Have you started with your succession plan for your organization yet? Have you delayed planning for lack of time, or in confusion about what to do next? Have you yet to identify potential successors, or are you unsure of your successor’s skills and abilities? Should you pass the management of your family business to your children or should you sell your business to the management, employees, or a third party? Have you identified the prospective successor for that employee due to retire soon? Researchers have found that over 40% of companies or organizations have not planned key successions. Though it may seem daunting, it’s never too early to begin your succession planning.
Succession planning can be a significant method to recognize employees who have the skills or the potential, to prepare and enable them to climb up to higher levels or on to different positions. Furthermore, the procedure of succession planning can distinguish different zones of execution where workers might be weak and where you could oversee and improve execution results or performance outcomes.
Here are a few tips an organization’s executive leadership could consider during succession planning.
Identify critical roles
To initiate succession planning, identify the fundamentally important roles of the business. If these positions are unfilled, consider recruiting suitable personnel or filling these positions with existing employees, as unfilled positions may affect the company’s growth negatively. Basically, succession planning is a reflection of the company’s business hierarchy.
Identify the potential successors
When a high-potential candidate for a particular position is identified, it is important to meet them and discuss their training or mentoring plans. On the other hand, appropriate succession planning can support the retention of employees from lower levels, by offering opportunities for promotion.
Determine if the successors should be internal or external
Most of the time, the successors can be identified from within the organization, based on several factors. This can reduce recruiting and onboarding costs, while the person is also familiar with the company’s processes and culture, and could be more productive than an external resource. However, if existing employees do not have the capacity to take over key roles in the company, a successor may be recruited externally. When considering an urgent succession / replacement at higher management levels or requiring specific skills, an external replacement may be more fitting than finding an internal successor, as an existing employee has to go through a training and/or transition process of converting himself/herself into a potential leader or skilled contributor, whereas it may be possible to recruit an external person with the expected traits in a shorter period of time.
Identify and provide training to top performers
Once you recognize your top performers – which itself requires an objective and formal process – offer mentoring connections, work shadowing and preparation, which are true articles of value to enable them to grow new skills and refine existing ones. Keep in mind that great leaders possess solid interpersonal skills such as empathy and great verbal and written communication abilities.
Keep an open mind and convey your vision
Search for individuals who show the best capabilities that are important to flourish in higher ranks, paying little respect to their current title. Consider sharing your progression arrangement with the Human Resources Department and your top managerial staff.
By knowing the significance of identifying potential leaders and by building up a succession plan, you will help high-potential employees feel recognized for their contributions and excited to unleash their potential within the business.