Succession Planning

More and more companies are asking the question: do we have qualified people ready to fill key positions in the short-term (3 - 5 years) and in the long-term (5 - 10 years)?

With a keen eye on the future, many organizations are seeking to identify candidates for a succession pool and provide leadership training to ensure that the next generation of leaders is equipped with the skills, knowledge and competencies to successfully guide the business in the future.

Succession planning is the process where one or more successors are identified for key positions, or when top-performing individuals are placed in a succession pool of candidates for future leadership positions. Each successor is individually developed for their future responsibilities. More simply put, succession planning is a highly specialized form of employee development that ensures future growth and security for the company.

Succession planning is more than just having a plan in order to promote employees from within the company. Likewise, it is more than an employee development initiative. While both areas play a key role, successful succession plans have three key components.

1. The first and key component is the development of a succession plan. This step involves the following elements:

• Succession pool criteria (competency model) is determined.

• Candidates for the succession pool are identified.

• Gap analysis is performed to determine development needs.

• Development plan is designed to build a strong succession pool and address any competency gaps that may exist.

2. The second component is leadership development. This includes:

• Internal communication of the needs and expectations of the business.

• Training programs and executive coaching.

• On-the-job development opportunities for candidates in the succession pool (i.e., cross training, lateral job transfers to build breadth of business knowledge, specialized project responsibilities).

3. Finally, the third component is to make the process ongoing with frequent attention to the changing needs of the business and the associated implications to the succession pool. Measurement and analysis are critical elements of this component.

Having a succession plan in place is financially beneficial for company. The results of the implementation of a successful plan include:

• A strong, prepared source of future leaders.

• Reduced employee turnover.

• Less reliance on external placement companies.

• Fewer training and re-training needs.

With all the obvious benefits, why don't more companies invest in succession planning efforts? There are challenges.

• It takes time. Many organizations find that it takes three to five years to fully implement a succession planning strategy and even longer to make the process a part of the organization's culture.

• It requires support. In addition to the succession planning system, organizations must have systems in place that ensure high-performing individuals are given the opportunity to develop their skills, knowledge and abilities.

• There is resistance. Many leaders resist naming replacements for themselves. Leaders may feel threatened when asked to participate in the identification of future leaders for the organization.

• It requires vision. What are the future needs of the business? What talent, skills, knowledge and abilities will the future leaders need?

• It requires understanding. What are the strengths and weaknesses of the existing workforce?

• It requires expert facilitation. While the leaders of the organization drive the process and have a key role to play, the ultimate success of the process depends both on process champions within the organization and expert facilitation by individuals who bring best practice knowledge and a detached perspective not normally available to professionals internally.

Skilled Tero professionals, using Tero's proprietary planning tool, expertly guide clients through a proven process.

Tero ® Cards are a user-friendly, hands-on planning tool designed to help organizations accurately connect business strategy to succession pool needs. In less time than many business meetings, leaders can describe the critical competencies needed for business success. This builds a platform to begin to identify candidates for the succession pool and evaluate the readiness of the people to meet the challenge.

This process is designed to help organizations:

• Identify key competencies.

• Assess organizational strengths.

• Assess skill gaps.

• Prepare development plans.

• Implement training initiatives.

Tero ® Cards were developed by the professionals at Tero International, Inc., a leader in the research, design and delivery of personal and interpersonal skills training programs since 1993.

During the planning meeting, Tero representatives meet with leaders and process champions within the organization and facilitate the process of gaining a clear understanding of the organization's top strategic goals. Using Tero's proprietary tool, the top strategic goals are expressed in cultural terms - that is, the specific competencies that future leaders must possess to successfully lead the business in the future.

After identifying the top cultural factors, the Leadership Team is taken through a process where they rank these areas in terms of current performance and strength within the organization. The insights from this useful activity help guide decisions about which candidates should be targeted for the succession pool and how priorities are established in the development plan. Following this planning meeting, Tero prepares a comprehensive report including recommendations for next steps (candidate selection, leader development plans).

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