Succession Planning - Do You Have A Plan For Your Employees?

There is a quote from Benjamin Franklin that perfectly summarizes the importance of succession planning. He said “if you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.” We all know the importance of planning and thinking ahead. We do it in our lives every day from prioritizing the things we need to do at work, where we will go for our next vacation, to how we run errands on the weekends. So, it would seem this same idea would be applied to our businesses and the talent it will need in the future. Unfortunately, for many organizations this is not the case.

Succession planning is the process of identifying key positions within an organization, the talent needed, gaps in the skills, knowledge and abilities of the identified talent, and then developing a plan for how to address the gaps that need to be filled. Some strategies include training, lateral moves, special projects and assignments, and mentoring or professional coaching to develop the skills and experience needed. Succession planning also involves looking at the time horizon - Will you need someone to step into a management or key leadership position within the next year, three years, or five years down the road? And, will the individual identified be ready to step into the role when you need them? If not, where can you find the talent you need that is critical to your organization’s success? Not knowing the answers to these questions can be the difference between a smooth transition when someone leaves your organization, a minor disruption, or even failure.

If you have not started the process of developing a succession plan, below are some suggestions for getting started:

• Assess the talent within your organization. Schedule some time to have conversations with your employees in order to learn their strengths, weaknesses, and career aspirations.

• Identify your top performers. Determine your “A” players along with those who have the potential to become “A” players. You will also want to identify individuals with highly specialized skills.

• Make sure your top performers and highly specialized employees are engaged. Find out what is important to these employees and know what motivates them. Do they have the tools and resources needed to do their job well? Are they able to contribute ideas and suggestions?
  Do they feel valued and appreciated for the work they do?

• Create career paths and development plans for all of your employees. This is especially important for those employees you have identified for key positions. Develop a plan that provides a road map for them to get to the next level or lateral moves that will help them develop the skills they will need to continue to advance their career.

• Make sure you communicate to your employees how they fit into the big picture. Make sure the employees that are crucial to your organizations success know how they fit with the company’s long term plans. If they are part of a succession plan for a key position, make sure the employee knows this, and is receiving the proper training, experience and visibility they will need to be successful in that role. Ensure there is proper alignment with the employee’s aspirations and the direction the company is headed.

• Identify your next level of talent. As with all good plans, have a back-up plan in place. A key position should have a first, second and third person identified, along with how long it will take them to be ready to assume the responsibilities associated with the position.

• Hire ahead, if you can. As you are hiring new talent to come into your organization, it’s a great idea to look at where this talent could fit in the future. You may hire someone for a positon today knowing they have the ability to grow into a position you anticipate needing next year. If you have the ability to hire exceptional talent and groom them for what you need in the future that can be a win-win for you and the employee.

Employees today are looking for growth opportunities and organizations where they can advance their careers. Providing career paths for employees is not just a good retention strategy, it builds morale, and lets the employee know you see them as part of your organizations future.

Many think succession planning is only necessary for key positions, however, having a plan for all of your employees and the roles you will need them to play in the future is just good planning. Begin planning for your organizations success and start developing your succession plans.