First of all: 9-box says “nine box” and not “nine-in-box”. The name comes from “9-Box Matrix”, or in free translation “matrix of nine boxes”. So there are nine boxes, not "9 in boxes".

9-box matrix is a mainly visual talent mapping tool that serves as input for people to make decisions - promotions, dismissals, training, salary increases and other incentives. For example:

The use of this visual support, combined with the correct conduct of all the discussion that permeates the 9-box, has the following effects:

📚 To know a little more about the history of 9-Box, just access this article on our blog.

Just to mark knowledge, let's go through three fundamental concepts:

⚠️ It is important that the objective of the Box is clear to HR, and that means that the axes are defined at the time of the construction of the matrix. Generally, the X axis is related to "Delivery" topics and the Y axis to "Skills". Through this article here, it is possible to understand how our customers build their respective boxes.

Let's go through the creation of the Box in Qulture.Rocks.

1. Go to the “Boxes” section: as mentioned, it is only possible to create a Box within a performance evaluation.

2. Click on “New Box”: at the top right of the screen, click on “New Box”:

3. Define the title of the Box and the title of the axes of this matrix:

This name will be visible in the Box list of that evaluation cycle, allowing general administrators or Box administrators, by default, to access it. If you want to allow leaders to also access and view the position of team members (direct or indirect) in the box, just activate the configuration below:

☑️ Permission: there is a configuration in the system that allows leaders to only be able to view the position of their followers (direct or indirect) in the Box. Therefore, this name would also be visible to leaders.

The names for the axes (horizontal and vertical) are important to clarify the purpose of each dimension. Considering that the Box will be presented in meetings for decision making, it is important that HR and leaders are able to quickly and simply understand what each dimension represents for that employee.

4. Number of quadrants (Grid): choose the best matrix model for your analysis, in the Grid section, as the following image:

The platform makes it possible to create a matrix of the size that makes the most sense for analysis.

5. Definition of Intervals: In the “Intervals” section, select one of the two options. The size of the intervals for each range can be defined by percentage or by numerical averages:

To define by percentage, it is necessary to select the option of "Define using percentage", and after that, click inside the box located in the X axis and Y axis ranges, as highlighted in the image below, and change it to the value you do more sense for the desired analysis.

To define using numerical averages, select the “Define using grade” option and enter the upper limit values ​​for each range for each axis:

For example, knowing that the evaluation scale has four selection options (1 to 4), the image above is configuring that the upper limit of Range 1 - X Axis is 1.33, and the upper limit of Range 2 - X Axis is 2.67 .

⚠️ Note: it is important to note that when an employee has an index exactly equal to the upper limit of the range, he is directed to the range below and not to the range above. For example: assuming that Victor Mundin got Average on the X axis = 1.33, he will be located in “X-Range 1” and not in “X-Range 2”.

6. Definition of target audience: In the section "Target audience" it is possible to define who should participate in the box. The options are:

7. Expected/real module: In the "Options" section, it is possible to select Activate expected/real module which, when activated, allows in each quadrant to be shown:

⚠️ Attention: this action will only be available when the Box intervals are defined by percentage.

Nice! We finished the general configurations of the Box, marked as “Step 1” on the platform. Now the time has come to assign the weights for each axis topic.

In “X-axis topics”, assign one or more topics to the axes. Then, define the weight of each topic within this particular axis:

Note: the topic will only be considered in the calculation of the axis average, if it has a non-zero weight in the performance evaluation. For example: if the evaluation has a topic called “Potential” with weight = 0, therefore, it will not be taken into account when calculating the axis average at the time of the Box.

Then, define the weight of each topic in "Y-axis topics".

And finally, it's time to review all the settings and finish creating the Box.

After that, depending on the number of appraisals that the appraisal cycle has, the Box is in the process of calculation and creation. And then, in a maximum of 5 minutes, it will be available for you to be able to view the completed matrix according to the rules previously applied.

This is an example of the final view of Box on the Qulture.Rocks platform:

That's it 😉

Any doubts? Contact our support #ChatWithUs.