadership Talent Management Tool used to assess individuals on two dimensions:
- Their past performance and
- Their future potential
The outcomes of running a 9 Box session include:
- Helping identify the organization’s leadership pipeline
- Identifying the ‘keepers’.
- Identifying turnover risks.
- Identifying employees with potential to provide development assignments or special projects
- Making ‘improve or remove’ decisions about those employees and leaders whose skills are out of date.
The Typical 9 Box
How to Use the 9 Box
The 9 Box system is most often part of a larger Talent Management system. It is also easy to understand and implement, but efforts need to be made to people to explain why it is being done, and how it will impact them.
- The tool is most effective when used by a team.
- Have each manager fill in a grid assigning each of their team members to one of the squares on the grid.
- Consider asking for additional information, such as years in current position, retention risk, or relocate-ability.
- Conduct the calibration meeting. This is where you as a manager get feedback from your peers, and potentially your boss on where you have elected to place your people on the grid.
- Use the grid as a guideline to developmental activities, promotions, and transfers
- Repeat every six months.
Common Challenges to Using the 9 Box
Although the 9 Box is conceptually easy to understand, there are some challenges to implementation:
- Open or closed? This essentially asks the question as to whether people are made aware of their place on the grid or not. There are good arguments on both sides of the argument. Regardless of the decision to reveal their place or not, every employee should be given regular performance feedback, and developmental opportunities. The Nine Box can assist greatly in doing this effectively.
- Defining Potential. Most organizations have some infrastructure to assess performance. Fewer assess potential as effectively. In a traditional hierarchical organization, potential may be defined as how quickly someone might climb one or two rungs on the corporate ladder. In other organizations, it might be worth facilitating a conversation on what “potential” means.
3 Things to Remember About 9 Box Grids
- The 9 Box is only part of a larger Talent Management process.
- Action plans on what to do to improve performance and/or potential are much more important than simply completing the Nine Box.
- Encourage healthy debate and set high standards.
Watch the ‘3-Minute Crash Course’ about The Nine Box (CLICK THE ARROW TO START THE VIDEO):
My Two Brains
Like many people, I seem to have two often competing, and sometimes complimentary hemispheres to my brain. When I did my undergraduate degree, I had the rather strange combination of a major in Business Administration, with a minor in English Literature. This typically meant I annoyed my Business Student peers by pointing out their dangling modifiers; and annoyed my Liberal Arts peers by continually questioning the economic utility of the arts.
Overall, it meant I was generally someone to avoided at cocktail parties.
Once I entered the work world, the correlation between the disciplines of Business and Liberal Arts became much more tangible. There are many business people who have had their careers derailed by not being able to construct a coherent sentence, or by being too linear in their thinking. Likewise, those who fail to move past “art for art’s sake” usually condemn themselves to a career of leaning out a drive-through window, wearing polyester work clothes with a bright nametag, and asking their clients if they’d “like fries with that”.
So with that preamble, I going to attempt to demonstrate a key business problem by using art as an example.
Imagine yourself spending thousands of dollars to go to London or New York to take in major theatre production. When you get in the venue and seated, you notice there are no sets, props, or costumes – just an empty stage. The actors are sent on stage not knowing anything about the story they are trying to tell. There are no writers to give them any lines.
Being an optimist, you may think this in an improvised production, but the performers don’t do anything – they just stare blankly at each other. Eventually, you feel confused and cheated, and you just give up and leave the theatre.
This is the equivalent to what many organizations do when it comes to role clarity. They spend thousands of dollars to hire and onboard talent. They then send them to the stage (in this case to an office or workplace) without any idea what the story is about. People are not told about the vision, mission or values of the organization, and how that might guide their work on a daily basis.
There are non-existent, or poorly written job descriptions and other feedback mechanisms that help people refine what they do. This is the business equivalent of not having any written lines.
There are no training or developmental opportunities that will help sharpen the skills to better perform in their roles – a parallel to no sets, costumes or props.
In such organizations, shareholders feel confused and cheated, and abandon the production, much like the theatre patron above would. One of the simplest things we can do to help people be successful is to help them define and refine their roles – yet it is often left undone.
Creating a RACI Responsibility Chart is one simple but effective way to clarify workplace roles. There’s no confusion when everyone is clear about their responsibilities. The ‘RACI Analysis’ Video and Cheat Sheet was just added to the membership area. Become a member and get instant access– it’s truly risk-free.
RACI Analysis
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A RACI Chart is simply a way of documenting responsibilities. This can be for a specific project, or for ongoing roles within an organization. We discuss the following aspects of the RACI Chart below:
- Definitions for a RACI Chart.
- What is a RACI Chart, and why it is important.
- Guidelines and Rules for building a RACI Chart.
- How a RACI Chart works
- RACI Chart horizontal & vertical analysis
Definitions for a RACI Chart
RACI is an acronym that stands for:
R – “The Doer”: Position working on activity
A – “The Buck Stops Here”: Position with yes/no authority.
C – “In The Loop”: Position involved prior to a decision or action
I – “Keep In The Picture”: Position that needs to know of decision or action
What is a RACI Chart, and Why it is Important:
The RACI Chart serves a variety of functions:
- It is a technique used to clarify roles and responsibilities.
- It describes the participation by various roles in completing tasks or deliverables for a business process.
- It is especially useful in clarifying roles and responsibilities in cross-functional/departmental projects and processes.
Benefits of a RACI Chart
- Eliminates misunderstandings and encourages teamwork.
- Reduces duplication of effort.
- Encourages communication and debate.
- Increased productivity through well defined accountability.
- Streamlined organization structure by collapsing unneeded layers and placing accountability where it belongs.
- Reinforces empowerment at the appropriate level of the organization.
Guidelines for Building a RACI Chart:
- 100% accuracy is not always required, and certainly not at first.
- It is an iterative process.
- Place accountability (A) and responsibility (R) at the lowest feasible level.
- There can be only one accountability (A) per activity.
- Authority must accompany accountability.
- Minimize the number of Consults (C).
- Actions/functions identified must be appropriate to this team’s level. Cascading RACIs will be put in place for other levels of the organization.
- Actions should focus on positions not Individuals
Rules of Engagement
- Debate is encouraged, but must be considered and respectful
- Argue your viewpoint, but respect the outcomes of the group
- Need to work towards an 80% solution. Do not consider exceptional circumstances
How a RACI Chart Works:
There are two primary perspectives or uses of a RACI Chart:
- An analysis tool
- To chart the current system
- To identify issues or where things may be falling between the cracks
- An Improvement tool
- Focus on how the organization should be
- Very useful after a reorganization, or acquisition/merger
RACI Chart Horizontal and Vertical Analysis:
A larger RACI Chart process
A simple RACI has been described here. A few other considerations for the use of the RACI Chart:
- Consider cascading RACIs throughout an organization.
- RACI Charts are most often iterative, that will need refinement.
- The RACI Chart should be revisited at least annually or as jobs or organizations change
- Connect RACI Charts to job or position descriptions
- Connect RACI Charts to organizational scorecards or measurement systems
Watch the ‘3-Minute Crash Course’ about RACI Charts (CLICK THE ARROW TO START THE VIDEO):
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Raw Courage Drives Workplace Performance
“What’s wrong with everyone nowadays? What is it that makes everyone seem to think they are qualified to do things far beyond their technical capabilities?” – Prince Charles, heir to the throne of 16 Commonwealth nations.
Many years ago when I was in grade-school, we used to hate getting our report cards. Mostly because they were perceived as a testament to our inadequacies. More recently, we stopped telling children they needed to improve at anything, so every child is wonderful at everything. It apparently helps their self-esteem. We’ll just ignore the fact for now, that the reality of a big, bad world is going to clip these poor kids in the head like a drunk Edward Scissor-Hands at the beauty parlor.
When I progressed on to post-secondary education, I was introduced to the rather Darwinian concept of the grading curve – the quality of your work didn’t matter as much as how it compared to others. Such methods of evaluation were brutal in their own way. They were also very instructional. I got used to the idea early that I was very average at just about everything I did. It also meant the one or two things (and not many more) I was truly good at, I could leverage to my advantage.
I don’t think kids coming up today will have that same advantage. They expect to be told they great at everything, which they are not.
Of course, this is already wreaking havoc in the workplace.
Performance Appraisals have become a ridiculous exercise to keep the HR folks off our backs, rather than something that will drive the performance of an organization. Every employee survey tells us that people want more feedback. In reality, they want more positive feedback. Corrective feedback is about as welcome as Ike at the Tina Turner fan club meeting.
Yet, one thing that the few truly great organizations do consistently is provide honest and regular feedback both informally, and in the form of Performance Appraisals. The one truly great manager I had when I had a real job, was also the guy who was brutal in his assessment of me. He could have taken the easy way out, and given me a rosy review that would have changed nothing.
It’s a courage that is as rare as steak tartar; but is also the only thing that will drive improved performance.
Performance appraisals don’t have to be a painful, time-wasting exercise done simply to satisfy HR. We show you how exactly how to conduct a performance appraisal so its more than just a report card, and leads to the behavior changes you want to see in your employees. Become a member and get instant access.
Writing Performance Appraisals
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Writing Performance Appraisals is a required job of every manager, that few enjoy doing. When done well, Writing Performance Appraisals can drive performance of both individuals and of the organization. Below we talk about:
- Why Bother Writing Performance Appraisals
- Key Actions When Writing Performance Appraisals
- Potential Pitfalls When Writing Performance Appraisals
Why Bother Writing Performance Appraisals
In some organizations, Writing Performance Appraisals is so painful, that the question is asked whether they are worth doing at all. Consider the following:
- Feedback is critical to success. People need to know how they are doing and where they stand.
- Performance Appraisals are often painful, and done poorly. It doesn’t have to be this way.
- When done properly, Performance Appraisals can drive, and drastically improve performance.
Key Actions When Writing Performance Appraisals
- Form the Foundation
- Make Performance Appraisals Part of Ongoing Feedback
- Make Performance Appraisals Future Oriented
- Conduct Your Appraisal Meeting
Form the Foundation
- Make Performance Appraisals consistent with other documents – use the same definitions and competencies in all documents. For example, it makes no sense to have one set of criteria on a Job Description, and another on a Performance Appraisal.
- Articulate clear goals and expectations. People need to know and understand well in advance what they will be evaluated on. Show them the forms and the rating system significantly in advance of the Performance Appraisal meeting.
- Define the performance criteria. Managers must not say, “Be Organized”. There need to be behavioral descriptions of what “organized” means.
- Use measures where possible. Not everything is easily measured, but every attempt should be made to use objective, measurable criteria where it exists.
- Support with examples or behavioral descriptions wherever possible.
Make Performance Appraisals part of Ongoing Feedback
Managers must offer feedback more than one or twice a year during Performance Appraisals. Feedback must be continuous, and be informal as well as formal.
- There should be no surprises on Performance Appraisals.
- Performance and feedback should be discussed at manager – employee one on ones regularly.
- Communicate about the Performance Appraisal process. Tell people what to expect, and show them the forms to be used.
- Choose your timing. In some cases Writing Performance Appraisals is attached to the calendar. In other cases, managers have discretion as to when they are conducted. Do what is most appropriate for your situation.
Make Performance Appraisals Future Oriented
The less a Performance Appraisal feels like a report card, the easier it will be for all parties.
- The past doesn’t count. You cannot change past performance, but you can learn from it. Use the past only as a guide to improve for the future.
- Overcome employee resistance. The manager needs to facilitate a conversation that will ultimately improve performance. This is much easier if the employee is not defensive and angry.
- Tie very closely to development plans. Again – future performance is what counts. For this reason, Performance Appraisals and Development Plans should be very closely linked, and highly correlated.
Conduct Your Meeting
The Performance Appraisal meeting should be much easier if the manager has followed the steps above.
- Before the meeting:
- Let employees know what to expect
- Have them fill out the forms themselves, so you can compare notes during the meeting.
- Envision the entire meeting beforehand. Prepare responses to any pushback you may get. Also prepare tangible examples to support the ratings.
- During:
- The Manager should ask lots of questions
- Be consultative and listen
- Focus discussion on improving performance, not on discussing dead issues of the past.
Potential Pitfalls When Writing Performance Appraisals
- Only offering feedback during Performance Appraisals
- Not dedicating adequate time
- Not having predetermined, crystal-clear expectations
- Poor or unclear process
3 Things to Remember About Writing Performance Appraisals
- Everybody hates performance appraisals for a reason – they are usually done poorly
- Make it future oriented
- Offer feedback continually – not just once per year.
Watch the ‘3-Minute Crash Course’ about Writing Performance Appraisals (CLICK THE ARROW TO START THE VIDEO):
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Performance Appraisals
Join Jed and Bob as they discuss the four key actions, and potential pitfalls of conducting a great Performance Appraisal.
Watch the ‘Performance Appraisals’ Video (16 mins 06 sec):
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