What is Succession Planning?

Succession planning is the process whereby an organisation ensures that employees are recruited and developed to fill each key role within the company. In any succession planning process, you should look for employees whom you can develop by increasing their knowledge, skills, and abilities, and prepare them for an advancement or promotion into ever more challenging roles in the business.

Actively ensuring succession planning guarantees that employees are constantly developed to fill each needed role in the organisation. As a company expands, loses key employees, creates new job opportunities – succession planning assures that employees are ready and available to fill new roles.

Who Needs Succession Planning?

All organisations, no matter their size, need succession planning. While it is less likely that you will have potential successors for every role in a 10 person company, you can minimally cross-train, which will keep the mission on track if a key employee leaves.

Many companies have not introduced the concept of succession planning in their organisations. Others plan informally and verbally for succession for key roles. The advantage to a more formalised system is that there is more of a commitment to groom and develop an employee so that they are ready to take over. Organisationally, it allows all managers to know who the key employees are in all areas of the business, which allows them to consider strong players when any key role opens up.

Effective, proactive succession planning leaves your organization well prepared for all contingencies. Successful succession planning builds bench strength.

Develop Employees for Succession Planning

To develop the employees needed for succession planning, you can use such practices as lateral moves, assignment to special projects, team leadership roles, and both internal and external training and development opportunities.

Through the succession planning process, you also retain higher performing employees because they appreciate the time, attention, and development that you are investing in them. Employees are motivated and engaged when they can see a career path for their continued growth and development.

Are you ready to start succession planning in your organisation? Contact us today.