Talent reviews and succession
·
5 min read
Key findings
A talent risk register lists people risks with a score, an owner and a mitigation for each.
Five types cover most talent risk: concentration, succession, capability, political and cultural.
Score is likelihood times impact over twelve months; 15 and above is High.
Every High and Medium risk needs an owner outside HR and a due date.
Political and cultural risks are the two that rarely reach a register, because naming them means naming a senior leader.
A talent risk register lists the people risks that could stop the business delivering its plan, with a score, an owner and a mitigation for each.
The free template below covers five types of talent risk, namely concentration, succession, capability, political and cultural risk.
Each risk is scored by likelihood and impact, rated High, Medium or Low, and given an owner outside HR with a due date.
Download the Talent Risk Register template (Excel). It is free, needs no sign-up, and opens in Excel, Google Sheets or Numbers.
What The Template Contains
The workbook has four sheets.
Register. One row per risk, with dropdowns, automatic scoring and colour-coded ratings
Risk Types. A definition and an early warning sign for each of the five types
Scoring. The likelihood and impact scales from 1 to 5
How To Use. The six steps below, for anyone who opens the file without this page
The register sheet holds thirteen columns.
Role or team
Risk type
What could happen
Likelihood, from 1 to 5
Impact, from 1 to 5
Score and rating, calculated
Early warning sign
Mitigation action
Owner outside HR
Due date, next review and status
Six example rows show the standard of entry expected, and can be deleted once the first real risks are in.
The Five Types Of Talent Risk
Most registers record only one risk, that a senior person might leave.
The five types below cover the other ways people risk stops work, and each needs a different mitigation.
Concentration. Critical knowledge, relationships or output depend on one person, so their absence would stop the work
Succession. A critical role has no successor who could take it within 90 days
Capability. Skills the business will need in two to three years are not being built now
Political. A talent decision rests on one sponsor, or a leader blocks a move, a promotion or an exit
Cultural. How a unit is managed drives out the people the business most needs, or stops them raising problems
Concentration risk is often highest around the best performer in a team, because work and clients gather around the person who delivers.
Political and cultural risks are the two that rarely reach a register, because naming them means naming a senior leader.
They belong on it for the same reason, and the owner column decides who has to act.
HR can run the register, but it rarely controls the mitigation.
How To Score A Talent Risk
Score likelihood over the next twelve months, from 1 for very unlikely to 5 for almost certain.
Score impact by what would happen to the business, not to the HR plan.
1. Absorbed by the team within a week
2. Some work delayed for a month
3. A target missed for a quarter
4. A major client, project or regulatory date at risk
5. Revenue, a client or a legal obligation lost
The score is likelihood multiplied by impact. A score of 15 to 25 is High, 8 to 14 is Medium and 1 to 7 is Low.
High risks go on the agenda of the next talent review, with the owner present.
Building The Register In Six Steps
List the critical roles and teams, meaning those whose loss would stop revenue, service or a legal obligation within weeks
Hold a 30-minute conversation with each business head and ask what would stop if each role were empty for three months
Record each risk in one row, choose its type and describe what could happen in plain words
Score likelihood and impact, and let the sheet calculate the rating
Agree a mitigation, an owner outside HR and a due date for every High and Medium risk
Review the register at every talent review, and close a risk only when the mitigation has happened
Ross Sparkman identifies critical roles by combining three tests: labour market scarcity, position in the value chain and impact on outcomes.
The method for agreeing that list with the business is set out in succession planning for critical roles.
A Worked Example
A regional sales business lists its Head of Key Accounts as a concentration risk.
The head of key accounts holds the relationships for three of the five largest clients personally, with no second contact at any of them.
Likelihood is scored 4, because two competitors are hiring in the region, and impact 5, because the three clients carry a large share of revenue.
The score of 20 is High, so the risk goes to the next talent review.
The mitigation is a named second contact at each client within 60 days, owned by the Regional Managing Director.
The early warning sign recorded is that the head of key accounts declines to bring a colleague to client meetings.
Why The Owner Sits Outside HR
HR can run the register, but it rarely controls the mitigation.
A second client contact, a certification budget or a change of team leader is a decision for the business head who owns the work.
David Weiss, Vince Molinaro and Liane Davey treat succession management as risk reduction: a lower chance of leaving a critical position unfilled or losing a high performer.
On that view, the register is a business risk document, and the business owns each line.
How to make the review change decisions is set out in running a talent review that changes decisions.
How to test the depth behind each role is set out in measuring bench strength for critical roles.
Where The Tools Sit
Trusted Talent Advisor covers talent risk in its Talent Risk lens, with a heat map that ranks the five types across a business unit.
The lens connects each risk to the succession and capability work in the rest of the system.
Sources
1. Sparkman, R. Strategic Workforce Planning: Developing Optimized Talent Strategies for Future Growth. Kogan Page.
2. Weiss, D. S., Molinaro, V. and Davey, L. Leadership Solutions: The Pathway to Bridge the Leadership Gap. John Wiley and Sons Canada.
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
What is a talent risk register?
A list of the people risks that could stop the business delivering its plan, each with a likelihood and impact score, an early warning sign, a mitigation, an owner and a due date.
What should a talent risk register include?
The role or team, the risk type, what could happen, likelihood and impact scores, a rating, an early warning sign, the mitigation, an owner outside HR, a due date and a status.
What are the main types of talent risk?
Concentration, where work depends on one person; succession, where no one could take a critical role within 90 days; capability, political and cultural risk.
How do you score talent risk?
Score likelihood over twelve months and impact on the business, each from 1 to 5, and multiply them. 15 to 25 is High, 8 to 14 Medium and 1 to 7 Low.
How often should a talent risk register be reviewed?
At every talent review, and at least quarterly for High risks. Close a risk only when its mitigation has happened, not when it has been agreed.
Who owns talent risk?
HR runs the register, but each risk is owned by the business leader who controls the mitigation, such as a budget, a hire or a change of manager.
Keep reading
Credibility with the business
AIHR Alternatives For Senior HR Business Partners
For an experienced HR business partner, the choice is between a credential, a cohort programme and a method used on live work. Five options, compared as of October 2026.
6 min read
Measuring HR impact
Internal Mobility Metrics Without A Platform
Seven measures an HR adviser can build from existing records, each with a stated definition, a base and a way to read it.
7 min read
Talent reviews and succession
Measuring Bench Strength For Critical Roles
Bench strength is scored for each critical role by ready-now coverage, successor depth, net strength and movement between readiness bands.
8 min read