From Grids to Growth: Learn How Informa Moved Beyond 9-Box Grid
Petra Edwards, Head of Talent at Informa, shares how a FTSE 100 business replaced its talent management system with an inclusive 4 Career Stages Framework, now rolling out to 12,000 employees globally.
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What This Session Covers
Whether you missed it live or want to revisit the insights, here's a snapshot of what Petra shared with 2,000+ employee-scale organisations.
Why Informa Ditched the 9-Box Grid
The limitations of traditional grids in a modern, inclusive talent landscape, and what they replaced it with.
The 4 Career Stages Framework
A practical walkthrough of the new model that creates clearer, more equitable growth pathways for all employees.
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Rolling Out at Scale
How Informa embedded the framework across 2,000+ employees in multiple divisions without losing momentum.
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Award-Shortlisted Approach
The methodology behind the framework shortlisted for the HR Personnel Today Awards 2024.
Driving Inclusion Through Talent
How rethinking succession planning directly improves DEI outcomes and employee engagement.
Lessons Learned & Pitfalls to Avoid
Petra's candid reflections on what worked, what didn't, and how to bring your leadership team on board.
Speaker
Petra Edwards
Head of Talent, Leadership & Inclusion at Informa. She brings a wealth of experience from leading one of the most impactful HR transformations at Informa.
Questions This Webinar Answers
These are the questions HR leaders most commonly bring to this topic, all addressed in the session.
What is wrong with the 9-box grid for talent management?
The 9-Box Grid categorises employees on performance and potential axes, but it is difficult to calibrate at scale, prone to manager bias, and typically only applies to the top 1–5% of employees. At Informa, the process was so cumbersome that the data was never actually used for succession planning, making it what Petra describes as "dysfunctional in use." It also lacks the transparency employees need to understand or trust the process.
What is the 4 Career Stages Framework?
The 4 Career Stages Framework is an inclusive, skills-based talent model developed by Esendia as a modern replacement for the 9-Box Grid. Instead of rating employees on potential and performance dimensions, it places everyone on a career journey with four defined stages. The focus shifts from "which box is this person in?" to "what is the right next action for this person?" driving richer career conversations and more equitable succession decisions across the entire workforce.
How did the Informa roll out the new framework?
Informa started in one division: Informa Connect, covering 1,200 colleagues. Esendia ran co-design workshops, created handbook and workshop materials, and embedded the framework into Informa's existing performance management platform. Esendia ran pilot workshops on effective career conversations, then handed the rollout to the internal Informa team. Senior leadership sponsorship from the CEO was secured early, which Petra cites as critical to adoption. The framework has now been signed up for by most divisions of the 12,000-person global business.
Why do employees stay longer when they have a career advancement route?
Research cited in the webinar shows 63% of people say they will stay with a company if they have a visible career advancement route. This number is particularly significant because it applies to all employees, not just top performers. The 4 Career Stages Framework creates transparency for everyone, including employees who are performing well and are content in their current stage, helping managers hold validating conversations rather than ones that create pressure to move up.
How is Esendia's succession planning approach different from other traditional approaches?
Esendia's approach is consultancy-first and powered by its People Success Platform. Rather than relying on annual talent reviews that label people in boxes, Esendia's framework is continuous, inclusive, and skills-based. It applies to every employee, not just the top 5%, integrates with existing HR platforms, and creates the career transparency that directly drives retention and internal mobility. As Petra Edwards put it: "Esendia is two years ahead of where the market is."
Take the Insights Further
Download the materials from the session to share with your team or use as a starting point for your own transformation.
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