Find your critical roles and build succession plans with real, developing successors
A complete talent review and succession planning toolkit for HR teams: the method, the workbook, the forms, the meeting guide, the scripts and the fairness checks, for one division or the whole organisation.
- A 10-chapter e-book teaching an eight-step method, with one fictional composite company running through every chapter
- The Talent Review and Succession Workbook: 13 Excel sheets with critical-role scoring, a roster that keeps performance and potential apart, 9-box counts, succession slates, bench strength and risk, a development tracker and a pipeline-by-group view that suppresses any group under five
- 5 fillable PDF forms, a 9-box placement guide with 24 printable calibration cards, and 8 Word templates including a facilitator guide, 37 scripts and messages, policies, report templates, career frameworks and 28 AI prompts
- A Start Here map, three one-page references including dated privacy and AI notes by country, a 36-event 12-week calendar and a 31-task CSV
The Talent Review and Succession Planning Kit · Bodhih Pro Kits · 220 by Bodhih Training, trainers to 2,000+ companies since 2008.
How do you run a talent review and succession plan?
Score roles on impact, scarcity, time to fill and risk of loss to find the critical ones. Have managers bring evidence of performance and potential separately. Agree placements in a facilitated meeting, check them by group before they are final, name successors with readiness bands and emergency cover, then fund real development. The Talent Review and Succession Planning Kit from Bodhih Training gives you a file for each step.
Want the full free guide first? Read How to Run a Talent Review and Build a Succession Plan.
You already feel the problem. Here is what it is costing you.
Nobody can say who would step in
A key person resigns or is approached by a competitor, and the room goes quiet. The plan is made in a panic, and the role sits empty while you hire from outside.
The critical list is just the org chart
Directors and heads make the list; the specialist who signs off every process or the engineer who keeps the best line running does not. The real risks stay hidden.
'High potential' means 'confident in meetings'
Potential is judged on presence, visibility and similarity, so the same kinds of people keep rising and others are quietly overlooked.
The 9-box turns into labels
Box names leak, people hear they are a 'star' or not, and a snapshot of one year becomes a verdict for five.
Slates with nothing behind them
Names are written down once a year and nothing happens until the next review. Successors are no more ready twelve months later.
Picture the next few weeks with the kit open beside you.
Picture the Monday after your talent review. You open the dashboard and see, in one line, how many of your critical roles have a successor ready now, which three roles carry the most risk and who owns the action for each. Nobody had to argue about it, because the evidence was on the table before anyone walked into the room.
As you open the workbook and score your first ten roles, you may find what Fernhill found in the worked example: a specialist role near the top and a senior role that others could cover. When managers send in their pre-work, every potential rating comes with an example, and the group check shows you where to look before placements are final, not after.
Imagine the meeting itself. The chair speaks last. The facilitator asks 'what did you see them do?' and the room answers with examples. When someone mentions a colleague's leave, it is parked in a sentence. You leave with slates, emergency cover for every critical role and an action for every gap.
And imagine six months later: the successor who acted in the role is ready now, the specialist's knowledge is written down, and people who asked 'what box am I in?' heard about their evidence and development instead. Whether you start with the critical roles tonight or the policy one-pager tomorrow, the first hour sets the rest in motion.
22 files that do the work for you
The e-book shows you how. The tools make it happen. Here is exactly what you download.
The Talent Review and Succession Planning Kit (e-book, PDF)
The guide: methods, worked examples, scripts and exercises
Start here: talent review map
The whole job as eight steps with the file to open at each, your first hour, a 30/60/90 day use plan and links to measure your starting point.
Talent Review and Succession Workbook
13-sheet workbook: settings, a critical-role register with weighted scoring, the talent review roster with performance and potential kept apart, 9-box guide and counts, pipeline by group with small-group suppression, succession slates, bench strength and risk, development tracker, talent pools, internal fill rate and a dashboard with a chart.
Critical role identification worksheet
Two-page fillable worksheet: score one role on impact, scarcity, time to fill and risk of loss against anchors, calculate the weighted score and decide critical or not, with emergency cover.
Potential assessment guide and evidence form
Four-page guide and fillable form: six observable potential indicators with behavioural anchors, an evidence level and a required example for each, and a summary rule that turns the evidence into a potential rating.
Talent review pre-work form for managers
Two-page fillable form each manager completes for each person before the meeting: performance evidence, potential evidence, aspiration in the person's words, mobility, risk of loss, readiness for named roles and development ideas.
Nine-box placement guide and calibration cards
Five printable pages: the nine boxes at a glance with four rules, then 24 cut-out cards (nine box cards, three rules of the room, six challenge questions and six limits on using the grid).
Successor readiness assessment
Two-page fillable assessment of one named successor against one critical role's requirements: requirement-by-requirement evidence, a readiness decision (ready now, 1-2 years, 3+ years), the gaps and the emergency cover view.
Successor development plan
Two-page fillable plan for one successor: target roles and readiness, development actions across experience, exposure and education with owners and dates, support, review points and what has been said to the person.
Talent review meeting facilitator guide
Step-by-step guide for the person running the talent review: purpose, roles, pre-work and the group check, a timed 3.5-hour agenda, rules of the room, facilitation moves, 12 challenge questions, bias interrupters, outputs, confidentiality and the follow-up email.
Talent conversation script and message library
37 ready-to-edit emails, messages and conversation scripts in 5 groups: setting up, facilitating the room, follow-up, telling people about their talent status, and messages to leaders, the board and the organisation.
Talent and succession policy one-pager
A one-page talent review and succession policy to adopt: purpose, scope, who decides, evidence rules, fairness checks, who sees what, what people are told, data retention, AI use and review cycle.
Succession plan and leadership report templates
Two templates: the succession plan document (summary table plus one page per critical role with slate, emergency cover, risk and actions) and a short report to the leadership team or board with measures, risks and decisions, and no personal data below the group-of-five rule.
Career framework and pathway templates
Templates for a dual career ladder with level descriptors, a career lattice of sideways and deeper moves, a skills-based path and a frontline-to-supervisor path, plus how each links to succession and talent pools.
Internal mobility policy template
An editable internal mobility policy: purpose, internal posting, eligibility, telling your manager, release periods, fair selection, feedback to internal candidates, secondments and talent pools, confidentiality and measures.
Worked example pack: a full talent review at Fernhill Foods
One complete talent review and succession cycle at a fictional 450-person food manufacturer: critical roles, a filled pre-work form and potential evidence, the 9-box, the group check, slates, a readiness assessment, a development plan and the leadership report.
AI prompt pack for talent reviews
28 tool-agnostic prompts grouped by the 8 steps of a talent review, each with what to paste in and what to check before you use the output, plus the rules: anonymised or approved data only, people decide.
Talent review decision card
If-this-then-that card: when to run a full, light or no review, what to do with a role with no successor, and the people decisions that come up most, plus mistakes to avoid.
Bias interrupters for talent decisions
Fourteen biases most likely in potential and readiness judgements, what each sounds like and the question that interrupts it, with three checks before placements are final.
Talent data, privacy and AI notes by country (October 2026)
Dated quick reference to data protection, equality, consultation and AI rules that touch talent reviews in the EU, UK, US, India, the GCC, Singapore, Australia and Africa.
12-week talent review calendar
36 calendar events for a 12-week build-and-run plan, from the sponsor kick-off to the next slate review, each naming the file to open. Import into a new calendar and move to your dates.
Talent review task board import
31 tasks from the 12-week plan as a CSV ready to import into Trello, Asana, Notion, Planner or Jira, with phase, week, owner, file to open and due date.
Chapter by chapter
Each chapter opens with a real situation, gives you a method and ends with something to do today, using the tools in your kit.
- Format
- PDF e-book + XLSX + fillable PDF + printable PDF + DOCX + ICS + CSV
- Files
- 22 files plus a one-click ZIP
- E-book
- 60 pages
- Works with
- Excel, Google Sheets, LibreOffice, Word, Google Docs, Acrobat Reader, Google Calendar, Outlook, Apple Calendar, Trello, Asana, Notion, Planner, Jira
- Best for
- HR business partners, HR generalists, talent and L&D specialists and people-ops leads in small and mid-size organisations
The Question Nobody Could Answer
A resignation scare at a fictional food manufacturer, what the kit covers and the eight-step method.
What Talent Review and Succession Planning Are For
The three purposes of talent review and succession planning, when to run a full or light review, and the governance to write first.
Finding Your Critical Roles
Scoring roles on impact, scarcity, time to fill and risk of loss, so specialist and frontline roles are not missed.
Performance and Potential Are Different Questions
Why performance and potential are different questions, and six observable potential indicators that each need an example.
The 9-Box Grid, Used With Care
What each of the nine boxes means, what the grid must never be used for, and why potential ratings carry bias.
Pre-Work: Evidence Before the Meeting
The manager pre-work that decides the quality of the meeting, including the 15-minute aspiration conversation.
Running the Talent Review Meeting
Roles, agenda, rules of the room, facilitation moves and the group check that is run before placements are final.
Succession Slates, Readiness and Bench Strength
Slates, talent pools, emergency cover, three readiness bands, succession risk and ready-now coverage.
Development That Makes Successors Ready
Development plans that mix experience, exposure and education, and the five options for a role with no successor.
Careers, Mobility and Telling People Where They Stand
Telling people where they stand without labels or promises, career frameworks and fair internal mobility.
Measures, Reporting, Data and AI
The measures, a leadership report with no group under five, data governance, and where AI helps and must never decide.
The Plan That Keeps Working
What the plan looks like six months on, and the three habits that matter most.
Glossary and Formulas
Plain definitions and formulas for every term and measure used in the kit.
Not just reading. Tools you will actually open again.
E-book
- The Talent Review and Succession Planning Kit e-book: Introduction, 10 chapters, Conclusion and a glossary appendix, with a fictional composite case throughout
Start here
- 00-Start-Here-Talent-Review-Map: the eight steps with the file to open at each, your first hour and a 30/60/90 day use plan
Spreadsheet
- Talent Review and Succession Workbook: 13 sheets including settings, critical-role register, roster, box guide, 9-box counts, pipeline by group with suppression, slates, bench strength, development tracker, talent pools, vacancies and dashboard
Fillable PDF forms
- Critical Role Identification Worksheet
- Potential Assessment Guide and Evidence Form
- Talent Review Pre-Work Form for Managers
- Successor Readiness Assessment
- Successor Development Plan
Printable
- Nine-Box Placement Guide and Calibration Cards: 5 pages with the grid at a glance and 24 cut-out cards
Word templates
- Talent Review Meeting Facilitator Guide
- Talent Conversation Script and Message Library (37 scripts and messages)
- Talent and Succession Policy One-Pager
- Succession Plan and Leadership Report Templates
- Career Framework and Pathway Templates
- Internal Mobility Policy Template
- Worked Example Pack: Fernhill Foods Talent Review
- AI Prompt Pack for Talent Reviews (28 prompts)
One-page references
- Talent Review Decision Card
- Bias Interrupters for Talent Decisions
- Talent Data, Privacy and AI Notes by Country (October 2026)
Plan and import
- Talent Review Cycle Calendar, 12 weeks (36 events)
- Talent Review Task Board Import CSV (31 tasks)
When you have worked through it, you will be able to…
Every outcome is practised with a worked example and a tool, not just described.
- You will be able to find your critical roles by impact, scarcity, time to fill and risk of loss, not by seniority
- You will be able to rate performance and potential separately, with an example behind every potential judgement
- You will be able to use the 9-box with care, explain what each box means and what it must never be used for
- You will be able to facilitate a talent review meeting with rules of the room, challenge questions and bias interrupters
- You will be able to check placements by group before they are final, without reporting any group under five
- You will be able to build succession slates with readiness bands, emergency cover, bench strength and a risk rating per role
- You will be able to turn every slate into a development plan with owners, dates and review points
- You will be able to tell people about their talent status honestly, without labels or promises
Know your starting point. Prove your progress.
People who measure before and after improve faster and can show it. AssessAll, our sister assessment platform, has AI-graded assessments that pair with this kit. Take one now, work through the kit, then re-take it.
Strategic Workforce & Talent Planning
Take the assessment →AssessAll assessmentPeople & Performance Data Judgment
Take the assessment →AssessAll assessmentCoaching & Developing Others
Take the assessment →JobularyTurn what you learn into a measured development plan (Jobulary)
Make it a growth plan →A taste of Chapter 3
Potential asks something harder: how far could this person grow beyond their current role in the next few years? It looks forward, it is a judgement rather than a measurement, and that makes it the place where bias does the most damage. In this kit, potential means evidence that a person could take on broader or more complex roles. It is not a trait you can see in a meeting, and it is not a fixed ceiling. "Limited evidence of potential now" is a statement about the evidence, not a verdict on the person. The two are related but different. Many excellent performers are deep experts who want to stay in their field. Some people with strong evidence of potential are struggling because they are new to a role or in the wrong one. Treat high performance as proof of potential and you will promote your best specialists out of the work they love and overlook people who are still learning.
The honest comparison
| Free templates and typical advice | This kit | |
|---|---|---|
| Critical roles | The top of the org chart | Four weighted criteria, a fact behind each score, overrides only with a reason |
| Potential | A gut feel or a single rating | Six observable indicators, anchors and a required example for each |
| 9-box | A blank grid | Box meanings, next steps, 'never' rules and 24 printable cards |
| Fairness | Checked after the fact, if at all | A group check before and during the meeting, with small groups suppressed automatically |
| Succession | Names in a slide | Readiness bands, emergency cover, bench strength, risk per role and development actions with owners |
| Talking to people | Box labels leak or nothing is said | 37 scripts and messages, including 'what box am I in?' |
| AI | Vendor scores of potential or flight risk | 28 prompts for drafting and checking, with the rule that a person decides every outcome |
Made for you if…
- HR business partners and HR generalists asked to 'sort out succession'
- Talent and L&D specialists who run or support the annual talent review
- People-ops leads in small and mid-size organisations building the process for the first time
- HR leads who brief managers and facilitate talent meetings with senior leaders
- Organisations with specialist, technical or frontline roles that a seniority-based list would miss
- Teams working across countries who need one method and clearly dated local notes
Probably not for you if…
- Anyone looking for legal advice: the kit teaches good practice and points you to your HR team, company policy and local law, with country notes dated October 2026
- Teams that want software to rate potential automatically: in this kit a person decides every talent outcome
- Readers who need the annual performance review cycle or a mentoring programme in depth: The Performance Review Cycle Kit and Mentoring Programme in a Box cover those
Built by trainers, tested in real rooms.
Bodhih Training has designed and delivered corporate programmes since 2008. Bodhih Pro Kits package what works in those workshops into a guide plus the exact tools we use, so you can apply it the same day without a facilitator in the room.
From here to using it in three steps
- STEP 1
Tap Get the kit
Name, email and country. UPI, card or netbanking in India; international cards everywhere else. No account to create.
- STEP 2
Download instantly
Your download page opens at once, with every file and a one-click ZIP. A permanent link lands in your inbox too.
- STEP 3
Open the first tool
Start with the quick-start chapter, then the main spreadsheet or planner. Most buyers use something from the kit the same day.
Start with the roles that would hurt most
Open the Start Here map, score your first ten roles and see where your real risks are. Whether you begin with the critical roles tonight or the policy one-pager tomorrow, you can build a plan with names, evidence and actions behind it.
Personal licence for the buyer's own use (and use with your own team or clients where the kit says so). Please don't share or resell the files. Team and company licences: solutions@bodhih.com.
What buyers say
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The Bodhih family, when you are ready for more
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AssessAll
250+ AI-graded assessments to measure skills and earn verified credentials.
Jobulary
Individual development plans that start from evidence and stay yours.
Bodhih Training
Run this topic as a live workshop for your team, in person or online.
Pewple
Book a vetted coach for career, leadership or communication. Pay per session.
Bodhih.org pathways
Certification pathways in Applied AI, Workplace English and management.
The Talent Review and Succession Planning Kit: FAQs
Read the free guideAlready bought? Resend my linkWhat is a talent review, and how is it different from a performance review?
A performance review rates how well someone did their current role this year. A talent review uses that result as one input and asks a different question: who could grow into broader roles, how ready are they, and what development will close the gap. It feeds succession plans, not pay.
How do I identify critical roles?
Score each role from 1 to 5 on impact, scarcity, time to fill and risk of loss, with a fact behind each score, and weight them. Roles above the threshold are critical. Score specialist and frontline roles too: seniority alone is not a reason. The worksheet and the Critical Roles sheet do the arithmetic.
Should we use the 9-box grid?
It is useful for organising a discussion if you use it with care: performance along the bottom, potential up the side, a recorded example for every placement, and no labels shared, no ranking and no link to pay. The kit includes box meanings, next steps and the limits on printable cards.
How do you assess potential fairly?
Describe it through observable indicators such as learning agility, breadth of judgement and aspiration, require one real example for each rating, ask people about their own aspirations, and check proposed ratings by group before they are final. Never use confidence, visibility, working pattern, leave or age as evidence.
What are the readiness levels for a successor?
The kit uses three: ready now, ready in 1-2 years and ready in 3+ years, judged against the requirements of the role rather than the 9-box. Emergency cover, who keeps the role running tomorrow, is recorded separately.
What should we tell employees about their talent status?
Tell people the evidence the review saw, their strengths, the development agreed and what would change the picture. Do not share box labels or promise roles or dates. The script library includes words for 'what box am I in?' and for telling someone they are, or are not yet, a successor.
Can we use AI in talent reviews?
AI can help summarise anonymised evidence, draft development plans and messages, and spot inconsistent placements. It should never rate potential, judge readiness, predict who will leave or select anyone. Several jurisdictions have specific rules for AI in promotion decisions; the dated country notes list them.
Does the kit work in my country?
Yes. The method is global-neutral and the workbook works in any currency or language. Laws on data, equality, consultation and AI differ, so they are kept in one dated reference, correct at October 2026, with the advice to check the official source and your legal adviser. Educational content, not legal advice.
How can I measure my starting point?
If you want to test your own judgement first, AssessAll offers related assessments, sold separately: Strategic Workforce & Talent Planning, People & Performance Data Judgment, and Coaching & Developing Others. Links are on the Start Here map.
Can I turn what I learn into my own development plan?
Yes. The Successor Development Plan form works for your own development too, and Jobulary can help you turn what you learn into a measured individual development plan.
How much does The Talent Review and Succession Planning Kit cost?
₹1,299 including 18% GST for buyers in India, or $34 for buyers outside India. One-time payment, no subscription, with an automatic invoice.
How do I get the files after paying?
Instantly. Your download page opens the moment payment succeeds, and a permanent download link is emailed to you. Download each file separately or everything in one ZIP.
What software do I need?
Any of the usual tools: Excel or Google Sheets for spreadsheets, Word or Google Docs for templates, Adobe Acrobat Reader, Preview, Xodo or GoodNotes for the fillable PDFs, and Google, Outlook or Apple Calendar for the calendar plan.
Can I get a refund?
Because it is a digital download, kits are not refundable once downloaded. We always refund a duplicate charge or a failed delivery, and if a file is corrupted and we cannot fix it within 3 working days. Full terms: bodhih.org/refunds.
Can my company buy this for a team?
Yes. Team and company licences, and workshops on this topic run by Bodhih Training, are available. Write to solutions@bodhih.com or call +91 99000 11601.
