As the saying goes, “Failing to prepare, is preparing to fail”. If your company doesn’t take succession planning seriously then you could be placing the long-term success and stability of the company at risk. This guide to effective succession planning aims to help you to create an effective succession plan that not only protects your organisation but also nurtures and develops talent from within.
What is Succession Planning?
The CIPD define succession planning as the process of, “identifying and growing talent to fill leadership and business-critical positions in the future”. By actively taking steps to plan ahead your business will ensure that, when key positions become vacant due to retirement, resignation, or unforeseen circumstances, there is a ready made pool of talent capable of stepping up. This proactive approach is vital in terms of safeguarding the continuity of business operations and in addition, it can also have a positive impact on employee engagement. Taking succession planning seriously shows that you are committed to employee development and career progression and this is great for employee engagement, motivation and retention.
Why Succession Planning is Essential
Effective succession planning is not just about filling vacancies—it’s about future-proofing your organisation. These are some key factors of succession planning:
Business Continuity
A properly developed succession plan ensures that your organisation can maintain its normal day to day operations without disruption, even when key personnel leave.
Employee Retention
By investing in your employees’ development and career prospects, you can improve their loyalty and commitment to the company which builds engagement and reduces costly and damaging turnover.
Talent Development
Succession planning helps to engender a culture of continuous learning and development, equipping your workforce with the skills and knowledge needed for future roles.
Developing an Effective Succession Plan
Identify Key Positions
The first step in developing an effective succession plan is to identify the critical roles within your organisation that are fundamental to its success. These positions typically include senior management roles. However, they can also include specialist roles which require certain specific skills and qualifications, positions with unique responsibilities, positions which are typically difficult to recruit to and roles which may operate on a stand alone basis and could be a single point of failure.
Assess Your Current Talent Pool
Once you’ve identified key positions, the next step is to assess the current talent pool within your organisation. You should assess the skills, performance, and potential of your employees in order to come to a fully informed decision about who could be developed for future leadership and key roles in the business. Tools like 360-degree feedback, performance reviews, and other objective assessments and measures can be invaluable in this process so that you have a clearly established evidence base on which to make your decisions.
Create Development Plans
After identifying potential successors, you should create bespoke development plans for each individual. These plans should be aligned with their career aspirations and the competencies required for their future roles. Development activities might include being mentored and coached, and undertaking courses or other structured learning. It’s important to meet regularly with colleagues to discuss their plans and give them a degree of ownership and accountability for their development.
Implement a Knowledge Transfer Process
A crucial aspect of succession planning is ensuring that knowledge is transferred effectively so that when a key employee leaves the company, the knowledge they have doesn’t leave with them. This process can include:
- Documentation: Maintaining detailed records of processes, procedures, and key information that can be passed on to successors.
- Shadowing: Allowing potential successors to observe current leaders and key personnel in action so that they get a true feel for the role.
- Regular Check-Ins: Setting up regular meetings between potential successors and their mentors to discuss progress and challenges.
Monitor and Review the Succession Plan
Succession planning is not a one-off event, it’s an ongoing process. Regularly review and update your succession plan to reflect changes in the organisation, industry trends, and the development of your employees. This ensures that your succession plan remains relevant and effective. If succession plans are not seen as effective then they will quickly lose their value and staff will become disengaged.
Effective succession planning is not just about preparing for the inevitable point when someone leaves, it’s about building a resilient future for your organisation. By planning ahead now, you can help to shape a future in which the company and its employees can thrive and achieve long-term success.
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Why not also check out our blog on a similar topic A Guide To Staff Retention
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