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HRVoice - BC Human Resources Management Association
Issue: 16 Vol: 3 | Apr 19, 2007
The Importance of Succession Planning
by Michele Bicego

With continued global economic growth, the increasing value of human and intellectual capital suggests organizations need to focus on talent management: attracting, developing, and retaining high-potential leaders. Given the anticipated high retirement numbers and the resulting competition for high-potential employees, developing crucial strategies that sustain business growth are necessary.

There are many instances where high potential leaders leave their current positions with little or no warning. This type of employee strives toward greater opportunities either within or outside their organization. Consequently, organizations should be concerned about retaining and developing these key individuals and aspiring leaders. One of the many advantages to having a succession plan in place is the creation of a pool of talented people who have an interest in the future success of the organization.

Strategic succession planning evaluates future leadership and talent needs, identifies individuals who will potentially strengthen the organization, and prepares future leaders for their projected roles. In contrast, a haphazard approach to filling vacant roles forces organizations to use costly executive recruiters or other quick recruitment methods.

There are important steps that organizations can take to support strategic succession planning. Through these steps, organizations can develop the leadership capacity they need to ensure that there are qualified people to assume key roles. A key strategy is to proactively plan for leadership succession at all levels to create pools of highly competent talent.

Generally, there are three steps to developing an effective Succession Plan:

1. Survey and Gap Analysis: The first step is to survey current employees to determine which skills and competencies are most important to the organization, and which roles require those attributes. This provides a baseline for understanding current leadership culture and identifies potential candidates to participate in the succession management program. A gap analysis identifies prospective leaders' strengths and development needs.

2. Individual Development Plans: The next step is determining a plan for the identified individuals to develop their leadership capacity based on the gap analysis. Coaching and mentoring are two effective approaches to developing future leaders and are key to ensuring that leadership development plans are successful.

3. Ensuring Success: A clear understanding of the quantitative and qualitative goals and objectives of the succession management strategy ensures maximum business value and return on investment. Using selected success metrics provides tracking capability and identifies areas for systems improvement. Identifying baselines and targets for improvement creates a scorecard to measure the organizational and individual success of the succession management strategy.

All levels of the organization have the potential to experience the benefits of succession planning. The opportunity to plan and develop their future career advancement engages employees thus they feel a greater sense of commitment to their organization. High potential leaders will always be at a premium and succession management and career planning can play a vital role in attracting and retaining your most important employees.

Through strategic succession planning and by collaborating with key employees in their career planning, organizations can prepare for change and growth and improve employee retention levels. Ultimately, this can be one of the most important keys to success for any organization.

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