Critical Role Identification and Vacancy Risk Worksheet

Worksheet for scoring roles by business impact, replacement difficulty, and incumbent risk to identify which positions need a succession plan.

Worksheet Overview

• Assessment period
  Enter the planning cycle or review period, such as FY2026 Q1.
• Business unit / function
  Name the business unit, function, or department being reviewed.
• Assessor name
  Name of the person completing the worksheet for audit trail purposes.
• Assessor role
  Job title or role of the person completing this assessment.
• Scoring scale used
  Use a 1-5 scale unless your organization has a different approved rubric: 1 = low, 3 = moderate, 5 = very high.

Role Identification

• Role title
  Official role title being evaluated.
• Job family
  Optional job family or career track for grouping similar roles.
• Primary location
  Primary work location if relevant to succession planning.
• Incumbent status
  Indicate whether the role is currently filled, vacant, or has multiple incumbents.
• Incumbent tenure in years
  Approximate tenure of the current incumbent, if applicable.
• Role notes
  Brief notes on scope, dependencies, or unique responsibilities. Avoid collecting unnecessary PII.

Criticality Scoring

• Business impact score
  How severely would performance, operations, compliance, customer service, or revenue be affected if this role were vacant?
• Replacement difficulty score
  How difficult would it be to source, hire, or internally move a qualified replacement?
• Incumbent risk score
  Rate the risk of unexpected vacancy based on retirement eligibility, turnover risk, health, or other known factors. Do not collect health details; use only the minimum necessary information.
• Is this a critical role?
  Select yes if the combined score and business judgment indicate this role should be included in the succession plan focus list.
• Criticality rationale
  Summarize why the role was or was not classified as critical, including key dependencies or continuity risks.

Succession Planning Follow-Up

• Succession priority
  Priority for succession planning follow-up.
• Target readiness timeline
  Estimated timeline for identifying or preparing successors.
• Identified successor pool
  Select the available successor pool categories that apply.
• Recommended follow-up actions
  List the next actions, such as development plans, talent reviews, knowledge transfer, or contingency planning.

Review and Attestation

• Reviewed with business leader
  Confirm the assessment was reviewed with the relevant leader or talent partner.
• Data minimization acknowledgment
  Confirm that only minimum necessary information was collected and no unnecessary PII was entered.
• Attestation
  Sign to confirm the scoring and follow-up recommendations are accurate to the best of your knowledge.
• Submission date
  Date the worksheet was completed.