Succession Planning

A talented workforce trained and ready to move to the key positions when the current occupants leave is very important, to run an efficient business. Without a solid succession plan, even a successful business can run off a cliff. 

Here are the important points you need to know about succession planning. 

What is Succession Planning?

Succession planning is the process where an organization ensures that its employees are developed to fill each role key role within the company. In this process, the organizations make also make sure that there is no key role open for which another employee is not prepared. 

This process ensures, that the business runs smoothly even after a change in leadership. It serves as an excellent tool to retain the strongest performers. 

A succession plan is an ongoing effort, it must be reviewed and refreshed on a regular basis. It must be revisited annually to make sure that plan is on track and if any changes are required. 

Why succession planning is important?  

Succession planning provides a way to identify the key roles and people with the right skills, and the positions that may require feeling in a short period of time. It is also an important part of the talent management process. 

According to reports, the major reason why many leaders don’t work out is that they’re selected using improper criteria. Hence, organizations must be prepared for such situations. This may even include the process of employing an interim senior leader, who will be required to handle a number of tasks and duties to get used to the role. 

Succession planning is designed to help organizations recognize future leaders, mentoring and training them. It also provides a way to cut recruitment costs, which in return, helps the organizations to manage recruitment. 

Steps to create succession planning

Here are some steps to ensure that key positions are filled successfully. 

Identify the key positions and requirements

 Begin the succession planning process by identifying the qualifications that are essential to the company’s success. It can include years of experience, qualifications, soft skills, etc. which may have an impact on the company’s success. 

Identify the key positions which will become vacant in the near future. The top-down approach can be taken, and the succession plan starts from CEO and goes further down the organizational chart.

Develop job profiles

The job profile must constitute of the following

• The tasks the key position currently performs. 
• A qualification that the current person in the position has. 
• Potential evolution of the role as time changes.
• Additional skills that may be required in the future

Start the recruitment process using a succession planning

During the recruiting process, the process of succession planning takes shape. It helps in building the talent pool and providing the targeted upskilling programs for current employees.

Appoint a successor for succession planning 

Whether internally or externally, this step signals the end of the process. This part of the process must be taken care of very carefully, as the chosen successor needs to be the right fit from multiple angles, and not based on whether they can do the job or not.

Hand over the position and document the transition 

When the right time comes, a smooth transition of the position must be completed to avoid any problems along the way. 

The documentation of the process becomes crucial, in order to note how the position was filled and to inform the future processes too. 

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