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Best Practices in Succession Planning
Succession Planning: Four Imperatives for Success
A S S E S S S Y S T E M S — A B I G B Y H AV I S C O M PA N Y
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he basic concept of succession to move the business forward today and have unrealized potential within the or-
planning is nothing new. in the forseeable future? ganization? Talent gaps? The goal is to
Throughout history, every or- • When developing competencies, be- evaluate the target group on a perform-
ganization in the world has en- gin with the business strategy. As a ance vs. potential matrix to pinpoint your
gaged in some type of planning for future company, what must we accomplish talent pool. While categorizing perform-
talent needs, either actively or passively. to be successful? What must our ance is typically more straightforward, the
Every entity who needs people to operate people accomplish? greater challenge is evaluating a person’s
must replace people when they are gone. • Limit your models to 8-10 compe- potential, as you cannot observe it.
We see this in our daily lives and in the tencies per job family or level. To be • To make sound evaluations, distin-
media—it was well-known that Jay Leno useful, competency models should guish between current performance
was to be the successor for Johnny Car- focus on “success factors” that dis- and potential for future roles.
son and now Conan O’Brian will fill Jay’s tinguish top performance. Rid mod- • Incorporate multiple data points,
shoes. Whether a company pays atten- els of “nice to haves” or “minimum such competency-based interviews,
tion to it or not, the succession of people qualifiers”that add little value and simulations, relevant observed be-
is often the difference in an organiza- take up space. haviors as well as validated assess-
tion’s sustainable success. • Use competencies to differentiate ments that evaluate a person’s innate
levels. Competencies needed for tendencies.
Succession Planning vs. your sales professionals should be • Especially in situations where the per-
Replacement Planning substantively different than compe- son has not been given the opportuni-
When asked if their organization has a tencies for your sales managers. ty to display a competency—for exam-
succession plan, most HR professionals • Use modeling processes that are ag- ple, an individual contributor who is
will say “yes.” However, some organiza- ile and efficient. Do not waste 6-12 evaluated for a managerial role in
tions are engaged in a process closer to re- months defining competencies that which they must manage and create a
placement planning then true succession can’t adapt with the changes in your vision—assessments can evaluate a
planning. The goal of Replacement business. person’s potential for exhibiting the
Planning is to identify a “back up” to fill 2. Focus on Critical Positions competency behaviors, as well as
the job when it is vacant. The focus is on Succession planning is not only for highlight potential gaps that may need
past performance and demonstrating the top levels in the organization. Nor to be developed.
skills to fill a particular role. By contrast, is it for every position in the organiza- 4. Target Individual Development Needs
the goal of Succession Planning is to tion. In defining your succession plan- Many organizations create a succes-
identify a “talent pool” that can be devel- ning strategy, identify your most impor- sion plan, yet fail to develop, grow or re-
oped in preparation for future responsibil- tant positions – some of which may not tain the talent they have targeted.
ities and considers not only past perform- be the most obvious. • Communicate critical competencies
ance but the future potential of the • First, determine the importance of the for current and future roles
individual. Additionally succession plan- role on the organization. What value • Provide growth opportunities such as
ning anticipates changing business does it have to the organization’s suc- job rotation, mentoring, education or
needs and prepares the talent pool to cess? What is the business impact of skill-building activities. Identify op-
meet these future needs rather than having a top performer? What is the portunities for the person to practice
replicating what the organization has cost of mistakes? skills they will need in future roles.
right now. Simply stated succession • Next, determine the ease of replace- (Remember, Jay Leno was given mul-
planning is “future focused.” ability. How easy is this role to fill? tiple opportunities to guest host for
As an organization evolves from Re- Is there an abundance of external Johnny Carson).
placement Planning to Succession talent? Can you easily train some- • Engage managers as accountable for
Planning, here are four important im- one to fill the role? the growth of their people.
peratives for success. • In your succession planning efforts, • Create targeted retention programs
1. Align Competency Models to Business focus on positions that are both High for your identified successor pool.
Strategy Importance and Difficult to Replace. Taking a pro-active approach to suc-
Define the target. What competen- 3. Take Stock of Current Talent cession planning that incorporates these
cies (knowledge, skills, abilities and per- Understanding the makeup of your four imperatives is vital to an organiza-
sonal characteristics) must people exhibit current talent pool is essential. Do you tion’s enduring success. ■
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