As Bersin by Deloitte notes – “’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.”
The goal: have the right people – in the right place – at the right time.
Areas to focus on –
- Internal performance feedback
- Current behavioral assessment feedback
- Responsibility and decision making capabilities
- Internal references, and / or 360-degree survey information
Shaping the leadership culture –
- Build a leadership pipeline / talent pool to ensure leadership continuity.
- Develop potential successors whose strengths will best fit with the organization’s needs.
- Identify the best candidates for categories of positions.
- Concentrate resources on the talent development process. This will provide a greater Return on Investment (ROI).
- Know what your employee expectations for successful job fit are, and evaluate external hires coming into the organization.
Effective, proactive succession management prepares your organization for –
- Expansion
- The loss of a key employee
- Filling a new, needed position
- Employee promotions
- Organizational redesign for opportunities
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 expand upward in their career path.
Windridge Consulting is a professional hiring and coaching consultancy formed in 2001. At Windridge we work with you to identify “best fit” candidates for the positions you are filling – all levels: top to bottom. We also provide the necessary support and assessment expertise (certification if desired) to develop your current workforce to their fullest potential.