Research figures show that the number of people in leadership roles that plan to retire in the next few years is higher than the number of people entering the workforce. Organizations are now required to prepare for such situations.
“Failure to plan, is a plan to fail.”
Here, is where Succession Management enters the picture as an integral part of the Talent Management process. It is about planning the smooth transition to potentially fill leadership positions — which will become vacant through retirement or attrition. The difficult part is to identify High Potentials who can take on a higher position and be the future leaders of the organization. Without a properly executed Talent Management strategy this cannot be achieved.
Succession Management involves:
- Identifying key/critical positions
- Identifying Talent (High Potentials) or recruiting Talent (if necessary)
- Assessing candidates vs the requirements of the position
- Grooming potential candidates — by filling the gaps — well ahead of time through developmental activities such as: on the job training, classroom training, Individual development plans, assignments, coaching and mentoring.
- Maintaining them in a Talent Pool, thus building a robust leadership ladder and developing talent benches for key/critical positions
Benefits of Succession Management:
- Helps the company plan for the long-term, protecting it from sudden changes
- Reveals vulnerabilities and highlights competency gaps
- Identifies the most-qualified future leaders
- Promotes a continuous learning/development environment
- Maintains flow of knowledge transfer
- Increases retention
- Preserves corporate integrity and reputation