PostWhat is Succession Planning and Who Needs It?
Do you have employee super stars that continuously need to be challenged with new projects, that question how things done, and seem to be constantly in a learning mode? Then you need a succession plan in place. Succession planning is a process of preparing your talent to step in and fill critical positions, because people who hold them are getting ready to retire, or otherwise leave the organization. It takes anywhere from one to three years.
Contrary to the popular belief, not only big corporations benefit from this process, but also smaller organizations with fewer resources available for training and development can find that succession planning is an excellent strategy to prepare the next generation of talent to move seamlessly within the scope of their businesses.
Can I just promote the next person in line for the key position that is about to be open?
In short, if you must fill a key position with the next person in line, it is too late for any planning, let alone succession planning. To try and immediately troubleshoot the negative effect that the departure of a hard-to-replace team member might cause, begin searching for people within your organization who display the skill which would help them thrive in critical positions. Depending on the role, these skills can be highly technical, conceptual that are helpful in strategic thinking, interpersonal for leading and guiding your workforce, etc.
The employees whom you choose might not even be interested in the idea of stepping into critical, yet unfilled, positions, so it is worth talking to them about their career goals before making your succession choices.
What should longer term proactive succession plan look like?
In the long term you should start your succession planning with identifying all the critical key positions and determining how a departure of an employee in each of these positions would impact your day-to-day-operations.
As with the emergency plan we discussed above, the next step would be to pin-point your succession candidates - the strongest employees who display the necessary skills. They don’t have to be the next person in line, but they should demonstrate the ability to seamlessly transition in a critical role those folks are being groomed for.
No assumptions should be made as to whether or not your employees are interested in the succession planning. Instead, it is best to talk to them about their professional future and how they view it.
If they do happen to be interested, single out each successor (assuming you picked a few) and let them know why they were carefully picked for the role. Be especially clear about that they are not guaranteed the position by any means, and the circumstances can evolve for the candidates, as well as the company as a whole, in the future.
Utilizing Succession Planning Tools
In an era defined by data-driven decision-making, leveraging technology can amplify the impact of succession planning. Human resources software enables organizations to identify high-potential employees, assess their skills against job requirements, and track their development journey. Talent reviews, conducted through systematic
evaluations, help in gauging readiness and pinpointing skill gaps. Mentorship programs foster knowledge transfer, while cross-training initiatives bolster versatility among potential successors.
Yours Truly,
The Wow HR Team
