Succession Planning By Ryan Scholz At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

Succession planning is a vital activity that every business, from a small, family-owned enterprise to a large corporation must do in order to ensure a smooth transition in leadership.. The first thing that usually comes to mind when we hear the term succession planning is that it only applies to the top levels of an organization. In reality, having a succession planning process is critical for all key positions within a company.

With leaner organizations today, the depth of talent has diminished. People are often asked to handle multiple responsibilities that previously were shared among several people. The opportunities to cross train and develop people have decreased because of the day to day pressures of running the business.

Managerial and professional workers are more mobile today than they ever have been. The expectation for long term employment with one company has gone away. The Internet makes it easy for people to find opportunities. It is now accepted practice for recruiters to come to your company and recruit people for your competitors. It is difficult to construct non-compete agreements that will stand up in court and some states, like California, prohibit such agreements. All of this translates to more turnover and a greater need to be prepared for it.

This combination of factors at the same time makes it more important than ever to have a succession plan, while at the same time makes it more difficult to do the development portion of the plan.

We recommend these steps in developing a succession plan:

1. Make a list of all if the key positions in the company.

2. For each key position, identify a short term plan for covering the position if the person in the position left unexpectedly.

3. Identify the key skills, knowledge, and talents required for each position.

4. Assess internal replacement candidates against the criteria. Identify “ready now” candidates.

5. If there are no “ready now” candidates, develop a strategy for replacement. The strategy will be to either develop an internal candidate or to fill the position from outside. If the position will be filled from outside, having the necessary information ready to quickly start a candidate search is part of the succession plan.

6. The succession plan should be reviewed annually and updated as required. Senior leadership must lead the process and demonstrate that it is an essential element of the company’s business strategy.

This process does not have to be overly complicated or bureaucratic if designed properly. It is essential that the line managers assume responsibility for the development of key replacements. The role of the Human Resources department should be to facilitate the process. In looking at companies that have very good succession planning processes, there are several common factors that they use is their development processes. They view the most important development activity as job assignments or work experiences within the company that broaden the perspective and knowledge of the person.

However, they avoid moving people around just for the sake of movement. It is a carefully thought out part of the overall development process. They also look for opportunities for special assignments and projects to develop their key people.

These companies have a very good system for performance feedback. The focus is not on a rating, but rather on coaching and mentoring people for excellent performance in their current positions as well as preparation for future positions.

The tendency of most performance appraisal systems is to focus on the past, rather than focus on the future. In companies where development is a priority, the past is only used as a learning opportunity for the future.

Best practice organizations have a formalized leadership development program for leaders. They encourage and support a variety of learning opportunities. They view learning and development as an ongoing process, not a one time activity

There is a shared responsibility for career development between the individual and the company. Companies do what they can to match the future needs of the company with the career preferences of the employee.

A successful succession planning process objectively determines the selection criteria for a position. The competencies for each job are defined in terms of skills, behaviors, values, and attitudes.

When assessing the effectiveness of a succession planning process it ultimately comes down to smooth transitions. The capability to have someone step into a key position and perform immediately is the goal of succession planning. Smooth transitions minimize the organizational performance and maintain continuity. Companies who have implemented a succession planning process report as a 75 percent reduction in the time to fill open positions.

Published At: Isnare Free Articles Directory http://www.isnare.com
Permanent Link: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=408422&ca=Business+Management

Important Notice DISCLAIMER: All information, content, and data in this article are sole opinions and/or findings of the individual user or organization that registered and submitted this article at Isnare.com without any fee. The article is strictly for educational or entertainment purposes only and should not be used in any way, implemented or applied without consultation from a professional. We at Isnare.com do not, in anyway, contribute or include our own findings, facts and opinions in any articles presented in this site. Publishing this article does not constitute Isnare.com's support or sponsorship for this article. Isnare.com is an article publishing service. Please read our Terms of Service for more information.