ASN Belajar Seri 40 | 2026 - Level Up Your Career: Taklukkan Kotak Sembilan, Jadi Talent Pilihan

Summary

The webinar explains how Indonesian Civil Servants (ASN) can develop their careers through talent management and the nine-box talent matrix. Its central message is that the matrix is a guide to development—not a permanent label—and that career growth should be based on demonstrated performance, future potential, integrity, and organizational needs rather than seniority or personal connections.

1. What the nine-box matrix measures

The matrix combines two dimensions:

• Performance: What an ASN has delivered, assessed through work results and work behavior. The annual performance rating (SKP) is a key input.
• Potential: An indication of an employee’s capacity to take on greater or different responsibilities in the future. It may be assessed through competency or potential assessments and the employee’s track record.

The top-performing, high-potential group—boxes 7, 8, and 9—is generally considered for an agency’s succession pool. Box 9 represents the strongest combination of performance and potential and may be prioritized for a suitable target position. The matrix is dynamic: an employee’s placement can change as performance, assessments, experience, or circumstances change.

2. How performance and potential are assessed

Performance is not just task completion. It includes work behavior and the extent to which results meet or exceed agreed expectations. Ratings may also involve comparison with colleagues in the same work unit, so not everyone can receive the highest rating.

The presenter recommends four practical steps to strengthen performance:

1. Agree on expectations and targets early with a supervisor.
2. Hold performance dialogues regularly rather than waiting for the year-end review.
3. Document evidence of work and achievements so assessments are supported by records.
4. Pay attention to work behavior, including how results are achieved.

For potential, the webinar identifies areas such as intellectual ability, interpersonal skills, self-awareness, critical and strategic thinking, problem-solving, emotional intelligence, a growth mindset, and motivation and commitment. These qualities can be developed through experience, challenges, feedback, and learning; they are not fixed traits.

Assessment methods may differ by position. The first presenter described more comprehensive assessment-center methods for senior leadership positions and simpler methods—such as case analysis and competency-based interviews—for other positions. The results should follow consistent standards, be integrated into the relevant personnel system, and be calibrated where needed.

3. Integrity is essential

High performance or potential is not enough if an employee cannot be trusted. The webinar treats integrity and morality as part of an employee’s track record and suitability for talent placement.

Examples of misconduct include reporting work as completed when it is not, manipulating supporting data, or falsely recording attendance. By contrast, an employee who reports a genuine setback, explains the cause, and proposes a solution gives leaders more reliable information for decision-making. The message is that a talent candidate must be both capable and trustworthy.

4. Development recommendations differ by box

The recommended response depends on the employee’s position in the matrix:

• Box 9: Prepare and retain the employee for succession or a suitable target position; provide strategic assignments and advanced leadership development.
• Boxes 7–8: Include employees in the agency talent pool and develop them further. Examples include rotation, job enrichment, mentoring, leading a team, or cross-unit assignments.
• Boxes 4–6: Consider reassignment that better matches the employee’s strengths, alongside performance guidance and competency development.
• Boxes 1–3: Focus on coaching, counseling, and performance improvement. For box 1, the speaker described an intensive improvement period of three to six months, with coaching and training; further action follows applicable rules if performance does not improve.

No box is described as an automatic dismissal decision. Each placement should lead to an appropriate development response.

5. Practical steps for employees

The webinar suggests that employees:

1. Check their latest performance rating and any competency or potential assessment results.
2. Identify which factor is limiting progress—performance, potential, or track record.
3. Discuss development needs and next steps with their supervisor.
4. Seek relevant assignments, training, skills, or experience to address the identified gap.
5. Maintain integrity and document achievements.
6. Keep personnel and talent-profile information current in the relevant systems.

Speakers emphasized that unrecorded achievements may not be visible to the organization. In the BKN presentation, employees were encouraged to check their profiles in MyASN and the associated talent-management features; the East Java presentation referred to SIMASTER and SIMATA.

6. Fairness, supervision, and calibration

Audience questions raised concerns that supervisors may give subjective or inconsistent ratings. The presenters suggested several safeguards:

• Set measurable targets and standards at the beginning of the period.
• Base assessments on documented evidence rather than personal preference, seniority, or closeness.
• Hold regular performance dialogues. One presenter cited quarterly discussions as a minimum best-practice frequency, with more frequent conversations when targets or circumstances change; another described monthly performance assessment in their own agency.
• Use calibration or cross-unit review to help make assessments more consistent.
• Build supervisors’ ability to assess staff objectively, not just employees’ capabilities.

A further point was that different assessment methods cannot necessarily be compared directly when their depth differs. Calibration may draw on other evidence too, including training, assignments, achievements, interviews, or case presentations.

7. Career placement and mobility

The speakers described talent management as a way to plan for vacancies and match people to positions in advance, using performance, potential, track record, and position requirements. Being in a high box does not mean automatic promotion: the employee still needs to fit the role and organizational needs. Conversely, a move to a different role or work setting may affect performance or potential assessments, so placement and development should account for context.

Talent management was presented as part of the merit-based direction of ASN career management. The webinar cited regulations including the ASN Law, Ministerial Regulation No. 20 of 2025 on talent-management guidelines, and related rules on performance management and the merit system. One speaker noted that implementation depends on reliable data and the quality of the broader process; the presentation did not give a simple, definitive answer to every question about how a regulation applies in individual cases.

8. East Java’s implementation example

The East Java Provincial Government presenter described a long-term build-up of personnel data and talent-management systems, beginning with data infrastructure and later developing SIMASTER and SIMATA. She outlined several local practices, including:

• Adding measures such as innovation and EOM to East Java’s talent-weighting approach.
• Considering awards, certifications, cross-assignments, and monthly performance records.
• Developing talent-retention plans, including individual development plans and training-needs analysis.
• Using a 70/20/10 development model: roughly 70% learning through work and experience, 20% through interaction such as coaching and mentoring, and 10% through formal learning.
• Grouping succession candidates into clusters that reflect related areas of work.

These were presented as East Java’s particular practices, not as a universal formula for every agency.

9. Overall message

The webinar’s practical takeaway is: find out where you are, understand why, and take deliberate steps to grow. The box is a career map and a prompt for development, not a verdict. Progress depends on sustained performance, demonstrable potential, reliable records, integrity, constructive supervisor dialogue, and preparation for roles that meet organizational needs.

Speakers and sources featured

• Lukman Ali — Webinar host and moderator.
• Dr. Ramliyanto, S.P., M.P. — Head of the East Java Provincial Human Resources Development Agency; delivered the opening remarks.
• Maharani — Middle Policy Analyst at the Ministry of Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform (PANRB), presenting on performance, potential, and ASN self-assessment. The subtitles contain inconsistent versions of her full name and title.
• Dr. Samsul Hidayat — Director of Talent Development and ASN Career at the National Civil Service Agency (BKN); presented on understanding the talent-management matrix and career strategies.
• Anis Susilastari, S.E., M.Si. — Head of the Development Sector at the East Java Provincial Civil Service Agency (BKD), representing its head; presented East Java’s implementation practices.
• Maulana Bintang — Audience questioner, from the Supreme Court and serving at the Surabaya Administrative High Court.
• Fadli — Audience questioner, from the Prosecutor’s Office.
• YouTube live-chat participants — Submitted questions and comments, including users identified in the subtitles as Sukmawati 5566 and Ekin Prapti.
• BPSDM East Java promotional jingles and institutional songs — Featured in the opening, interludes, and closing; performers were not identified in the subtitles.