What is a critical role

A critical role is a job position that is essential for business continuity and success. If the role becomes vacant, the organization faces risk. Marking a role as critical signals business continuity risk and prompts succession planning.

Examples of critical roles

• Plant Manager
• Head of Engineering
• Store Supervisor

Why critical roles matter

• They carry unique responsibilities that cannot be easily replaced.
• Vacancies in these roles can disrupt operations.
• Identifying them helps organizations plan succession and reduce risk.

What happens when a role is marked critical

• The role appears in the STAR grid.
• The system prompts to create a succession pipeline.
• If no pipeline exists, the role remains flagged as “Critical with no pipeline.”

You can also mark employees as critical talent. To learn more, refer to Mark a talent as critical.