Introduction

This guide covers how you identify and evaluate potential successors. Succession Planning gives you manual search tools and data-driven recommendations, so you can build a talent pipeline from both.

Identify potential successors

A succession plan starts with finding the right talent. You can add successors to a plan in two ways: add them manually, or add one the system recommends.

Add a successor manually

Search for an employee by name or by unique identifier, then add them to the plan. Use manual addition to formally add someone you already identified in a talent review or an internal discussion.

Recommended successors and match score

The system suggests Recommended Successors so you don't have to source every candidate yourself. These suggestions come from the Eightfold match score, which measures how closely an employee's profile fits the target role or position.

• Match scores. The match score is a numerical measure of suitability, shown on a 5-point scale. It gives a composite view of how well a candidate fits the target role. The system can also use the score to suggest a readiness state, such as Ready Now, based on the thresholds configured for your organization.
• Recommendation factors. The engine weighs the relevance of skills and competencies, role-specific experience, seniority level, and geographic alignment. It also considers performance data and potential indicators, such as participation in a leadership program.
• Data exclusions. The engine does not use Career Interests, Skill Assessments, or Development Plans to calculate recommendations.

Calibration and feedback

The recommendation engine balances automation with your judgment. As an HRBP or an administrator, you can improve the quality of future suggestions in two ways.

• Fine-tune recommendations. Select Fine Tune Recommendations to open the calibration page and adjust the criteria used for the plan. Use this to focus the recommendations on what matters for the role, such as a specific skill or an educational background.
• Dismiss a recommendation. Dismiss a recommendation that isn't relevant. The system uses that feedback to adjust its logic, and it stops showing unsuitable candidates in future searches for that role.