How is succession management defined?
“Succession management is a strategic and systemic process for creating successors at many levels of the organization, including non-managerial roles. Succession management must be closely aligned with learning and development.
Succession management targets all key positions and is integrated with other talent management processes (such as performance management and development planning), and asks managers at all levels to think about succession in all of their talent development programs.” —Bersin by Deloitte
The goal: Have the right people in the right place at the right time.
Effective, proactive succession management prepares your organization for:
- Expansion – Planning and investing in your workforce will enable you to move people where you need them, and where they best fit when expansion takes place.
- The loss of a key employee – This might be due to retirement or someone leaving for another reason—be ready.
- Filling a new, needed position – With any type of organizational change, new needs arise and new positions will be created (or current positions tweaked and re-created) to accommodate those needs.
- Employee promotions – If you are offering employees opportunities to expand their careers with you, they will be less likely to leave to find opportunities elsewhere.
- Organizational redesign for opportunities – Organizational redesign incorporates the shift that comes with mergers and acquisitions. Now is the time to think about where you want to position people for future success.
Focus on these areas while shaping the leadership culture:
- Build a leadership pipeline/talent pool to fill gaps and ensure leadership continuity.
- Develop potential successors whose strengths will best fit with the organization’s needs.
- Assess and identify your strong performers for filling upcoming open positions.
- Use Group Profiles to compare, rank and discuss possible candidates and where they will best fit.
- Concentrate resources on the talent development process for your succession candidates. This will provide a greater return on investment.
- Know your expectations and requirements for a successful job fit, and use them to assess external candidates.
Bottom-line: Successful succession management builds bench strength.
Creating a well-managed succession management strategy ensures that employees are developing themselves to successfully fill their current role, and that they will be given the tools and opportunities to move upward in their career path.
Windridge Consulting is a professional talent management consultancy formed in 2001. At Windridge, we work with you to identify “best fit” candidates for the positions you are filling—at all levels, from top to bottom. We also provide the necessary support and assessment expertise (certification, if desired) to develop your current workforce to its fullest potential.