A

PROJECT REPORT
ON
SUCCESSION PLANNING FOR SENIOR STAFF POSITIONS

A Project report submitted in fulfilment of the requirement for

the award of degree
Of
BACHELOR OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
Submitted By:
G. GOVARDHAN
(H.T.NO. 117619684016)
UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF
Ms. Sonali Walia
(Assistant Professor)

SAI SUDHIR DEGREE COLLEGE

(Affiliated to OSMANIA UNIVERSITY)
B-8/2, E. E. Complex, ECIL, ‘X’ Road, Hyderabad- 500062
(2019-2022)
1
 INDEX

S.NO CONTENT PAGE NO.

1. INTRODUCTION
1-6
 Introduction
 Need for the study
 Scope of the study
 Limitations of the study
 Research Methodology

2. Company Profile 7-11

3. Theoretical Framework 12-42

4. Data analysis & 43-45

Interpretation

5. Findings , Suggestions, Conclusion 46

6. Bibliography 47-48

7. Annexure 49-53

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INTRODUCTION

3
Introduction
Essentially, succession planning is a conscious decision by an organization to foster and
promote the continual development of employees, and ensure that key positions maintain
some measure of stability, thus enabling an organization to achieve business objectives.
Traditionally, succession planning has sometimes taken a replacement approach, often
focusing on executive-level positions. One or two successors might be identified and
selected, probably based on the exclusive input of their immediate supervisor, and then
placed on the fast-track into a senior position. However, succession planning has evolved
into a process that can be used to:

1. Replenish an organization’s HR at a broad or specific level;

2. Identify, assess and develop employee knowledge, skills and abilities to meet the

current and future staffing needs of the organization; and

3. Ensure a continuous supply of talent by helping employees develop their potential, as

successors for key departmental positions.

Some of the current practices in succession planning include the following:

 Knowing what jobs at various levels, if removed, would cause a significant loss to the
organization, and which of these jobs represent the greatest retention risk.
 Knowing which employees are both interested in, and demonstrate short- and/or
long-term potential for, succession into key positions.
 Significant investment to ensure that employees have appropriate and structured
learning, development and training opportunities to fulfill their potential.
 Aligning succession planning with current and anticipated business goals and
objectives.
Succession management is principally about knowing the needs of the organization and its
employees and developing the capacity to address emerging issues that can or will affect
business continuity.

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NEED AND SCOPE OF STUDY

Need for building a Succession Plan:

Building a succession planning process or framework is about mitigating the risks of

organisational change. This way, when a change at the very top occurs, the friction between
departments, teams and employees is reduced or becomes non-existent, because the
‘vacuum’ of institutional knowledge is removed.

Human resources are dynamic; no person is going to stay in a job forever. There are
retirements, resignations, deaths, or such other contingencies that render a position vacant.
Finding the right person to fill it is of utmost importance to make sure that things continue
on a smooth keel. Succession planning is even more important in senior management
positions because of the experience, wisdom, and abilities that come with them.

When conducting a succession planning exercise, it is important to keep the business

strategy and objectives in mind. Likewise, having a list of competencies that go with the job
is helpful; this makes the process of finding the right candidate and training him or her
smoother.

Scope of the study

The purpose of succession planning is to identify and develop people to replace current
incumbents in key positions in cases of resignation, retirement, promotions, growth,
expansion and creation of new positions. Succession by people from within provides
opportunities to employees for progress in their careers.

Statement of the problem/Limitation

Having a competent, knowledgeable and well trained workforce is not enough. However,
these qualities should be accompanied with good management succession practices which
include identifying successors and individual careers path. Succession management plays a
key role in this and also impacts greatly on an organizations future growth, competitiveness
and employee retention.

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Additionally, while succession management practices are believed to contribute toemployee
retention. Management who indicated the need to find out what was causing the exits. One of
the assumptions then was that the perceived low remuneration was the main factor
occasioning this exits and responded by reviewing the terms of service for all Management
employees However, the scenario did not change prompting the management to see the need
for investigation into the factors that affect employee retention in the organization. Among
these was the need to come up with policy guidelines on succession management in the
company. It is therefore important to establish whether this connection exists and further
investigate its nature in order to inform human resource management strategies for effective
achievement of o

organizations objectives.

This research study aims to investigate the existence and extent to which succession
management practices have been implemented in public sector organizations.

Objectives
 Identify succession management practices in public sector organization
 Determine the extent of succession management practices in public
sectororganizations
 Analyse the implications of such practices on employee retention in publicsector
organizations.

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COMPANY PROFILE

7
8
9
10
THEORITICAL FRAMEWORK

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Succession Planning
Succession planning is the process of replacing your organisation’s leaders and managers
with high-potential, internal (sometimes external) replacements. Essentially, it is about
identifying, developing and replacing employees to make a potential shift in
responsibilities/hierarchy as smooth as possible.

The Purpose of Succession Planning

The purpose of succession planning is complex. It is not simply about damage control or

replacing a key leader as quickly as possible. It’s about replacing a leader with someone
prepared for the role, with the potential to succeed, who can shift into the position both
quickly and successfully (with added emphasis on successfully).

Reason for building a Succession Plan

Building a succession planning process or framework is about mitigating the risks of
organisational change. This way, when a change at the very top occurs, the friction between
departments, teams and employees is reduced or becomes non-existent, because the
‘vacuum’ of institutional knowledge is removed.

Succession Planning Supports Workforce Planning

Contemporary succession planning should not be done in isolation of the broader HR /
workforce planning process. Specifically, a gap analysis might identify succession planning as
one of several priority strategies for the organization.

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Data points to consider in your workforce snapshot include:

Data Point Data Insights for Succession Planning

Employee onboard count & Provides visual representation of the employees onboard,
retirement eligibility their distribution across the organization and how much of
the workforce is retirement eligible.

Years of service Identifies employees who may be closer to retirement and

have more institutional knowledge to capture.

GS level distribution Identifies whether there is a junior pipeline of employees for

succession planning. May also help identify critical positions.

Separations and Accession Shows hiring and separation trends for forecasting future
(hiring) counts over years staffing needs across different scenarios

Retirement eligible by Identifies demographics areas that may experience future

demographics (such as series) turnover and may be vulnerable to knowledge loss without a
successor

Time stayed past retirement Provides insight into how long employees typically stay past
their retirement eligibility date.

Separation and accession Identifies areas of high turnover to prioritize for succession
trends by series planning activities

Time to hire Helps determine which positions take longest to fill and are
therefore more vulnerable when turnover occurs.

Important Considerations for Succession Planning

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As part of the broader workforce planning process, there are several considerations that
should preface any succession planning initiative. Some preliminary questions to consider
include the following:

 What is the business case for succession planning in the organization?

 Is planning based on short- and long-term goals and objectives?
 Have the key stakeholders and decision-makers been consulted?
 How involved are the leaders?
 Is succession planning linked with workforce planning?
 Can succession planning be linked with other HR strategies?
 Is there accountability at the departmental level?
 Are HR professionals and departmental planners involved with the planning process?
 What are the roles and responsibilities of stakeholders?
 Is the process, and its expected outcomes, clearly understood by everyone involved?

These risks include:

 Loss of mission critical knowledge that may never be recovered.

 Naming a successor who lacks personal drive, commitment, knowledge, training or
skills needed to perform the job successfully.
 Significant loss of time spent getting a new successor up to speed.
 Potential disruptions to workplace processes, workflows, and protocols.

Succession Planning: Frequently Asked Questions

 Which Function Should Lead Succession Plan

HR is primed to be a key leader when it comes to succession planning. That’s because both
succession planning and workforce planning go hand in hand. As part of projecting the future
of an organisation, HR teams need to have an incredibly clear vision of the key roles within
an org, and what it would mean for those roles to become vacant.

 How Does Succession Planning Relate to L&D

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 If we think of succession planning not only as replacing but of adequately preparing
employees to take on new roles, HR has a role to play here in terms of career development,
learning and overall L&D strategies.

 What Are The Benefits Of Succession Planning

Because it keeps hiring costs down, improves your employer brand and boosts retention
rates all at the same time! Succession planning matters because it helps to maintain a
foundation of organisational stability, even in times of profound change. It ensures that
even when key employees leave, their absence (at least professionally) is not felt.

 Is Succession Planning Becoming More Popular

The growing demand for succession planning strategies will grow as an entire generational
workforce (primarily baby boomers) retires. As a result, companies need to find qualified
employees who can pick up these leadership roles and run with them. Succession planning
allows companies to preserve key qualifications while avoiding costly recruiting processes.

 How Often Should Organisations ‘Succession Plan’

Succession planning should be a yearly topic for companies that are growing quickly. Or, it
could be thought about in five-year increments for companies on a steadier trajectory of
growth.

 Is There a Succession Planning Framework

If you want to start a succession planning strategy, you need to have a plan in place. But,
where do you start? Here are some of the general steps you’ll need to take:

Identify Identify key positions within your company.

Assess Assess the risk of those positions becoming vacant (account fluctuation rates, retirement
dates, etc.)
Source Source talent that is currently within your company.
Manage Manage that talent by developing existing personnel.
Build Concurrently, build up a strong talent pool.
Up

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Keep in mind, though, that succession planning is not only relevant for large or medium-
sized companies. Even small, family-run businesses should have a plan in place when it
comes to successful succession.

Four approaches to Success Planning

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 Role of advisor in Financial Planing

The concepts of the major research variables

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Analytical/Conceptual Framework

The framework that succession management (career opportunities), supervisor/manager

support, working environment, rewards and work-life policies are the independent variables
while the implications on employee retention is the dependent variable. The absence of
appropriate succession management practices, manager support, conducive working
environment, competitive reward programs and sound work-life policies can have
undesirable effects on employee retention in public sector organizations.

Theoretical Framework

A theoretical framework has been developed to assist in the analysis of the findings on
succession management practices and their possible implications on employee retention in
public sector organizations in Kenya. The independent variables, 20 dependent variable and
the anticipated outcomes is provided in the framework.

Succession Management
Supervisor Career
Support
opportunities

Working Environment
Employee Retention

Rewards

Work-life Policies

Dependent variables Independent variable

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

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Development Assignments

This involves the development of a number of employee development programs that ensure
that high performing early talents within the organization are equipped and prepared to take
up higher positions in an organization. This include such programs as flexible job
descriptions as advanced by the study by Pennel (2010), and job rotation that enables
employees to perform tasks across functional areas. Development assignments also enable
employees gain real life exposure to the organization’s overall operations and culture.

Support from Senior Management

Senior management support is the willingness and commitment of top executives of an

organization on the initiatives on succession management. Top management Succession
Management Career opportunities Working Environment Rewards Work-life Policies
Employee Retention Supervisor Support 21 support is a critical element if the successes of
these initiatives are to be realized. O’Connor et al (2006) avers that among the factors that
encourage management development investment is by-in from senior management.

Mentoring and Coaching

This is a process that requires continuous efforts to make it a part of an organization’s

management practices. It involves delegation by articulating the results required, giving
feedback on performance, motivating employees by giving timely recognition of efforts and
guiding on behaviour and career development.

Computerized Systems to Plan Progress

Use of information systems such as the Human Resource Management Information Systems
(HRMIS) enables the organizations manage its management systems appropriately.
Computerized systems also assist in planning and maintaining progress of employee’s
development.

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Management assignments
Senior management support
Mentoring and coaching
Computerized systems to plan
progress
Outcomes:
Employee satisfaction
Improved productivity
Employees Retention Business efficiency
Customer service and
satisfaction
Low employee turnover

Independent variable Dependent variable Outcome

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

What Is The First Step In Succession Planning

The first step in succession planning is identifying key positions. After all, succession
planning is based on departure, so you need to consider which roles are at risk.

Key positions come in all shapes and sizes. It helps to have a strong handle on where the
highest amounts of ‘institutional knowledge’ exist within your organisation. Once you know
that, you can prepare for departures accordingly

How to Create a Succession Plan

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Imagine a wheel with five spokes, or a calendar item that alerts you every fifth month, or
assigning each of these steps to different people. These are the five steps in an ongoing
succession planning process:

Identify key roles (such as managers and above) that may require replacement in the next 3
years. List each role and each person.

List the job competencies and personalities for each role that are a) required, and b)
recommended. Keep it simple. Lean on your human resources colleagues. Solicit updates
from those in the role. We know that the best workers’ compensation people, for example,
have a high attention to detail. If uncertain, or if you desire confidential expertise, hire an
external vendor.

Assess your current staff members based on their a) status now (e.g., ready now, development
needs defined, development needs to be defined), and b) potential (e.g., skills, ability,
longevity, health). Then list concerns for each person such as job performance, health risks,
medical needs, family concerns, job potential or ability to travel. Create a database or flow
chart.

Identify a pool of potential talent. Great people are everywhere. Talent scarcity is a myth
perpetuated by managers who choose not to invest in their people. Your primary talent pool is
internal; your secondary talent pool is external. Hire internally. Internal promotions lead to
higher levels of retention and engagement at lower cost. External hires typically cost more
and drive conflict (which can be a necessary motivator at any company).

Actively develop key people using progressions of experiences so that they can be ready now
for advancement. Succession planning is not a checklist or software package. It is a series of
meaningful experiences. For example, action-learning teams of cross-functional managers
may be selected to develop a breakthrough product. High potential managers may be tasked
with a business development opportunity or leadership training experience. Senior leaders
can be partnered with three or four “HI-POs” (individuals with high potential) for quarterly
mentoring sessions. Note that none of these experiences is expensive. For expertise contact
any external vendor with experience in succession planning and leadership development
experiences. Avoid wasting money on events.

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 The Succession Planning Process
These are the seven key steps in the succession planning process:

 Start identifying key positions

 Identify needs
 Develop your job profiles
 Start the recruiting process
 Appoint a successor
 Hand over the job
 Document the transition

Start identifying key positions

Identify needs

Develop your job profiles

Succession Planning Start the recruiting process

Start the recruiting process

Start the recruiting process

Document the transition

Succession Planning Process

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The Succession Planning Process in 7 Steps
Here are seven well-coordinated steps to ensure key positions are filled successfully…

1) Start Identifying Key Positions

This is going to require some internal reflection. Begin the succession planning process
by identifying qualifications that are essential to your company’s success. This could include
years of experience, qualifications or licenses, or other ‘soft skills’ that have an impact on
company success (like customer relations abilities, for example).
Then, you need to write them down. So, take these qualifications essential to your company’s
success and document them in what we might call ‘initial job profiles.’ Now you have an idea
of what you need, relatively speaking, but we need to dig a bit deeper to get to the core of the
issue.
2) Identify Needs

If we start by knowing the key qualifications that influence success, now we need to plan for
where we might lose those skills. So, you need to establish which key positions might
become vacant in the near future. Ask yourself:
Which employees are about to retire?
Are any employees currently pregnant?
What is your overall attrition rate?
You can also take a top-down approach in this step, and plan for your entire company’s
succession plan starting from your CEO to executive leadership and further down the
organisational chart. That said, if you are in a pinch and want to get started immediately, you
should start filling gaps that may reveal themselves sooner than later.

In this step, it is also important to include the financial resources you may need for the
recruiting process. It is important to note how the recruiting process transfers into time (and

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 money) spent. It’s also at this point that proper recruitment software can help maintain
efficiency without draining resources.

3) Develop Your Job Profiles

A key part of the succession planning framework is having fleshed-out job profiles in place.

What constitutes an effective job profile, though, and where should you focus your efforts?
Here’s a quick rundown:

Tasks The tasks a key position currently performs.

Qualifications a person in that position has to their

Qualifications
name.

Evolutions Potential evolutions of this role as times change.

Any additional skills this position may want to have in

Additions
the future.

4) Start The Recruiting Process

Concrete examples of succession planning typically begin during the recruitment process.

This is where the process takes shape, and it helps if you approach it from several key angles,
including:

 Building up your talent pool.

 Implementing an employee referral program.
 Providing targeted up skilling training for current employees.

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 If you are taking a proactive approach, maybe you have all the time in the world for
succession planning. But, if you’re low on time, you may want to set deadlines for finding a
suitable candidate or completing the handover period.

5) Appoint A ‘Successor’

Whether internally or externally, this is the part of succession planning that signals the end.
While a lot of the heavy lifting may have been done during the job profile stage, now you
have someone in mind that could be able to take on this role.

Apart from interviews, though, finding the right candidate during the succession planning
process should rely on more nuanced measures. You should work with assessment centres,
case studies or work trials, to determine the best fit.

That said, a technical fit is not always a cultural fit. For succession planning to be successful,
it often comes down to how someone fits within a company’s distinct culture.

How do you begin to evaluate this? First, you likely need to have a hold on your own culture
and what it means to work with your company, but you may want to consider the following to
evaluate a candidate’s fit:

 An interview with potential peers to see if they mesh well.

 A case study directly related to their soft skills (perhaps giving or receiving feedback).
 Scheduling a more casual interview setting (like lunch) for a candidate to show more of their
personality.
This is the part of succession planning that you need to get right. After all, you now have
someone that you have deemed the right fit for the role. So, they need to be the right fit from
multiple angles, and not based on whether they can do the job or not.

6) Hand Over The Job

When done right, succession planning also loops in the person leaving the role. This is most
felt during the handover process, where a new employee gradually learns their new tasks,
both from their future co-workers and team leads, as well as from their predecessor (who will
share existing knowledge or institution knowledge they only have.

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 Keep in mind, though, that the handover period shouldn’t be too short. Especially if a key
position is being filled, it is important to bake in more time (think in terms of months and not
weeks) for an employee to manage complex tasks that used to go smoothly. They will get
there, but they require patience.

However, if a handover period is too long, there is a risk that the successor won’t be able to
come into the role in their own right. They will be too influenced by how the role used to
perform, and you may lose out on the future-oriented skills that you feel this role needs to
thrive.

The best answer is somewhere in the middle. While team leads should have a long-term
perspective, there should be an active, fast-paced, and collaborative approach to handing over
knowledge. Ideally, this would also be done through confluence pages or a company wiki,
where institutional knowledge is public and not private.

7) Document the Transition

Now that the handover of the job has been completed, what comes
next? Documenting the transition is a crucial step, in order to note how the position was
filled and to inform future processes. Keep in mind the following:

 The demands of this position in particular.

 Processes that went smoothly during the handover.
 Issues during the handover that caused confusion.
 Gaps that still potentially exist.
In the future, this will help optimise your recruiting process, as well as succession planning
strategies for similar roles that may become available.

Essential Components of Succession Plans:

Component What Is It? What Purpose Does It Serve?

Replacement chart An organization chart that Shows possible internal

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 depicts internal successors for successors for each critical
each critical position in the position, describes how ready
organization. they are to replace the key job
incumbent, and predicts how
long it will likely take to
prepare each successor for
advancement.
Critical-position Similar to a job description, a Lists key responsibilities,
profile critical-position profile is a list duties, and activities for each
typically written on a single critical position in the
page. organization.
High-potential Similar to a resume, a high- Lists an individual’s education,
profile potential profile is usually work experience, performance
written on a single page and lists rating, career goals (when
important biographical possible), and other important
information about the key job work-related information that
incumbent and any individuals has a bearing on advancement
identified on replacement charts potential and/or present
as a possible successor performance.
Employee Rates the individual’s Assesses an individual’s
performance performance on their present present work performance.
appraisal job. (Advancement usually
depends on an employee’s
performing at least competently
on their present job.)
Individual potential Rates the individual’s potential Assesses an individual’s
assessment for advancement, either to one potential for advancement or
critically important position or for exercising increased
to higher levels of responsibility technical proficiency in their
or technical proficiency. current position.
Individual A plan to narrow the Although individuals are
development plans developmental gap between sometimes promoted on the
(IDPs) what the individual currently strength of their performance

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 knows or does on their current on a previous job, an IDP
job and what they need to know assumes that higher-level
or do to advance to a future, positions demand special
critically important position or preparation.An IDP, though
to a higher level of usually updated annually, is
responsibility. typically long-term (covering
several years) and may include
various training and work
assignment requirements to
help an individual quality for a
succession, achieve a higher
level of responsibility, or
exercise increased technical
proficiency.

When Should A Key Position Be Filled Externally?

For succession planning to be successful, you need to think about whether your company
currently has the talent to replace a key position. This means that, even if it is cheaper to fill a
position internally, it does not guarantee that a current employee is up to the task.

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 In fact, an employee may not be qualified for the role, but they also may not be interested.
Here is what you should consider for either internal or external fillings:

Advantages
None or a short recruiting process, as the
employee's skills and qualifications are already
known.
The employee can be provided with specific
training to develop key skills before they take on
the new role.
Short induction phase: The employee is already
familiar with the company and its processes.
Investing in staff development fosters employee
loyalty.
Developing internal staff has a positive effect on
the motivation and loyalty of other team members.
Disadvantages
Newcomers bring in fresh ideas, drive innovation,
and help counteract blindness to the company's
failings.
External candidates provide access to new
networks.
Newcomers are objective and disinterested in
previous conflicts within the company.
External candidates may enjoy greater
acceptance, above all in leadership positions.
New employees contribute additional skills and
knowledge.

The Two Most Common Succession Planning Process Mistakes

Effective succession planning is crucial when it comes to one key filling: your CEO. In most
cases, CEOs don’t retire every day. However, one in every ten successions is unexpected.
For this kind of succession planning to work, you will need to have a set of specific steps
prepared. More importantly, please make sure you don’t fall into either of the following two
common traps:

1) Underestimating The Time You Will Need

Start the succession planning process early. Ideally, you would do so five years ahead of
time. This would then entail developing steps and processes to find the ideal succession
candidate to manage the transition effectively.
After all, this is about far more than simply finding the right fit. You need to find the right
candidate, develop them, and prepare them for the role, and this can take a great deal of
time and effort

2) Not Having A Contingency Plan

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If a key person leaves a company unexpectedly at short notice, their position may remain
vacant for some time. That is if you have not actively planned for their succession well
ahead of time.
But, certain positions need to be filled quickly to make sure the company stays on track. In
exceptional situations, you shouldn’t wait until you’ve found the right candidate – work with
interim management instead.

In these cases, HR consultants will usually provide an experienced manager for a temporary
deployment at short notice until a permanent successor has been found.

CHAPTER 4

DATA ANALYSIS & INTERPRETATION

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seven steps to follow when you are succession planning

1. Be proactive with a plan.

2. Pinpoint succession candidates.
3. Let them know and explain the stages.
4. Step up professional development efforts.
5. Do a trial run of your succession plan.
6. Integrate your succession plan into your hiring strategy.
7. Think about your own successor.

1.Be proactive with a plan

Sometimes, you’ll know well in advance if a hard-to-replace team member is going to
leave the company — a planned retirement is a good example. But other times, you’ll be
caught off-guard by a sudden and potentially disorienting employee departure. That’s why
you need a plan — now.

First, consider all the key roles on your team and answer these two questions:

 What’s the day-to-day impact of X position on our company or department?

 If the person currently in X position left, how would that affect our operations?

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2. Pinpoint succession candidates
Once you have a handle on the ripple effect that the departure of certain employees might
cause, choose team members who could potentially step into those positions.

Ask yourself:

 If we were to hire for X position internally, which employees would

be the strongest candidates for stepping into this role?

Would those candidates need training? And, if so, what type?

While the obvious successor to a role may be the person who is immediately
next in line in the organizational chart, don’t discount other promising
employees. Look for people who display the skills necessary to thrive in higher
positions, regardless of their current title.

But don’t just assume you know how people on your team view their career
goals. You may have certain team members in mind for senior management
roles, but who’s to say they’ll even be interested in the idea once it’s
presented to them? If you haven’t already, talk to these employees about how
they view their professional future before making your succession choices.

3.Let them know

In private meetings, explain to each protege that they’re being singled out for positions of
increasing importance. Establish an understanding that there are no guarantees, and the
situation can change due to circumstances encountered by either the company or the
succession candidates themselves.

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4. Step up professional development
efforts
Ideally, you have already been investing in the professional development of those you select
as your succession choices. Now that preparation needs to be ramped up. Job rotation is a
good way to help your candidates gain additional knowledge and experience. And
connecting them with mentors can boost their abilities in the critical area of soft skills: The
best leaders have strong communication skills, as well as polished interpersonal abilities,
such as empathy and diplomacy.

5. Do a trial run of your succession plan

Don’t wait until there’s a crisis to test whether an employee has the right stuff to assume a
more advanced role. Have a potential successor assume some responsibilities of a manager
who’s taking a vacation. The employee will gain valuable experience and appreciate the
opportunity to shine. And you can assess where that person might need some additional
training and development.

6. Integrate your succession plan into your

hiring strategy
Once you’ve identified employees as successors for critical roles in your organization, take
note of any talent gaps they would leave behind if tapped. That can help you identify where
to focus your future recruiting efforts.

7. Think about your own successor

When making a succession plan for your organization, keep in mind that your own role will
someday require backfilling. Maybe you’ll decide to take advantage of a new opportunity, or
you’ll put in your time and retire from the workforce. So it’s important to ask yourself,

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which employee could step into your shoes one day? And what can you do, starting now, to
help that person prepare for the transition?

The members of your workforce aren’t fixed assets — and changes in your team’s lineup are
inevitable. You may not always be able to predict a valued employee’s departure from the
firm. But through effective succession planning, you can pave the way for the continuity so
critical to your business’s future.

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 CHAPTER 5
FINDINGS, SUGGESTIONS AND CONCLUSION

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Finding :
The firm also must develop one or more effective future leaders. This involves
identifying individuals with leadership skills or potential and determining how to
train or develop those skills so that they can become successful firm leaders. That
can be significantly more burdensome when mid-level lawyers leave the firm.
Opinions vary on the characteristics that distinguish a leader, but some of the
qualities that are often cited include a focus on high potential, not just
performance; a high level of engagement; accountability; multitasking abilities;
communication skills; evidence of empathy and emotional intelligence;
decisiveness; and the ability to admit failure and accept responsibility. The firm’s
culture will dictate which qualities are most important for its future firm leaders,
but a vision for the future and the ability to effect change are characteristics that
are particularly important in today’s challenging legal environment.
Leadership is distinct from management, and leadership skills are more difficult to
acquire, so it is important that firms identify and begin developing the leadership
skills of individuals with leadership potential as early as possible. Some lawyers
have natural leadership skills, but training and experience can develop even those

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individuals into better and more effective leaders. If the development process is
started early, as it should be, a young lawyer can be mentored and coached by
the then-current firm leaders. There is no substitute for actual experience, so
giving young lawyers increasingly more significant leadership tasks will allow them
to hone their skills and allow the firm to assess their progress. In fact, some
recommend that firms “look[] for opportunities to involve all lawyers in some
aspect of management, in order to evaluate whether they have the skills to be
future leaders of the firm.” (Greene, supra, at 32.) When firms are on a restrictive
time schedule, leadership seminars and leadership coaching may be the
best option

SUGGESTIONS :
Sensible open conversations are key
This social and cultural shift can be really beneficial to both the individuals and their
organisations, who stand to benefit from their talents and expertise for longer. But
because retirement is no longer a clear-cut, black-and-white issue, the flip side is
that many organisations aren’t properly planning for retirement and succession.
Companies are either, brushing it under the carpet until it’s too late or making
assumptions that can cause stress, frustration or worse for both parties.

Whether you’re a small family business or a national corporation, a business owner

or an HR manager, effective retirement and succession planning is vital for your
organisation’s continuing success and your people’s health and happiness.

As an Investors in People Practitioner, I’m working with a number of organisations

currently addressing these issues. I’m also someone in his 70s enjoying both a
fulfilling professional life and a phased retirement. So I’ve drawn on these
experiences to pull together this list of key considerations to take on board when
managing your senior talent and thinking about succession planning.

1.  Start early

One of the most common problems is people not giving succession planning the time it
deserves early enough. Unless forced to discuss it by an employee approaching retirement,
many managers bury their heads in the sand. Essentially, missing the opportunity to plan for
a smooth transition well enough in advance. This can lead to intense pressure later on. Start

40
thinking about it as early as possible. Typically, 10 years ahead of an expected retirement
point within your sector or the job role.

2.  Be honest
Sometimes the hardest thing is starting the conversation about what people really want to
do. Are they looking to leave as soon as possible, whether it’s to sail around the world or
spend more time with their family? Or would they like to carry on working as long as
possible? If it’s the latter, what are the possibilities and options? What would they be willing
to do? And what’s manageable from the business perspective?

Whatever you do, don’t make assumptions. The lack of a clear plan can lead to unease on
both sides, with senior workers feeling a sense that there’s no future for them, or younger
workers waiting for them to move on so they can get stuck in. Those in more physical roles
may be looking forward to retiring at 65 – but equally, if they’ve worked somewhere for a
long time, it can feel like a family they don’t want to be cut off from, so keeping a limited
involvement might be more attractive. It’s not about bullying people to stay on if they don’t
want to – but neither is it about kicking them out before they’re ready. Sensible, open
conversations are key.

3.  Harness your senior workers’ expertise

Think about how senior workers can pass on their skills and expertise, so it doesn’t leave
your organisation when they do. If you’re considering a business leader or senior manager’s
succession, could they work alongside their successor for 6-12 months, then continue part-
time in a mentor-style capacity to support key decisions as and when required? Be sure to
allow enough time for them to pass on their contacts, business and client insight, processes,
tips and to help smooth over any issues while they’re still around.  Could older workers at
any level of the business help with inducting and training new staff? Whether the focus is on
using equipment or customer service, their experience and insight can be invaluable – so
don’t waste it.

4.  Develop your deputies

Don’t assume succession is a simple matter of a deputy stepping up to a leadership position
when a leader retires. Deputies can sometimes be more used to working in the wake of

41
their leader, and haven’t had enough opportunity to be challenged in the leadership role
before actually stepping up to the position permanently. So invest in their learning,
development and leadership training before that leader retires, and give them the
opportunity to make key decisions, coached by their leader if necessary.

One school I worked with encountered serious problems when the deputy head took over
after the headteacher retired – so much so that the former head actually came back from
retirement and took back responsibility to initiate a tough recovery programme. This must
only ever be a last resort, and in many cases would not be possible anyway – but it
underlines the importance of investing time and money upfront to ensure a smooth
succession and avoid unnecessary stress all round.

5.  Find an effective way for generations to learn from each

other
From younger workers training older colleagues in using technology and social media, to
innovative approaches like reverse mentoring, there are plenty of ways older workers can
develop further to sharpen their talents and keep their skills fresh.

Senior workers need the humility to accept that younger, less experienced colleagues may
be able to see a faster, better way of doing something. It’s not just about technology – from
ideas generation to new approaches for customer service, older workers should embrace
the fact that you’re never too old to learn. Be prepared to experiment; try new approaches
and then evaluate how they worked, so both sides can learn from the experience. It’ll
promote positive communication and collaboration.

CONCLUSION

Most of what needs to be done in succession planning is common sense, but it

poses many challenges that must be recognized and managed. Perhaps the
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biggest challenges are recognizing the need to do it early enough and
maintaining the momentum and focus to prepare a plan and implement it
successfully. One thing is clear: a comprehensive succession plan will
significantly decrease the chances that a firm will be derailed by an unexpected
event. Is your firm prepared? If not, get started: the sooner, the better.

This blog series has been excerpted from an article that originally appeared
in the November issue of the Defense Research Institute’s (DRI) “For The
Defense” magazine, which can be found here.

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 CHAPTER 6
BIBILOGRAPHY

Bibilography

Please provide an APA formatted bibliography for at least five of the sources in my list
below:

Adler, N.J., & Bartholomew, S. (1992). Academic and professional communities of discourse:
Generating knowledge on transnational human resource management. Journal of
International Business Studies, 23: 551-569.

Bonczek, M.E., Woodward, E.K. (2006). Who'll replace you when you're gone? Nursing
Management, 31-34 August 2006,.

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Dinnen, S. (2014). Succession planning. Northwestern Financial Review, 199(2), 20-23.
Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1498448684?accountid=14872

Harrison, M., McKinnon, T. & Terry, P.(2006). Effective succession planning-How to design
and implement a succession plan. Training and Development, October 2006, 22-23.
Charan, R., Drotter, S., & Noel, J. (2001). The Leadership Pipeline: How to Build the
Leadership Powered Company. San Francisco, GA: Jossey-Bass (owned by John Wiley &
Sons, Inc.)

Dinnen, S. (2014). Succession planning. Northwestern Financial Review, 199(2), 20-23.

Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1498448684?accountid=14872

Fulla, S. L. (2013). Partimes-online. American Society for Public Administration, Retrieved

from http://patimes.org/workforce-succession-planning-government/.

Website:
1. URL-https//hr.scribe.com.www.scribd.com
2. URL – https//www.wikipedia .org-
www.wikipedia.com

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 CHAPTER -7

ANNEXURE

1). Your Age?

a. 18-25
b. 25-40
c. 40-60
d. 60-70

2). Are You Male or Female ?

a. Male
b. Female

3).What is your occupation?

46
 a. Student
b. Unemployed
c. Employee
d. Other

4).

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