Talent Review for HRBPs

As part of the Performance Management features in the Planner, the Talent Review page provides a single workspace for talent calibration. There, line managers rate their direct reports on a 9-box grid and answer a questionnaire about each of them. Talent HRBPs calibrate those ratings across teams, with both the manager's and their own judgment in view. Each worker is placed on the grid automatically as ratings are entered, so the distribution of talent is always visible while the discussion is taking place. When the review is closed, one final rating is calculated and locked for every worker.

Talent reviews are set up and published by template owners in Workbench. To understand how talent reviews are configured and managed, read our Creating a talent review template and Working with talent review templates articles.

This article describes how you, as a Talent HRBP, work with a published talent review, calibrating the ratings submitted by managers, answering the questionnaire, submitting HR ratings, and consulting the final results. For information on how managers rate their direct reports, see Talent Review for managers.

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Talent Review is available under Planner > Talent Review to users with the Talent HRBP professional role. The tab appears as soon as a published talent review includes at least one worker within your scope. Talent reviews still in draft never appear in the Planner.

Talent Review page

The Talent Review page lists every talent review that concerns you. At the top of the page, the 9-box grids widget shows the number of talent reviews available to you. Also, the Lead with clarity and insight card offers practical tips on using the 9-box grid in talent conversations. Use the arrows on the right of the card to browse the tips.

Below, the paginated Talent reviews table lists the talent reviews with their Name, Published date, and Status (In progress or Closed). To open a talent review, click its name, or click the three-dot icon at the far right of its row and select View.

If you are both a line manager and a Talent HRBP, the Manager view and HRBP view tabs in the top-right corner of the table let you switch between the two perspectives. Each view has its own list of talent reviews, its own count, and its own tips: the Manager view lists the reviews that include your direct reports, and the HRBP view lists the reviews that include workers within your scope.

The figure below illustrates the Talent Review page in the HRBP view:

List of talent reviews in the HRBP view

Overview of the talent review

When you open a talent review, its page displays the name of the review at the top, with an Autosave indicator reminding you that ratings entered in the table are saved automatically. In the top-right corner, Exit takes you back to the Talent Review page, and Submit lets you submit your evaluations. Once the review is closed, a Closed badge appears next to its name and Submit is no longer available.

The page is divided into two sections:

• The Talent review grid section, which shows the placement of workers on the 9-box grid.

• The Talent review data section, which lists the workers with their ratings.

9-box grid

The grid displays the levels of the vertical axis (by default, Potential) as rows, with the highest level at the top, and the levels of the horizontal axis (by default, Performance) as columns, with the highest level on the right. Each cell shows its header, for example, STAR, and its label as a badge, for instance, Retain.

Workers appear in the cell that corresponds to their ratings, and move immediately whenever a rating changes. In a crowded cell, the first workers are shown by name, the next ones as avatars, and a + N more bubble indicates how many additional workers are placed there. To see everyone in a cell, open the cell as described in Viewing the workers in a grid cell below.

The tabs in the top-right corner of the section let you switch between:

• The first grid, for example, Talent review.

• The second grid, such as Retention risk, if the talent review includes one. Each grid places workers independently by its own pair of axes, so a worker can appear on one grid and not yet on the other.

• Details, which shows the description of the talent review and of each grid, as well as a Details widget with the Status and Published date of the review. The Details tab looks as follows for a review with two grids:

Review and grid descriptions in the Details tab

Regardless of the active tab, the table in the Talent review data section always shows the columns of both grids.

Viewing the workers in a grid cell

To see who is placed in a cell, click the cell. A drawer opens with the cell header as its title and, below it, the two axis levels that define the cell (for example, Performance: Exceeds expectations and Potential: High potential).

The Workers table in the drawer lists every worker placed in the cell, with the Worker, their status, Organization, and Country. Workers are sorted alphabetically by name, and the list is paginated for large cells. To close the drawer and return to the grid, click the × icon.

To find specific workers within the cell, type a name or a worker ID in the Search by name or worker ID field. Results update with each character you type.

In the HRBP view, the drawer lists the workers within your scope who are placed in the cell. HR ratings, draft or submitted, determine where a worker is placed. Where no HR rating exists yet, the manager's submitted rating is used for placement until you provide one. The status shown for each worker reflects your progress with their calibration.

In addition to the search field, you can narrow down the list with three filters: Filter by manager, Organization, and Country. Each is a multi-select drop-down list, and selected values appear as removable tags inside the control. Filter by manager lists only managers who have workers in the selected cell within your scope, while Organization and Country list all available options. If the Filter by manager or Organization list is long, it loads a limited number of results. Type in the field to find additional managers or organizational units.

Filters take effect only once you click the Apply filters button. Clear filters empties every filter control but leaves the search text in place, and the change applies on the next click on Apply filters.

The image below shows the drawer of the Star cell in the HRBP view, with the search field and the three filters above the list of workers:

Search and filters in the cell drawer in the HRBP view

Selections combine using OR within each filter and AND across filters and with the search text. For example, if you select two countries and one manager, you will see the workers of that manager who work in either country.

When the drawer opens, its search field and Filter by manager are pre-filled with the search text and manager filter applied on the talent review page, so the controls always reflect the workers you have just seen in the cell. As a result, you will not be able to open a cell emptied by the search or manager filter on the page. If nothing matches the search and filters in the drawer, click Clear all filters and search in the empty state to clear the search text and every filter at once and reload the full list immediately.

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When working with the cell drawer, keep in mind that:

• The search and filter controls in the drawer affect the drawer only. The grid and the table behind it stay the same, and any changes are discarded when you close the drawer. As a result, the number of workers listed in the drawer can differ from the count shown in the cell.

• These controls never widen the results beyond the selected cell or your own scope.

• The drawer is read-only, and you cannot change ratings from it.

• A cell with no workers in it cannot be opened.

Calibrating ratings

The purpose of calibration is to ensure that ratings are consistent across teams rather than within a single reporting line. For this reason, the HRBP view of the talent review page lists all workers in the review who fall within your scope, regardless of the manager they report to. Only submitted manager ratings and questionnaire answers are visible to you, and unsubmitted manager input remains hidden.

The Talent review data table in the HRBP view includes the following columns:

• Worker: The worker's name and job title.

• Action: A View link, which opens the worker's details drawer.

• Manager status: The manager's progress with the worker. This column reflects the manager's progress only, not your own calibration. For a description of all statuses, see Understanding talent review and worker statuses.

• Manager: The worker's manager.

• For each grid, a group of three columns: Manager rating, the cell resulting from the manager's submitted ratings; HR rating, your own rating; and Delta, the difference between the two.

The image below presents the calibration page in the HRBP view, with the manager and HR ratings:

Calibrating ratings in the Talent review tab

On the Retention risk tab, workers are placed according to the HR ratings given for the second grid:

Calibrating ratings in the Retention risk tab

Setting HR ratings in the calibration table

To set an HR rating, select a Talent review data cell in the worker's HR rating drop-down list, such as Star or Core contributor. Selecting a cell sets the levels of both axes at once. The HR rating is saved as soon as you choose it, and from then on, it determines where the worker is placed on the Talent review grid in your view.

If a manager has submitted a rating for a worker you have not rated yet, the HR rating field displays the name of the manager's category in gray. This value is a suggestion only. It becomes your HR rating once you select a category in the drop-down list, whether you choose the same category or a different one. In the example below, the HR rating field for Ann Walters displays her manager's category, High potential, in gray as a suggested value:

HR ratings and a suggested manager rating shown in gray

The Delta column shows how far your HR rating differs from the manager's submitted rating, measured in levels on each axis. For instance, "+2 performance, -1 potential" means that you rated the worker two levels higher on performance and one level lower on potential than the manager did:

Deltas between manager and HR ratings

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Remember that:

• A delta appears only when both a submitted manager rating and an HR rating that you have selected exist. A suggested value shown in gray does not count.

• An axis on which both ratings are the same is left out of the delta. If both ratings place the worker in the same cell, the column stays empty.

Large deltas point to differences in judgment worth discussing, for example, a possible rating bias, an unrecognized risk, or overlooked potential.

If the talent review includes a second grid, it needs to be calibrated separately. For each grid, you see the manager's suggested rating in gray, select your HR rating, and get a delta of its own.

Searching, filtering, and sorting

When calibrating a large population, you can narrow the Talent review data table and the Talent review grid down to the workers relevant to a given calibration pass:

• To search for a worker, type a name or a worker ID in the Search field in the Talent review data section. The table and the grid update with each character you type.

• To filter by manager, click the Filters button next to the Search field. In the Select filters panel, select one or more managers in the Filter by manager drop-down list, and click Apply filter. The list is ordered alphabetically and includes only managers who have workers within your scope. It shows up to 50 names at a time, so type a name to narrow it down further.

Your selection does not change the table until you apply it. Once applied, each selected manager appears above the table as a removable tag, and the Filters button shows how many managers are selected. Removing a tag updates the table and the grid immediately, without reapplying. Clear filters removes the manager selection only and leaves any search text in place. Clearing both restores the full list.

Search and the manager filter combine with AND logic. As a result, if you select two managers and search for a name, a worker is returned only if their name matches and they report to one of the selected managers. When nothing matches, the table and the grid show a corresponding message, with a Clear all filters and search button that clears every filter and search term at once.

You can also sort the Talent review data table by the Manager or Manager status column. Both column headers display a double-arrow icon, indicating that they are sortable. Click the column header once to sort in ascending order, and click it again to sort in descending order. An arrow next to the column name shows the current sort direction. Clicking the header a third time returns the table to its default order by worker name. Only one column can be sorted at a time.

• Sorting by Manager orders workers alphabetically by their manager’s first name, so that the workers of each manager are grouped together, and you can calibrate one team at a time.

• Sorting by Manager status orders workers by the progress of the manager’s evaluation: Not started, In progress, and Submitted. A descending sort places the workers whose ratings have been submitted, and are therefore ready for calibration, on the first page.

The sort order applies across all pages of the table. You can combine it with the search and the manager filter. Sorting changes only the order of rows in the table: the 9-box grid is not affected, and HR ratings remain editable. When you reload or reopen the talent review page, the table returns to its default order by worker name.

Calibrating in the details drawer

To see the full picture for a worker, click their name or the View link in their row. The worker's details drawer opens, with the following sections:

• The worker's name, job title, and calibration status. For the meaning of this status, refer to Understanding talent review and worker statuses.

• The worker's current category on each grid, or Unassigned if the worker is not placed on a grid yet.

• For each grid, the manager's rating, read-only. If the manager has not submitted the worker yet, No rating provided is shown.

• For each grid, your HR rating, with a drop-down list for each axis. If you rate a grid, you must select both of its axes.

• The questionnaire, if the talent review includes one. It shows the manager's submitted answers, read-only, alongside the questions you are expected to answer: those assigned to Talent HRBPs and your part of those assigned to both roles. If the manager has not submitted the worker yet, No answer provided is shown in place of their answers.

The following example shows the drawer for a worker whose manager has not submitted their evaluation yet:

Worker details drawer in the HRBP view

When you have finished, click Save & exit to save your ratings and answers, or Cancel to discard them.

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Unlike the table, the drawer does not save changes automatically. It also has no Submit button, because Talent HRBPs submit all eligible workers at once from the talent review page.

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When several Talent HRBPs work on the same talent review, a question assigned to Talent HRBPs has a single shared answer instead of one per HRBP. Another HRBP who opens the worker sees the existing answer pre-filled and can edit it. Authorship transfers to them only if they change the answer and save it. Otherwise, the application keeps the original author.

Submitting HR ratings

HR submission covers every eligible worker within your scope in a single action, so there is no need to select workers. To submit, proceed as follows:

1. Click Submit in the top-right corner of the talent review page. A dialog opens, stating how many workers you are about to submit and that their ratings will be locked and visible in the next stage of the talent review process.

2. Click Submit to confirm.

A worker is eligible for HR submission when they have a rating on every grid of the talent review, either your own HR rating or a submitted manager rating shown in gray, and when every mandatory question assigned to Talent HRBPs is answered. Mandatory questions assigned to managers are not required for HR submission. Workers without any rating are skipped and can be submitted later.

A banner summarizes the outcome (all eligible workers were submitted, some workers were skipped because they are missing required ratings or questionnaire responses, or no worker could be submitted). Once submitted, HR ratings become read-only.

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If a worker falls within the scope of more than one Talent HRBP, the first HRBP to submit settles the rating for that worker, on all grids at once. The other HRBPs cannot edit or submit it. After you submit a worker, the worker's manager can no longer edit or submit their own evaluation.

Consulting a closed talent review

When the template owner closes a talent review, the system calculates one final rating per worker and locks it. A Closed badge is displayed next to the name of the review, and the review becomes read-only for everyone. Ratings, questionnaire answers, and submissions can no longer be changed. Still, you can consult both grid tabs, the details drawers, and the cell drawers.

The final rating is determined as follows, independently for each grid:

• A submitted HR rating, if one exists.

• Otherwise, an HR draft rating, if one exists.

• Otherwise, the manager's submitted rating.

• If nobody entered a rating, the worker has no rating.

After closing, the Talent review data table still shows the Manager rating, HR rating, and Delta columns for each grid, with the HR ratings displayed as locked badges instead of drop-down lists.

In the details drawer, you can see all questions and answers from both roles, read-only. Your name and photo also become visible to managers for the first time.

Understanding talent review and worker statuses

Throughout a talent review, statuses show how far the review as a whole, and each worker in it, has progressed. Each worker has separate statuses for the manager's ratings and for your calibration, so that you can see what needs to be done and by whom. The following table summarizes the statuses described in this article: