What is succession planning?

Succession planning is a talent management process that builds a pool of trained

workers who are ready to fill key roles when leaders and other key employees step
down. Organizations with succession planning programs in place foster a talent-
oriented culture by recruiting skilled workers and top talent. Once recruited,
businesses focus on developing these workers’ skills, expertise and knowledge so
they are prepared to take on leadership roles in the event of organizational growth,
talent loss or management turnover.

A change in leadership can be sparked by more than a resignation — an employee

might retire, get fired, get sick, take leave or quit without notice. Succession planning
ensures there’s a strategy in place for someone to step in, get promoted and take
over that person’s duties without a loss in productivity and morale.

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However, the goal of succession planning isn’t to prepare one person to take over a
specific role. That’s called replacement planning, which is different. Succession
planning relies on a large pool of talented workers ranging from entry-level to senior
leadership who are being prepared for key roles. These employees have the right
skills, energy and leadership qualities that will benefit the company across a
spectrum of roles, departments and seniority levels. Replacement planning is linear
— you are preparing a worker to take over or replace specific senior management
positions; succession planning is about cultivating a flexible, large selection of talent.

Succession planning process

The process of succession planning is unique to each company, but there are
general guidelines that you can follow to help your business create a successful
succession strategy.

 Identify the most important roles in the organization that would need to be
filled quickly if that employee exits the organization.
 Define the main responsibilities, competencies and requirements for each job,
including what personality traits best suit the role.
 Use the established criteria to assess candidates and to determine who has
the potential to grow into a leadership position.
 Establish a talent pool of workers who are qualified to eventually fill key roles
in the organization.
 Develop these employees through training and valuable work experience so
they’re ready to take over leadership positions when the time comes.

Succession planning template

It’s important to create a template that outlines what succession planning will look
like in your company. The goal is to create as seamless of a transition as possible
and to avoid hurting morale and productivity. The template should reflect the
specifics of your succession planning — whether you’re a business owner preparing
for the day you pass the company onto someone else or an executive planning your
future exit strategy. Some companies even publish their own templates online, which
can help offer guidance if you’re struggling to create a template for your business.

Your template should at least include the following:

 All relevant company information including the date the succession plan was
developed.
 A table of contents that can point readers to different sections of the
succession plan.
 An overview of the succession plan, what the organization wants to achieve
with the strategy and any details
 Any leadership or non-leadership roles that are vital to business operations or
have a large impact on the company.
 A list of roles that you can predict will be open within the next few years due to
retirement. If you’re in an industry or area with high competition, consider
potential losses from poaching.
 A list of all potential candidates that are fit for future leadership or high-
potential positions.
 Training programs and career development efforts to train high-performing
workers.
 Any legal documents that need to be considered, including contracts,
partnerships and other agreements.

Succession planning best practices

Succession planning is a great way to build your next generation of IT leaders. Your
succession plan should take into consideration current and future business
challenges, critical skills, future skills, all core and technical competencies and a
strong plan for career development. Succession planning involves multiple steps but
there are four core objectives that you’ll need to build a strong succession planning
strategy.

 Identify qualified candidates within the organization who will be able to take on
more responsibility in the future.
 Once you identify your top candidates, focus on developing their skills and
expertise through training
 Get leadership engaged in developing future talent and supporting those with
high potential in the organization.
 Create a database of workers so staffing decisions can be made quickly when
key positions open.

For more on succession planning best practices, see “How to build the next
generation of IT leaders” and “CIO succession planning in the digital age.”
Who benefits from succession planning?
Succession planning is as important in small organizations as it is in large
organizations. For smaller companies, with less resources, smaller budgets and
fewer employees, succession planning helps avoid disruptions in workflow. This is
especially true for owner-operated businesses once the owner steps down or sells
the company. In large organizations, succession planning is important because
there’s a lot at stake and an unexpected loss can leave the business in chaos. With
a complex organizational structure, there needs to be enough talent to go around so
leadership and management changes can be addressed quickly

4 Types of Plans
 Operational Planning. “Operational plans are about how things need to
happen,” motivational leadership speaker Mack Story said at LinkedIn. ...
 Strategic Planning. “Strategic plans are all about why things need to
happen,” Story said. ...
 Tactical Planning. ...
 Contingency Planning

 1) BENCH STRENGTH PRIOR TO THE SUCCESSION

MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
 It is critical for those responsible for developing the succession
management program to step back and ask themselves: “What is our
bench strength prior to implementing a formal succession management
strategy?” Without conducting a thorough review of candidate
qualifications, development needs and strengths, organizations run the
risk of over or underestimating the talent available in their pipeline. Key
stakeholders involved in developing the succession management process
should insist on research to provide a baseline from which to evaluate
future success or failure.
 2) ONGOING EVALUATION OF BENCH STRENGTH
 After the initial strength review, organizations should conduct a review of
their bench strengths annually to identify any alterations that need to be
made in the succession management system in terms of competencies
and development programs. This will enable the organization to capitalize
on potentially lucrative changes in the business environment.
 3) NUMBER OF QUALIFIED, “READY-NOW” CANDIDATES
 It is critical for organizations to know the number of “Ready Now”
candidates in their succession management pipeline. Life is anything but
predictable, and there may be situations in which a leader leaves his or
her position early. Ensuring there are plenty of qualified successors in the
talent pool (who are capable of assuming a leadership role in a short
period of time) is critical in the succession management plan. If not, the
 succession management process will not work as intended and will need
to be reevaluated.
 4) DEVELOPMENTAL IMPROVEMENTS
 A succession management program should include opportunities and
avenues for frequent evaluation for candidates. Tools such as scorecards
and multi-rater tools provide ways for organizations to monitor and
assess the improvement of their candidates. Additionally, this system
should provide all candidates in the pool the assistance they need to
become “Ready Now” candidates. If not, the succession management
process may need to be revised.
 5) ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE
 Succession management programs are more than simply vehicles for
filling key roles. These programs should enable organizations to sustain
growth. When working properly, succession management programs help
protect the future of an organization by providing a pipeline of qualified
talent

STEP 1. Identify Key Areas and Positions

Key areas and positions are those that are critical to the organization's operational
activities and strategic objectives.

 Identify which positions, if left vacant, would make it very difficult to achieve
current and future business goals
 Identify which positions, if left vacant, would be detrimental to the health,
safety, or security of the Canadian public

STEP 2. Identify Capabilities for Key Areas and Positions

To establish selection criteria, focus employee development efforts, and set
performance expectations, you need to determine the capabilities required for the
key areas and positions identified in Step 1.

 Identify the relevant knowledge, skills (including language), abilities, and

competencies needed to achieve business goals
 Use the Key Leadership Competencies profile
 Inform employees about key areas and positions and required capabilities

STEP 3. Identify Interested Employees and Assess Them

Against Capabilities
Determine who is interested in and has the potential to fill key areas and positions.
  Discuss career plans and interests with employees
 Identify the key areas and positions that are vulnerable and the candidates
who are ready to advance or whose skills and competencies could be
developed within the required time frame
 Ensure that a sufficient number of bilingual candidates and members of
designated groups are in feeder groups for key areas and positions

STEP 4. Develop and Implement Succession and

Knowledge Transfer Plans
Incorporate strategies for learning, training, development, and the transfer of
corporate knowledge into your succession planning and management.

 Define the learning, training, and development experiences that your

organization requires for leadership positions and other key areas and
positions
 Link employees' learning plans to the knowledge, skills (including language),
and abilities required for current and future roles
 Discuss with employees how they can pass on their corporate knowledge

STEP 5. Evaluate Effectiveness

Evaluate and monitor your succession planning and management efforts to ensure
the following:

 Succession plans for all key areas and positions are developed;
 Key positions are filled quickly;
 New employees in key positions perform effectively; and
 Members of designated groups are adequately represented in feeder groups
for key areas and positions