Identify a Talent Pool and Pipeline

A talent pool is a group of current employees who have the skills, abilities, qualities, and growth potential to step into more advanced or critical roles in the future. Instead of planning for the replacement of one person at a time, a talent pool approach builds a bench of capable individuals who can move into leadership or mission-critical positions as opportunities or vacancies arise. 

Appropriate members of the Succession Planning Committee (e.g., managers and senior leaders) conduct a structured Talent Pool Review to build a shared understanding of the organization's workforce strengths and future leadership capacity. During the process, the committee discusses: 

  • The talent pipeline - Which of our current employees have the identified knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies needed for the prioritized positions from Step 1?  

  • The beginnings of a development plan - Are there ways we can develop current employees to gain the identified knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies needed for the current roles in the organization

  • What a recruitment plan (not covered in these modules) might start to look like - Are there gaps that cannot be filled by strategies such as cross-training, development, etc.? 

Identifying a talent pool and talent pipeline is important because succession planning is not just about replacing; it’s about building future capability and sustainability for your organization overall.

Skipping a talent pool review can result in organizations: 

  • Scrambling when vacancies occur 

  • Making rushed or biased decisions 

  • Overlooking strong internal candidates 

  • Losing high-potential staff to burnout or lack of developmental opportunities

  • Struggling to maintain momentum during leadership transitions 

Step 3 is not about identifying successors. Instead, its purpose is to create a shared, objective understanding of the organization's talent before successor nominations are considered in Step 4. This is where the 9-Box Grid becomes an important tool. 

The 9-Box Grid has several applications. In this toolkit, it is used in two ways. First, it serves as a collaborative exercise to assess the organization's current talent by evaluating employees' performance and potential. This provides leadership with a shared understanding of workforce strengths, development needs, and overall bench strength. Second, the 9-Box Grid provides the foundation for grouping employees into talent pool categories in Step 4. These categories help leaders identify common development strategies for groups of employees and support consistent, objective succession planning decisions. 

Another valuable application of the 9-Box Grid, although not the focus of this toolkit, is to support one-on-one development conversations. Organizations may use an employee's placement to guide informal career discussions, coaching conversations, or performance evaluations by identifying strengths, growth opportunities, and future development goals. 

Returning to its first application, the 9-Box Grid provides a structured way to evaluate employees based on both their current performance and their potential for future growth. The goal is not to determine who should fill a specific position. Rather, it is to build a shared understanding of the organization's talent before leaders begin considering successor candidates in Step 4.