How to Build a 9-Box Talent Grid in ClickUp

The 9-box grid is a proven framework for mapping performance and potential, and ClickUp makes it easy to turn this model into a living, collaborative workspace for your talent reviews.

This step-by-step guide walks you through creating a complete 9-box grid system, from structure to templates, using the features described in the official ClickUp 9-box grid templates guide.

What the 9-Box Grid Does in ClickUp

Before you start building, understand what a 9-box grid helps you do inside your workspace:

• Compare performance and potential for every employee
• Identify high-potential and high-performing individuals
• Spot development needs and risk areas
• Create clear, documented development and succession plans

In ClickUp, these activities turn into tasks, views, and dashboards your HR team and managers can collaborate on in real time.

Step 1: Set Up a ClickUp Space for Talent Reviews

Begin by creating a dedicated place where your talent data will live.

1. Create a new Space and name it something like “Talent Management” or “Performance & Potential”.

2. Within this Space, create a new Folder specifically for your 9-box system, such as “9-Box Grid Reviews”.

3. Inside the Folder, create a List for each review cycle or department (for example, “2025 Annual Review” or “Sales Team Grid”).

This structure keeps each 9-box grid organized, while allowing you to reuse the same approach across teams and years in ClickUp.

Step 2: Create Core Custom Fields in ClickUp

The 9-box grid relies on two core metrics: performance and potential. To replicate this in ClickUp, use numeric custom fields.

1. Open your review List and add two number custom fields:

   • Performance Score (1–3)
   • Potential Score (1–3)

2. Optionally, add supporting fields for richer context:

   • Role or job level
   • Manager name
   • Critical role flag (yes/no)
   • Risk of loss (low/medium/high)
   • Development priority (low/medium/high)

3. Save these as part of a List template so you can reuse them for future cycles.

Storing all of this in ClickUp custom fields sets you up to filter, group, or report on talent segments instantly.

Step 3: Add Employee Tasks to Your ClickUp List

Next, turn every employee into a task item that can be placed on the grid and updated over time.

1. Create one task per employee in your 9-box List.

2. Use the task name as the employee name, and use the description area for a quick role summary.

3. Fill out the custom fields for each person, including performance and potential scores.

4. Attach relevant documents (reviews, feedback, 1:1 notes) directly to the task for context.

By structuring people as tasks in ClickUp, each employee gains a history of changes, comments, and decisions.

Step 4: Build a ClickUp 9-Box Grid View

The real power comes from turning your data into a visual 9-box grid.

Create a Board View in ClickUp

1. From your List, add a new Board view.

2. Choose a grouping that best mirrors your grid layout. Common options include:

   • Group by performance (columns) and use swimlanes or filters for potential
   • Group by combined score range (for example, 2–3, 4–5, 6)

3. Rename columns to match classic 9-box labels, such as:

   • Low Performance
   • Moderate Performance
   • High Performance

Use Custom Fields to Form Boxes

To bring the full 3×3 structure to life in ClickUp, use combinations of views and filters:

• Create filters for each potential level (low, medium, high) and save a separate view for each row of the grid.
• Within each view, use the performance score to create three columns, giving you three rows by three columns overall.
• Color-code tasks based on risk, criticality, or development priority using color labels or field-based color options.

This approach mirrors a traditional 9-box while preserving the flexibility of ClickUp views.

Step 5: Apply ClickUp Templates for 9-Box Grids

The official templates described in the source article let you bypass manual setup and reuse best-practice configurations.

Use a 9-Box Grid List Template in ClickUp

1. From your Workspace, open the template center and search for “9-box grid”.

2. Select a relevant template (for example, a talent review or performance grid template).

3. Apply it to your talent management Folder or create a dedicated Folder from the template.

4. Review the included fields, views, and sample tasks, then customize labels, score definitions, or colors as needed.

Using a prebuilt configuration ensures your 9-box grid in ClickUp follows a consistent structure every time.

Adapt Templates to Your Talent Strategy

To align the template with your organization:

• Redefine performance and potential score definitions for clarity.
• Adjust custom fields to match your HR language (for example, “Growth Readiness” instead of potential).
• Create additional views (such as high potentials only or succession candidates) tailored to your leadership team.

Step 6: Run a Live Talent Review in ClickUp

Once your grid is populated, you can conduct structured review sessions entirely inside your workspace.

1. Open the Board or custom 9-box view on a shared screen during calibration meetings.

2. Drag and drop employee tasks between columns to adjust performance or potential assessments as the group discusses each case.

3. Use comments to record decisions, disagreements, and follow-up items for each person.

4. Mentions can bring managers, HR partners, or leaders directly into specific tasks to complete actions.

The visual layout keeps conversations grounded in evidence while ClickUp captures every decision for later reference.

Step 7: Turn Grid Insights into Action in ClickUp

The 9-box model is most valuable when it leads to development and succession plans.

Create Development Tasks and Goals

• For each employee, add subtasks outlining agreed development actions (training, stretch assignments, mentoring).
• Use due dates, assignees, and priorities so nothing falls through the cracks.
• Link employee tasks to company or team-level goals so progress feeds into larger performance metrics.

Track Progress with ClickUp Dashboards

• Build dashboards to visualize:
• How many employees fall into each 9-box category
• Completion rate of development actions
• Distribution of high potentials across departments
• Use charts and widgets to monitor shifts across review cycles and understand how talent is evolving over time.

Step 8: Reuse and Improve Your ClickUp 9-Box System

After one full cycle, refine your configuration so it becomes a repeatable, organization-wide standard.

1. Save your optimized List and views as an updated template.

2. Document score definitions and example profiles in a reference task or Doc attached to the List.

3. Train managers on how to enter scores, read the grid, and propose development actions.

4. Compare grids across years to see trends and changes in performance and potential.

By treating your 9-box configuration as a reusable framework inside ClickUp, you can consistently run fair, data-informed talent reviews.

Next Steps and Additional Optimization Resources

To deepen your understanding of the configurations and layouts available, review the original walkthrough in the ClickUp 9-box grid templates blog. Combine those details with the process above to implement a scalable system across your entire organization.

If you also want help optimizing your workspace and documentation for search engines and AI tools, explore the advanced optimization resources available at Consultevo.

With a structured approach, reusable templates, and the flexibility of ClickUp views, your 9-box grid becomes more than a static chart—it becomes a dynamic, action-oriented system for managing talent and planning the future of your organization.

Need Help With ClickUp?

If you want expert help building, automating, or scaling your ClickUp workspace, work with ConsultEvo — trusted ClickUp Solution Partners.

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