Template · Performance and development
Succession planning template
In short
A succession planning template records, for each critical role, how likely and how damaging a vacancy would be, who could step in, how ready each successor is, and what development will close the gap. This version includes a role risk assessment, a successor slate with readiness ratings, a 9 box grid placement and an action plan with owners.
Succession Plan: Critical Role Worksheet template
Succession Plan: Critical Role Worksheet
Complete one worksheet per critical role. HR prepares sections 1 and 2 with the role's leader; the talent review group agrees sections 3 and 4; development owners complete section 5. Treat the completed plan as confidential and do not share successor names with employees unless the organization has decided to.
1. Role information
- Role title
- Department / location
- Current incumbent
- Time in role (years)
- Reports to
- Number of direct and indirect reports
- Plan prepared by
- Date of review
2. Criticality and vacancy risk
- Why this role is critical (revenue, operations, regulatory, specialist knowledge, relationships)
- Impact if vacant for 90 days
- High: major disruption to results or complianceMedium: manageable with workaroundsLow: covered by others
- Likelihood of vacancy in next 12 to 24 months
- High: retirement, known flight risk or planned moveMediumLow
- Basis for the vacancy risk rating (facts only, e.g. stated retirement date, internal move planned)
- Typical time to fill externally (weeks)
- Knowledge or relationships held only by the incumbent
- Overall priority
- Priority 1Priority 2Priority 3
3. Successor slate
- Emergency cover (who acts in the role tomorrow if needed)
- Successor 1 name and current role
- Successor 1 readiness
- Ready nowReady in 1 to 2 yearsReady in 3 or more years
- Successor 2 name and current role
- Successor 2 readiness
- Ready nowReady in 1 to 2 yearsReady in 3 or more years
- Successor 3 name and current role
- Successor 3 readiness
- Ready nowReady in 1 to 2 yearsReady in 3 or more years
- External market option if no internal successor (target companies or profile, typical cost and time)
4. Talent review: 9 box placement for each successor
- Successor 1 performance rating (last 2 cycles)
- HighModerateLow
- Successor 1 potential rating
- HighModerateLow
- Successor 2 performance rating
- HighModerateLow
- Successor 2 potential rating
- HighModerateLow
- Successor 3 performance rating
- HighModerateLow
- Successor 3 potential rating
- HighModerateLow
- Evidence for potential ratings (observed behaviors, results in stretch work, 360 feedback)
- Retention risk for each successor and what would keep them
5. Development plan per successor
- Successor 1: gaps against role requirements
- Successor 1: actions (stretch assignment, acting cover, mentoring, training), owner and date
- Successor 2: gaps against role requirements
- Successor 2: actions, owner and date
- Successor 3: gaps and actions, owner and date
- Knowledge transfer actions from the incumbent (documentation, shadowing, introductions)
6. Review and sign-off
- Bench strength summary
- Strong: at least one ready-now successorDeveloping: successors ready in 1 to 2 years onlyAt risk: no internal successor identified
- Next review date
- Role leader signature
- HR business partner signature
9 box grid reference
- High potential, high performance: future leader. Prioritize for critical roles and stretch moves.
- High potential, moderate performance: growth employee. Coach on delivery, give a stretch project with clear targets.
- High potential, low performance: possible wrong fit or new to role. Check for obstacles before judging.
- Moderate potential, high performance: high performer. Reward and broaden; may be ready for a lateral move or next level.
- Moderate potential, moderate performance: core contributor. Develop within the role.
- Moderate potential, low performance: inconsistent. Set clear expectations and coach.
- Low potential, high performance: trusted expert. Retain and use as a mentor; may not want to move up.
- Low potential, moderate performance: effective in role. Keep engaged, check fit over time.
- Low potential, low performance: address through coaching or a performance plan.
How to use this template
- List the roles that would cause serious damage if vacant for 90 days; most organizations end up with 5% to 10% of roles, not every manager position.
- Rate each role's vacancy impact and likelihood using facts, then focus first on roles rated high on both.
- Name an emergency cover for every critical role, even if no long-term successor exists yet.
- Hold a talent review meeting where leaders discuss each potential successor using evidence, and agree performance and potential ratings together.
- Write two or three development actions per successor with an owner and date, and link them to the successor's individual development plan.
- Review the plan at least once a year and after any resignation, reorganization or major business change.
Which roles need a succession plan
Not every role. A useful plan covers roles where a sudden vacancy would cause real harm and where an external hire would take a long time: the executive team, plant and site leaders, heads of functions, and specialist roles that hold licenses, key client relationships or knowledge nobody else has. In a 2,000-person operation that is often 60 to 150 roles, not 400.
Rate each role on two things: impact if vacant and likelihood of vacancy. Impact is about consequences, such as a regulatory filing missed or a client contract at risk. Likelihood should rest on facts, like a stated retirement date or an announced internal move. Do not guess at who might retire based on age; besides being unreliable, assumptions about age can create risk under the ADEA. Roles that score high on both get worked on first. For background on the practice, see the glossary entry on succession planning.
Running the talent review
The template is filled in before and during a talent review meeting, where a leader and their peers discuss potential successors one by one. The 9 box grid is the usual tool: performance on one axis, potential on the other. Performance should come from the last two review cycles in the performance review template, not from memory.
Potential is the harder rating. Define it before the meeting, for example as learning agility, ability to lead through others and appetite for larger scope, and ask for evidence for every rating. Without that discipline, potential ratings drift toward people who look and sound like current leaders, and the same few visible names appear on every slate. A facilitator from HR should push back on ratings that rest on impressions. The glossary page on talent reviews covers the meeting format in more detail.
A succession plan example
A regional bank's operations center has a director of contact center operations, Linda Carter, who has told HR she plans to retire in about 18 months. Impact is high: the role owns service levels for 400 agents and a regulatory complaint-handling process. Likelihood is high based on her stated plan. Priority 1.
Emergency cover is the senior operations manager, James Reed. The successor slate has three names: James (ready in 1 to 2 years, high performance, moderate potential), Priya Shah, a workforce management manager (ready in 1 to 2 years, high on both), and a quality manager who is ready in 3 or more years. Gaps for Priya are frontline people leadership and regulatory exposure. Actions: she leads the second-shift floor for six months starting next quarter, attends the quarterly regulatory review with Linda, and gets an executive mentor. James takes ownership of the complaint-handling process now. Bench strength is rated Developing, and the plan is reviewed in six months.
Turning the plan into development
A succession chart that never changes anyone's work is just a list of names. The value is in section 5. The most effective development for future leaders is real experience: acting in the role during the incumbent's leave, leading a cross-site project, rotating into a different function. Classroom training helps with specific knowledge gaps but rarely builds readiness by itself.
Copy each successor's actions into their individual development plan so the work shows up in 1:1s and reviews. Check retention risk too. A ready-now successor who has been told nothing and sees no movement for two years is a common source of regrettable attrition.
Confidentiality, fairness and record-keeping
Decide in advance what you will tell employees. Many organizations keep successor names confidential to avoid creating expectations, but tell high-potential employees that they are being developed for larger roles. Either way, be consistent.
Succession decisions are employment decisions. Promotions that follow from a plan can be challenged under Title VII, the ADEA and state law, so keep the evidence behind ratings, apply the same criteria to every candidate, and review the demographic mix of your successor slates against the eligible population. If one group is consistently missing from slates, look at how potential is being judged. Keep the worksheets with restricted access in the HRIS or a secured folder, and follow your record retention schedule; rules vary by state and country.
Common mistakes
- Planning for every role, which spreads effort so thin that no plan is real.
- Listing the same two or three people as successor for many roles.
- Rating potential on gut feel or on similarity to the current leader.
- No emergency cover, so the first unplanned vacancy still causes chaos.
- Filling in the template once and filing it until the next annual cycle.
- Ignoring frontline leadership roles, like site managers and team leads, where vacancies are most frequent.
Frequently asked questions
What should a succession planning template include?
Role details, why the role is critical, vacancy impact and likelihood, emergency cover, a successor slate with readiness ratings, performance and potential ratings, development actions for each successor, knowledge transfer actions and a review date.
How do you use a 9 box grid template for succession planning?
Rate each potential successor on performance (from recent reviews) and potential (against defined criteria, with evidence), then place them in one of nine boxes. Those high on both are usually prioritized for critical roles. Use the grid to guide discussion, not as an automatic decision.
What is a talent review template?
A talent review template captures the outcome of a meeting where leaders discuss employees' performance, potential, readiness and retention risk. Sections 3 and 4 of this succession plan work as a talent review record for each critical role.
What do ready now, ready in 1 to 2 years and ready in 3 or more years mean?
Ready now means the person could step in with normal onboarding. Ready in 1 to 2 years means they need specific development, such as a stretch assignment. Ready in 3 or more years means they have potential but major gaps. Definitions should be agreed before the review.
How often should a succession plan be updated?
Review the full plan at least once a year, usually alongside the performance cycle. Update individual roles whenever a successor or incumbent leaves, changes role or a major reorganization happens.
Should employees know they are named as successors?
Practice varies. Many employers keep names confidential but tell high-potential employees they are being developed for broader roles. Avoid promising a specific job, and apply the same approach to everyone on the plan.