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Succession Planning

The document discusses career planning (CP) and succession planning (SP) for employees. It provides objectives of CP and SP such as manpower planning, employee development, training needs, job satisfaction, retention, and compensation planning. It lists inputs required for CP/SP such as business plans, HR policies, employee skills, and competency mapping. Factors to consider for CP include skill levels, qualifications, job requirements, and performance metrics. SP gives immediate job satisfaction and allows skills to increase quickly. Inputs for SP include job details, performance reviews, training records, and skill assessments. SP allows employees to be tested in new roles to prepare them for succession.

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145 views6 pages

Succession Planning

The document discusses career planning (CP) and succession planning (SP) for employees. It provides objectives of CP and SP such as manpower planning, employee development, training needs, job satisfaction, retention, and compensation planning. It lists inputs required for CP/SP such as business plans, HR policies, employee skills, and competency mapping. Factors to consider for CP include skill levels, qualifications, job requirements, and performance metrics. SP gives immediate job satisfaction and allows skills to increase quickly. Inputs for SP include job details, performance reviews, training records, and skill assessments. SP allows employees to be tested in new roles to prepare them for succession.

Uploaded by

book xpert1
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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IHBD

Chennai

Re: HR Lessons PG03

Sub: Career Planning and Succession Planning

HR Managers must know as to how prepare CP and SP for each cateogory of employees;
Objective of CP and SP are:

- Man-power Planning
- Employee Development
- Training Needs
- Job Satisfaction
- Retention
- Compensation Package Planning
- Best Motivational Factor

Nowadays, keeping in view of fast technology changes, preparing CP is somewhat a


customary one. The organisations also want new blood, new ideas and new flow. Hence
it is better to plan SP so that immediate Retention is possible. If any particular employee
reaches saturation level and he has potentials but he cannot use it in the present
organisation, he wants to leave the organisation.

INPUTS REQUIRED FOR CP/SP

- Business Plan
- Corporate Vision
- HR Policy
- HR Audit Reports
- Present Level of Skill Density
- Up-dated Organisation Structure
- Job Description Details
- Market Growth and Competition Trend
- Sourcing Methods of Required Skills
- Strengths and Weakness of each employees
- Competency Mapping of Ideal and Present Level

CP for each category may be planned in an ideal situation. Each CP must have the
approval of CEO. While preparing the CP, following factors must be considered:

- Density Level of AKS at each level


- Qualifications and Experiences required
- Type of Persons required
- Duration of each level in CP
- Competency Mapping at each level/Performance Factors
…..2

The day someone joins, immediately you can explain about CP and he can be supplied
with a copy of CP for that relevant group. For existing employees, climbing according to
career ladder, Routine Performance Appraisal Procedures and Training Needs will take
care of. In case, he doesn’t meet with the requirements, companies will go in for out-
sourcing. CP can be modified as per Business Stretegies and Results. Development
Programmes can be conducted periodically along with routine Training Programmes.

Succession Planning:

It is easy to plan Succession Planning rather than CP. It gives an immediate Job
Satisfaction and also will quicken the Skill Density Level high. SP is expected and
immediate one. CP is an ideal and for long term purpose. SP Gives immediate results.
Training Needs are easily identifiable in SP. Development Programmes are lesser than
Training Programmes in SP.

Inputs required for SP:

- Job Details of Present One and Next one


- Performance Appraisals Data
- Training Records and TNI Data
- Density Level of ASK (Attitude, Skill and Knowledge)

In SP, one can be given on temporary transfer or promotion to test his level of managerial
qualitities. Immediate Learning is possible in SP so that his mind-set is prepared to
accept the next level of Succession. If you foresee a fit person for SP, the Manager
concerned can delegate his responsibilities and Authority slowly to train him. Good
appraisal proceduees must be followed in case of Succession Planning. In case you
cannot find an internal source person, then you can go in for out-sourcing. It is always
better to train and promote internal employees.

Comparative Data: in SP:

HR Manager must collect accurate data in ASK at the present level and compare it with
an ideal one of next level. Also collect the present level of ASK of next level in SP and
compare it with the performance results. If organisation is satisfied with ASK level, then
take that as an ideal one for comparing it with his next down level.
Succession Planning: What Is It and Why?
Within any organization, people in leadership positions eventually cease to fulfill that
role. This can occur for a variety of reasons, such as:
promotion within the organization
move to part-time arrangements for better work-life balance
voluntary departure from the organization to pursue a career elsewhere
involuntary departure from the organization
retirement
serious illness
death
Organizations that fail to plan for the timely and effective filling of such leadership roles
can be caught off guard, with the consequent disruption to normal business activities and
the loss of market share. Succession planning is the preemptive process of identifying
significant leadership positions that could put the organization at risk if left unfulfilled,
targeting current employees that could move into such roles and grooming them for
succession. Managing leadership succession effectively requires a structured approach
that is agreed, understood and followed by everyone involved in the planning process.

The Succession Planning Process


Succession planning requires steps to obtain leadership guidance, collect relevant
information, make key decisions, and execute succession and development actions. If
undertaking this activity for the first time, you should consider creating a process that is
"separate" from other, related activities such as performance management and
development planning. Later, after you have executed your process a couple times, you
may take down the special elements and start to integrate it with these other activities.
The steps below outline such a stand-alone process.
Define purpose, goals, and scope
The top leader of the organization outlines the purpose, goals, and scope of the
succession planning activity.
Assemble an oversight committee
The committee’s role is to establish a succession planning process that can fulfill the
purpose, goals, and scope outlined by the top leader, and to govern over the process until
most of the major questions and issues have been resolved.
Set policy
The oversight committee creates policy around such issues as data security, assessment,
succession nominations, communication and development.
Define operational parameters
Again, this is the purview of the oversight committee. Operational parameters include:
positions for which successors will be nominated, the scope of the pool of succession
nominees and the rating scales used for assessing contribution and potential.
Develop and conduct the assessment
The assessment is essential for comparing succession candidates and slotting them
against specific succession positions. The assessment data, generally provided by direct
managers of the succession pool, should be reviewed for equity in the ratings and for
consensus in the nominations.
Compile and organize the data
The voluminous data that is collected must be compiled into the kind of information
needed by leaders to make key decisions. Some of the compilations include: coded
organization charts, a “contribution-potential matrix,” reports of any “at risk” positions or
individuals, and profiles for all individuals and positions. A spreadsheet or dedicated tool
for organizing and displaying such information is recommended.
Conduct organizational reviews
Starting with business unit/functional heads, the succession plan and reports compiled are
reviewed and key decisions made. These decisions could range from developmental
opportunities for future leaders to actual leadership appointments. The business
unit/functional level reviews are followed by reviews at the highest level – with
correspondingly higher level decisions.
Implement development plans
While succession decisions may be executed immediately after the reviews, the
developmental opportunities must be pursued over the following weeks and months. For
future leaders to realize their potential and be better positioned to “step up” when the
time comes, these development opportunities must not be allowed to languish once the
spotlight is off the succession planning process.
Assess process effectiveness
Like any other business process, your succession planning process will need to be
improved, streamlined, integrated with other human resources processes and possibly
expanded to accommodate additional participants. While the experience is fresh, take a
moment to gather feedback and assess process effectiveness – then set and achieve the
most critical improvement objectives.
Leadership Succession
When key leadership roles in your organization become available, how ready are your
future leaders to step up to the challenge? World-class organizations know the
importance of having top talent lined up and ready to go. The many benefits of effective
talent management convey to both the organization and to the individual . . . as do the
risks of failing to plan for your organization’s leadership succession.
Preparing your employees for future leadership roles consists of two activities: planning
and development. Planning includes the following activities:
identifying employees who show potential for assuming greater responsibility
assessing those individuals against some kind of leadership model to understand their
strengths and development needs
developing your leadership model – or set of models – that describe the elements of
leadership critical to your organization
identifying the kinds of roles that will need to be filled
ensuring a flow of succession opportunities – even if it means removing current
leaders that are performing adequately in their role
Developing future leaders goes beyond the classroom. In fact, successful leaders cite
other factors besides training when asked to describe their best source of preparation:
stretch experiences
a formative mentor
dealing with hardship and conflict
A progressive view of leadership development will emphasize all of these strategies over
a training-heavy approach. However, often an element of “divine intervention” by a
development-minded CEO is needed to execute some of the riskier strategies:
putting an employee in charge of key negotiations with a competitor, vendor, or union
tapping an employee to turn around a struggling division or function
tasking an employee to build out a new capability, develop a new product, or enter a
new market
The benefits of a thorough approach to succession management accrue to the
organization as well as the individual. Organizations achieve the primary goal of having
employees ready to step into leadership roles. And they avoid much of the risk linked to
bringing too many outsiders into key, high-level positions.
However, not to be undervalued is the benefit felt by employees even before their
opportunity emerges. These employees, who are often star performers as middle
managers or even individual contributors, can too easily be attracted away by offers from
other organizations. “You have to leave to get ahead” is commonly heard in organizations
without a capable approach to developing and promoting future leaders. Organizations
that prepare their aspiring leaders for higher levels of responsibility replace this talk with
higher levels of employee engagement, retention and hope. And they then follow through
with those appointments.
Gain the benefits of effective succession planning in your organization by putting in
place a robust leadership succession process.

Succession Planning Program Evaluation


Succession planning programs can take many forms. Some rigorously identify specific
future career moves for their upwardly mobile leaders, while others may use a more
general system of leadership “turns” to be accomplished. Some may clearly publicize
their succession planning process and its results, while others perform activities in the
background and communicate only to those who “need to know.” The most important
thing is for your organization to develop a process that works within your culture and
gets the results you need. That said, here are some key questions for when you are
evaluating your succession program with an eye to improvements, as well as for when
you are just starting to design your own approach.

Results
Does your succession planning program consistently produce a slate of qualified
candidates for any given leadership position that needs to be filled?
Is your organization able to select internal succession candidates when desirable,
rather than have to bring in outsiders with “more experience”?
Do newly placed (promoted) leaders feel ready and confident about stepping into the
new role?
Do leaders placed (promoted) as a result of your succession planning process
typically succeed in their new roles?
Do your leadership candidates typically stay with the organization longer?
Is your organization viewed as “the place to go” for MBAs and other aspiring, young
professionals?
Are your future leaders aggressively recruited by other organizations?

Process
Does top leadership move future leaders around to ensure they experience many parts
of the organization?
Does top leadership aggressively “move out” incumbent leaders who are
underperforming in a key role so that ready successors may be “moved up”?
Do your future leaders “know where they stand”?
Do your future leaders get the “real world” development they need to prepare them
for new leadership roles?
Does your succession planning process operate “year round” (versus an event that
occurs annually)?
Do current managers willingly “let go” when their staff is selected for new roles or
for developmental assignments?
Is your succession planning process reviewed at least annually and any deficiencies
corrected or improvements implemented?
Is your succession planning process reviewed at least annually and any deficiencies
corrected or improvements implemented?
Any evaluation questions that do not receive a resounding “Yes” might provide some
fodder for rethinking and enhancing your current approach. However, remember that
succession planning can take many forms, and your approach needs only to work for you.

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