Succession Planning: Why It's Important as the Economy Recovers

SUCCESSION PLANNING: What You Need to Know Now and Why It’s Important as the Economy Recovers Tony Kubica and Sara LaForest

“The best succession planning is not when you do it when you’re ready to re;re in a week—it’s when you are s;ll commi?ed to an ac;ve role in the business,” said Mr. Wesley Card, Chief Execu;ve, Jones Apparel Group, Inc. (Dodes and Zimmerman ‐ WSJ 2‐2‐10)

What it is not… A means to an end (or worse—an exercise) to enable an organiza;on to survive aXer the exit of its leader and key execu;ves What it is… An organiza;onal improvement ini;a;ve that enables businesses and organiza;ons to grow and thrive now and in the future

A deﬁni;on… A process of iden;fying, developing and transi;oning poten;al successors for the companies’ present and future key roles, aligned with the talent and ambi;on of its current employees and talent network

Key Challenges •  Not having a current job descrip;on to establish expecta;ons and role accountability •  Low or no talent pipeline (successor candidates, whether it’s due to low bench depth, shortages in professional ranks, aging workforce, low interest in management posi;ons due to nature of the work, genera;onal diﬀerences/preferences, compensa;on, etc.) •  No process or structure in place for iden;fying and developing high poten;al—”promising”—employees

Common pain points without an eﬀec;ve plan •  Knee jerk placements, either unsuitable hires or “not ready for prime ;me” promo;ons that end poorly •  Reten;on challenges—talent leaves to pursue growth and other opportuni;es as they do not sense its presence/pathway here •  Unnecessary costs in recruitment and training •  Disrup;on to the work culture/environment, meaning that a sense of urgency, stress, discord, compe;;on and posturing for posi;on manifests with a lack of clarity

Beneﬁts of … •  Increases/promotes reten;on through developing and challenging growth and more ac;vely engaging employees •  Posi;ons the organiza;on for smoother transi;ons and hence less disrup;ons and quicker integra;on •  Reduces uncertainty and risk •  Reduces the cost of opera;ons

Succession planning for… 1. Suppor;ng an;cipated business growth 2. Dealing with talent shortages 3. Developing and nurturing new and exis;ng talent Let’s look at each and consider: •  Why •  How •  Beneﬁts

1.  Suppor;ng an;cipated business growth • The economy will recover and an organiza;on can only support and sustain growth if it has the talent to manage its growth • Iden;fy growth areas (both in the current business and in projected new ini;a;ves), then iden;fy candidates (both internally and externally) and ac;vely manage your talent pool • Your organiza;on will be posi;oned for growth

2.  Dealing with talent shortages •  In certain industries (e.g. health care) the demand for talent exceeds the supply in certain professions •  To avoid lengthy voids in leadership, some managers may be promoted before they are ready. It’s important to develop a proac;ve and suppor;ve process to support those managers and insure their success •  Less service disrup;on and less cost of opera;ons

3.  Developing and nurturing new and exis;ng talent •  Managers leave (for other jobs, illness, reloca;on of a spouse, re;rement)—some;mes it is sudden and clearly unan;cipated •  Maintain con;nuity by iden;fying candidates for all key posi;ons within the organiza;on (mul;ple candidates if possible) and ac;vely prepare them for management •  Less cost and less service disrup;on; More engaged employees; Promotes reten;on

•  Responsibility for success planning is assigned to the top execu;ve(s) (and becomes part of the evalua;on process) •  Iden;fy needs/key role(s) currently and in the future which reﬂects several levels deep (i.e., execs through to senior managers/department /division managers) •  Develop and use methods/tools/techniques for iden;fying employee competencies and aspira;ons (both in and outside of func;onal department areas) •  Implement a structure for developing poten;al successors

•  Implement a structure for transi;oning successors to and in new role(s) •  Iden;fy an emergency or interim process to fulﬁll a role if for some reason the poten;al successor does not work out •  Align your recruitment ini;a;ve to succession planning by forecas;ng key needs and interviewing for growth orienta;on and adaptability •  Evaluate plan eﬀec;veness and update the plan as required, at least annually

•  Crea;ng formal and informal educa;onal ini;a;ves for high poten;al candidates: •  Targeted course work at a college or university •  Advanced degree programs •  Internal “residency” programs •  “Sabba;cals” to other departments •  Seminars •  Conferences •  Professional associa;on sponsored programs •  E‐learning and virtual learning, coaching, mentoring

•  Giving assignments that demonstrate skills and enable the candidate to learn new skills and develop skills that will be required by managers in your organiza;on •  It is important that the candidate have the opportunity to “live” with the decisions made and ac;ons taken

•  Conduct at least semi‐annual reviews that focus on: •  Skills learned •  Skills demonstrated •  Skills to be learned •  What went well •  What can be done be?er •  Professional goals and aspira;ons •  Selec;vely include a 360

•  Development Opportuni;es •  Personality and job performance assessments (indicators) to understand individual work strengths/assets, preferences, derailers and underlying career drivers (mo;vators) •  Coaching •  Mentoring (internally)

Tony Kubica Sara LaForest Tony@KubicaLaforestConsul;ng.com Sara@KubicaLaForestConsul;ng.com

Enhance your talent development ini;a;ves by downloading a complementary copy of our informa;ve white paper Talent Recruitment and Integra1on

Succession Planning: Why It's Important as the Economy Recovers

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