Succession Planning Training Template and Checklist
A ready-to-run course that teaches HR and leaders to run succession planning, plus the rollout checklist to go with it. Build the skill across cohorts, then see who can actually run a talent review.
- A seven-module course on running succession planning, with audience and outcome for each
- A rollout checklist mapped to your talent-review cycle
- A cohort readiness matrix that shows where the skill is thin
- A talent-review and governance cadence so the skill keeps improving
What is inside
- A seven-module course on running succession planning, with audience and the outcome each session must produce.
- A 10-point rollout checklist you can map to your talent-review cycle and mark off as each cohort ramps.
- A cohort readiness matrix that scores each group and shows where the skill is thin.
- A talent-review and governance cadence so the skill is built during development and kept sharp after.
Who it is for
Anyone who has to run succession planning, or answer for a key role with no successor.
- HR business partners
- Talent and OD teams
- Heads of HR and CHROs
- Senior leaders and execs
- People managers
- L&D and leadership development
- Workforce planning
- Founders and COOs
The course template
Seven modules covering what HR business partners and leaders must master to run succession planning themselves. Run the full set before a talent-review cycle, then use the calibration and development modules as a refresher each cycle.
| Module | Audience | Duration | What it must cover |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Why succession planning | All learners | 20 min | The risk it manages, the difference from replacement planning, and what good looks like beyond a filled-in grid. |
| 2. Identifying critical roles | All learners | 25 min | Which roles carry the most risk if vacant, judged on impact and scarcity, not just seniority. |
| 3. Talent review and the 9-box | HRBPs, leaders | 35 min | Running a calibrated review, placing people on performance and potential, and defending a placement with evidence. |
| 4. Assessing readiness | HRBPs, leaders | 30 min | Rating ready now, ready in one to two years, or longer, and avoiding the bias of marking a favourite ready. |
| 5. Building development plans | All learners | 30 min | Turning a rating into a plan that closes the gap to a target role, with stretch, exposure and coaching. |
| 6. Governance and cadence | HR, leaders | 20 min | Who owns succession, how often it is reviewed, and how it links to development, hiring and pay. |
| 7. Measuring bench strength | HR, leaders | 20 min | Coverage and readiness for critical roles, tracking the plan over time, and a short scenario check for evidence. |
Delivering the modules and scenario check through an LMS gives you dated completion per person and per cohort, so you can see which leaders are ready to run their own talent review before the cycle opens.
The rollout checklist
Ten steps to get succession planning from a course into a talent-review cycle leaders actually run. Tick items to track your own progress, it stays in this browser. The download has the same list with an owner column.
- Critical roles identified and agreed with leadersCritical rolesPer cycle
- Talent review run and calibrated across managersTalent reviewPer cycle
- 9-box placements defended with evidence, not opinion9-boxPer cycle
- Readiness rated as ready now, 1-2 years or longerReadinessPer cycle
- Development plan written for each named successorDevelopmentPer cycle
- Single-successor and no-successor roles flagged as riskRiskPer cycle
- Governance and owner for succession agreedGovernanceOngoing
- Succession linked to development, hiring and payIntegrationOngoing
- Bench strength for critical roles reviewedBench strengthPer cycle
- Readiness tracked by cohort, not just by HRGovernanceOngoing
The most common gap is the development plan. A grid full of high-potentials with no plans behind them names successors who are not actually getting ready, and the gap only shows the day a role falls vacant.
Cohort readiness at a glance
The checklist tells you what is missing in one cycle. This matrix tells you which cohorts can run succession planning themselves. Score each cohort on the five skills the course builds. In Excel the readiness and gaps calculate as you type.
| Cohort | People | Critical roles | 9-box | Readiness | Dev plans | Governance | Ready |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Talent / OD team | 8 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 100% |
| HR business partners | 16 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 80% |
| Senior leaders | 14 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 70% |
| People managers | 50 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 50% |
| New managers | 24 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 20% |
| Coverage at required | 60% | 40% | 20% | 40% | 40% | 64% |
New managers are the exposure here: a gap on the 9-box, readiness and development plans means their team members never get placed or developed, so a critical role two levels down has no bench forming under it.
The talent-review and governance calendar
| Timing | Action | Owner |
|---|---|---|
| Before the cycle opens | Modules 1 to 4, so leaders can run a calibrated review, not just attend one. | HR and L&D |
| Cycle kickoff | Identify critical roles and run the talent review with 9-box calibration. | HRBP and leaders |
| Within the cycle | Rate readiness and build development plans for each named successor. | Managers |
| Quarterly | Review progress on development plans and bench strength for critical roles. | HRBP |
| Annually | Full talent review refreshed, ratings recalibrated, and the course rerun for new leaders. | Head of HR |
| After a key departure | Targeted review of that role's bench and a fast development or hiring decision. | HRBP and leader |
How to run it
- Identify critical roles first
Teach cohorts to define which roles carry the most risk if vacant, because that is what succession planning protects, not the whole org chart.
- Run a calibrated talent review
Practise placing people on the 9-box together, with evidence, so ratings are calibrated across managers rather than one manager's opinion.
- Rate readiness honestly
Ready now, ready in one to two years, or longer. Teach the difference and how to avoid marking a favourite as ready when they are not.
- Turn ratings into development plans
A high-potential with no development plan is a rating, not a successor. Build the plan that closes the gap to the target role.
- Set governance and cadence
Who owns succession, how often it is reviewed, and how it connects to development and hiring, so it does not lapse after one cycle.
- Score the skill by cohort
Rate each cohort on critical roles, the 9-box, readiness, development plans and governance, so gaps in the skill have a name.
Disprz customers see up to 8X training ROI, the kind of return that shows up when leaders can run their own succession planning and critical roles stop being single points of failure.
Common mistakes this pack prevents
- Treating succession as an HR form, so leaders never own the roles or defend the ratings.
- Planning for every role, when the point is to protect the few that carry real risk if vacant.
- A 9-box built from one manager's opinion, with no calibration to keep the ratings honest.
- Marking a favourite as ready now, when readiness needs evidence, not affection.
- Named successors with no development plans, so nobody actually gets ready for the role.
Which format should you use?
| Format | Best for | What is inside | Editable | Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sharing and print | The full template, formatted to print or circulate | No | 55 KB | |
| Word | Editing the wording | Every section as editable text you can adapt | Yes | 86 KB |
| Excel | Filling it in live | The grid and scoring set up as a working spreadsheet | Yes | 66 KB |
Questions people ask
What is succession planning training?
How is this different from the succession planning template?
What is the 9-box grid?
Can I adapt the modules and checklist?
Do I have to fill the form three times?
Succession planning only protects the org if leaders can actually run it. That is the part we run.
Bring your HR and leadership cohorts to a 30-minute working session. We will show how Disprz delivers the course in short mobile modules and rolls readiness up by cohort, so your next talent review is run by leaders, not just filed by HR.