Implement Flexible Succession Plans to Support Organizational Continuity
Design agility into succession plans to increase bench strength and responsiveness to planned and unplanned vacancies.
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Contributors
- Diane Bogino, President, Performance Strategies Inc.
- Debra Dickerson, Career and Succession Planning Consultant
- Melissa Gardner, HR Assistant, ZTR
- Jeff Gross, CEO and Co-Founder, MyPeoplePlan
- Donna Krakovsky, Strategic Human Resources Business Partner, Altus Group
- Sharon Louie, Assistant Division Chef, Human Resources Division, CalPERS
- Ilia Maor, Senior Manager – Research, Info-Tech Research Group
- Jan Morris, Workforce Planning and Succession Manager, Federated Co-operatives
- David Muratori, Talent Management Professional, Financial Sector
- Tracy Paddison, HR Manager, ZTR
- Sue Plaster, Consultant for Diversity, Succession Planning and Leadership, Sue Plaster Consulting
- William Rothwell, Professor of Workforce Education and Development in the Department of Learning and Performance Systems Expert, Pennsylvania State University
- Several Strategic Workforce Planning Professionals from a large North American financial institute
Your Challenge
- Succession plans need to not only mitigate risks of vacancies in critical roles but also ensure employees are being purposefully developed and engaged. Career development is especially important as it was cited as the number one reason for leaving an organization according to McLean & Company’s Exit Survey.
- Organizations are looking for a standard process for succession planning, when in reality, there is no one-size-fits-all solution.
- Succession planning is a continuous process that requires regular assessments and modifications to keep up with the pace of change in our world of work.
Our Advice
Critical Insight
- Not all roles are equal some are more important to the organization than others. Succession plans need to focus on critical roles within the organization to ensure the efficient use of efforts and resources.
- Organizations need to be agile in their approach to succession planning. Certain critical roles require a conventional succession plan while others are better suited for shared talent pools.
Impact and Result
- Focus succession plans on critical roles to ensure the efficient use of efforts and resources.
- Create role groups to develop cross-functional capabilities.
- Facilitate multiple calibration sessions to populate talent pools.
- Ensure succession plans remain relevant by evaluating talent pools regularly and planning through the transition process.
1. Set succession plan goals and assess readiness
Address gaps in supporting talent management practices based on program goals and objectives.
2. Identify critical roles & role groups
Identify critical roles and create role groups.
3. Identify potential successors and create talent pools
Calibrate and populate talent pools.
4. Define framework for successor selection and transition process
Define selection and maintenance processes.
Guided Implementations
This guided implementation is an eight call advisory process.
Guided Implementation #1 - Set succession plan goals and assess readiness
Call #1 - Discuss objectives of succession planning and set SMART goals and metrics of success.
Call #2 - Assess foundational talent management practices and develop a plan of action to address any gaps.
Guided Implementation #2 - Identify critical roles & role groups
Call #1 - Assess critical roles, their individual role profiles, and determine criteria for role groups.
Call #2 - Review role groups and discuss non-grouped roles.
Guided Implementation #3 - Identify potential successors and create talent pools
Call #1 - Identify minimum criteria for employees to be placed in talent pools.
Call #2 - Determine process to gather employee information and prepare for talent calibration sessions.
Call #3 - Discuss outcomes of talent calibration sessions and finalize talent pools.
Guided Implementation #4 - Define framework for successor selection and transition process
Call #1 - Define your selection process and your succession planning maintenance plan.
Book Your Workshop
Onsite workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost onsite delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.
Module 1: Set Goals, Assess Key TM Practices, and Create Role Profiles
The Purpose
- Make the case for designing an agile succession plan.
- Set SMART goals and objectives.
- Identify key gaps.
Key Benefits Achieved
- Use McLean & Company’s framework to add flexibility to succession plans.
- A vision for the succession planning process.
- A plan of action to address gaps and integrate talent management practices.
Activities
Outputs
Set succession planning goals and objectives.
- Succession planning goals, objectives, and metrics of success
Assess key talent management (TM) practices that support succession planning.
- Assessment of TM practices
- Plan of action to address any TM gaps
Identify critical roles and create individual role profiles.
- Completed role profiles
Module 2: Create Role Groups and Prepare to Populate Talent Pools
The Purpose
- Organize and profile roles to create talent pools.
- Prepare for talent calibration sessions.
Key Benefits Achieved
- Critical roles identified.
- Talent pools populated.
Activities
Outputs
Group like roles.
- Role groups identified and their profiles defined
Create role group profiles.
Determine minimum criteria for employees to be placed in talent pool.
- Minimum criteria for talent pools identified
Set up process to gather information on talent.
- Process to gather employee information set
Prepare for calibration sessions.
- Prepared to conduct talent calibration sessions
Module 3: Define Implementation Action Plan
The Purpose
- Prepare to develop talent.
- Roll out succession planning program.
Key Benefits Achieved
- Developed employees to succeed into key gaps.
Activities
Outputs
Plan for development.
- Plan of action for employee development
Define your selection process.
- Defined selection process
Determine the rollout plan.
- Identified succession planning implementation and maintenance plan
