Talent reviews and succession
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5 min read
Key findings
Five free Excel templates cover critical roles, succession, talent risk, training requests and stakeholders.
The succession templates run in sequence: critical roles, then successors, then risks.
Every template has worked example rows, self-calculating ratings and a How To Use sheet.
Each one records an owner and a date for every action.
A template that records findings without an owner changes nothing.
Talentient publishes five free Excel templates for HR and talent leaders who advise the business.
They cover critical roles, succession, talent risk, training requests and stakeholder mapping, and each one has worked example rows.
All five are free, need no sign-up, and open in Excel, Google Sheets or Numbers.
Each has a page that explains the method behind it and a worked example.
How The Templates Fit Together
The succession tools work as a sequence.
The critical role assessment produces the list of roles that matter
The succession plan names and tests successors for each role on that list
The talent risk register records each successor gap and every other people risk, with an owner
The other two templates support the conversations that decide whether anything changes.
The training request intake form tests a request before money is spent, and the stakeholder map plans who to speak to before a decision.
Critical Role Assessment
Scores each role on scarcity outside, position in the value chain and impact on outcomes, from 1 to 5.
A role is critical at a total of 12 or more, or with a 5 on any single test.
It flags every critical role with fewer than two named successors.
Use it first, because the other succession tools work from its list.
Download the Critical Role Assessment template, or read how to use the critical role assessment.
Succession Plan For Critical Roles
Names at least two successors per critical role, with a defined readiness band for each.
Scores capability, credibility, team and client readiness, and growth in time, from 1 to 3.
Flags each name as aligned, inflated or hidden, and shows which roles have no one ready now.
Ready now means the person could take the role within 90 days.
Download the Succession Plan For Critical Roles template, or read how to use the succession plan for critical roles.
Talent Risk Register
Records people risks across five types, namely concentration, succession, capability, political and cultural risk.
Scores likelihood and impact over twelve months and rates each risk High, Medium or Low.
Every High and Medium risk gets an owner outside HR and a due date.
Six example rows show the standard of entry expected.
Download the Talent Risk Register template, or read how to use the talent risk register.
The succession tools work as a sequence.
Training Request Intake Form
Records what a manager asked for, what is happening and the business figure affected.
Asks whether the problem would go away if everyone had the skills tomorrow.
Rates six causes, and recommends training, another action or a mix.
Ends with a one-sentence need and a measure agreed with the person who asked.
Download the Training Request Intake Form template, or read how to use the training request intake form.
Stakeholder Map For HR Decisions
Maps one dated decision by four positions, namely decision holder, consent holder, influencer and affected.
Records what each person stands to lose, their stance with evidence and who they listen to.
Calculates the power and interest grid from the same rows.
Sets the order of conversations before the decision meeting.
Download the Stakeholder Map For HR Decisions template, or read how to use the stakeholder map for hr decisions.
Choosing The Right Template
Each template answers a situation an HR or talent leader meets every year.
The leadership team asks who could replace a key person. Start with the critical role assessment, then the succession plan
A succession plan lists the same ready-now names every year. Use the succession plan to test each name on evidence
The leadership team or audit committee asks about people risk. Use the talent risk register
A manager asks for a training programme. Use the training request intake form before agreeing to anything
A proposal needs sign-off from people with competing interests. Use the stakeholder map two weeks before the decision
Templates Around A Talent Review
Three of the templates fit around the annual or half-yearly talent review, in a fixed order.
Before the review, the critical role assessment fixes which roles will be discussed, and the succession plan records the evidence for each successor.
During the review, every inflated or hidden flag is resolved with the evidence on the table.
After the review, each successor gap goes into the talent risk register with an owner outside HR and a date.
The register is then reviewed at the next talent review, and a risk closes only when its mitigation has happened.
What The Templates Share
Each template is built the same way, so they read as one set.
A worked example in every file, using generic role titles
Dropdowns and formulas, so the rating calculates itself
A sheet that defines every scale and term
A How To Use sheet for anyone who opens the file without the page
An owner and a date wherever an action is recorded
The last point matters most in practice, because a template that records findings without an owner changes nothing.
Each file also carries a short note naming Talentient as its source, so colleagues who receive a copy can find the method behind it.
Where The Tools Sit
The templates are free versions of tools inside Trusted Talent Advisor, a seven-part practitioner system for HR and talent leaders who advise the business.
The system adds the method behind each one, including the Talent Risk, Succession Reality and Capability Architecture lenses.
How the succession template compares with others is set out in seven free succession planning templates compared.
The idea behind the set is described in the Talent Quotient.
A free interactive tool sits alongside the five templates: the cost of a vacancy calculator.
Sources
1. Sparkman, R. Strategic Workforce Planning: Developing Optimized Talent Strategies for Future Growth. Kogan Page.
2. Kaufman, R. and Guerra-Lopez, I. Needs Assessment for Organizational Success. ATD Press.
From the system
Trusted Talent Advisor sets out the full method: seven components, 51 tools, The Talent Template Pack and The Prompt Library.
See the system
Questions this answers
Are the templates really free?
Yes. All five download directly with no sign-up or email address, and they can be used and shared inside an organisation.
Which template should I start with?
For succession work, start with the critical role assessment, because the succession plan and the talent risk register work from its list of roles.
Do the templates work in Google Sheets?
Yes. They open in Excel, Google Sheets and Numbers, with the dropdowns and formulas intact.
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