Succession Planning Principles & Its Strategizing
I had outlined the importance of Learning and Development in an organization and the principles of L&D for better outcomes in my previous blog article. Why do organizations invest in trainings, learning activities and development initiatives? The answer is simply to improve performance and also to develop existing employees for future demands of the organization. This is why Succession Planning enters in to the strategies of an organization.
Succession Planning in an Organizational Context
Succession planning is a strategic
way of developing skill set and expertise in employees to replace executives,
leaderships players or other key employees when they move to another role,
resign, retire or become unavailable. It is applicable to any organizations,
from the largest to the smallest, in both profit oriented and non-profit
oriented sectors.
Succession planning is the process an organization uses to
ensure every critical position is occupied by an employee with the right skills
and experience. It aims to ensure workforce continuity by identifying and
preparing suitable candidates so that positions aren’t left vacant
Let’s think of succession planning similar to
playing a team oriented sports like Cricket, Football or Rugby. A star player
could get injured or retire from the sport at any time. It will be a big loss
for the team if they have not groomed a replacement player to take up the role
of the retired or injured star player. Also, it can be time consuming and
expensive if the team starts to train a players after your star player gets
injured or retired. A smart move here is to strategically develop an
alternative player as the shadow of your star player to take up a more
significant role for the future need of the team. This strategy should be in
place during the time of your star player and not after he/she is retired or
injured
Overview of Succession Planning Strategy
Depending on the complexity,
industry and objectives of the organization, the strategy for the succession
planning process can vary wildly. However, below steps are some key elements.
1. Forecast
the future of the business, projects or market need with the support of
key management players like CEO, Head of
Administration, Senior Management Group and Human Resource Management Officers
and other key stake holders.
2. Assess
the key positions / job descriptions and decide which ones to focus on based on
the criticality and impact of those positions to the organization’s future.
3. Identify
high-potential employees for key leadership positions and create customized development
plans to a wider range of employees for sustainable succession plans.
4. Evaluate
the suitability of the existing employees who possess the institutional
knowledge for identified critical roles and take development initiatives like
job rotation, short term assignments (ideal for International Organizations who
operate worldwide), Officer In Charge Roles (Interim) and staff exchange
models. Assess for which roles, the external Human Resources are essential.
5. Establish
effective L&D and performance management processes that support the
succession strategy.
6. Determine which HR software will be used in support of the succession planning strategy and process. This is more of a record maintenance mechanism for well thought decision making and setting up of a process culture.
Management of Existing Talent in One Single Picture
An Analysis of Succession Planning
|
Benefits of Succession Planning |
Challenges of Succession Planning |
Good Practices in Succession Planning |
|
- Creates a sense of Human Capital Security. - Identifies future potential leaders. - Stimulates the need of Learning & Development Initiatives. - Monitors the ups and downs in Performances. - Sets standards and creates brand identity. - Helps for a sustainable future for the organization. - Creates a motivated workforce. |
- Difficulty in predicting the long term future. - Empowering People is a challenge as motivational element for people
change naturally with time. - Maintaining accuracy in data for decision making. - Unconscious biases. - Sticking to pre-established development strategies. - Clash between the priorities of short term requirements and long term
objectives. |
- Start with the End in mind. In other words, keep it time bounded. - Be clear on the roles that are critical and maintain transparency. - Engage all stakeholders who will be impacted in the process. - Start the process well ahead as succession planning needs good amount
of time. - Identify leaders and not managers. Leaders will produce leaders. - Use technology to the best of your ability and conduct talent
assessment at least annually. - Facilitate Creation Of Employee-Owned Individual Development Plans. - Regularly engage in two way feedback and establish strong communication. |
Succession Planning is such a crucial element in Human
Resource Management. There is a strong connectivity between succession planning,
Learning & Development and Performance Management which is made very clear
from this blog article. The succession planning has been well defined in an
organizational context with a practical example. The steps to follow in strategizing
the success planning, managing existing talent, benefits, challenges &
principles of succession planning are presented in this article. This HRM concept
ensures sustainability, proactiveness and empowered workforce in a professional
setting and ultimately contributes to the attainment of organizational
objectives.
References
ARMSTRONG,
M., 2014. ARMSTRONG’S Handbok of HRM Practice. 13 ed. London:
www.koganpage.com.
Coach, I. T.
-. C., 2012. Team Meeting. Colombo: s.n.
A very informative article.
ReplyDeleteMy question to you is, in the context of Sri Lanka, succession planning of businesses becomes very challenging, considering the high level of skilled employee shortage and migration.
What is your view on the same?
Thanks for the review and for your question. Succession Planning is of course a challenging HR concept not just in Sri Lanka but in general. As needs of people change with time (such as migrating for better life and career), organizations must ensure people empowerment and two-way feedback to keep your employees committed to the organization. Employees should feel that they are growing within the organization, and they are valued by the employer. Succession planning should be transparent, and employees should know what is being planned for them by the employer in order to keep their hopes alive. Annual Increment by seniority is one of the good concepts that organizations follow these days to maintain the minimum motivation level of employees.
DeleteThis article provides a good overview on how to start a succession planning process.
ReplyDelete