INTRO to HRM

SUCCESSION PLANNING
•Objectives
•Advantages
•Steps
•Challenges
•Success Factors
•Tips
DEFINITION
 Succession Planning is a process of
identifying and developing new leaders who
can replace old leaders when they leave,
retire or die. ...

 In business, it entails developing internal

people with the potential to fill key business
leadership positions in the company.
ADVANTAGES
The advantages of succession planning include the opportunity
to:
 Conduct a SWOT Analysis of the business to determine its

leadership needs now and in the coming years

 Develop a strategic Leadership Human Resource Plan that

includes comprehensive position descriptions, needs analysis

and plans to bridge the gaps
 Study the performance and behavior of successors over a long

period of time
 Provide a sense of direction, stability and expectations for all key

stakeholders: employees, customers, shareholders and vendors

 Retain a critically important employee who might otherwise leave

if not formally recognized as the successor

DISADVANTAGES
 Appointing the wrong person can lead to a variety
of problems that result in poorer company
performance and turnover
 Quickly to appoint someone only to have a better
candidate appear later on
 Engaging in succession planning when the
business is immature may lead to erroneous
conclusions about leadership needs
 A poorly succession planning process will lead to
disharmony and ultimately poor company
performance as well
STEPS IN SUCCESSION PLANNING
 Step 1: Identify critical positions. Critical positions
are the focus of succession planning efforts
 Step 2: Identify competencies and skills
 Step 3: Find and assess potential successors
 Step 4: Involve managers & leaders at all levels of
the company
 Step 5: Develop internal talent & monitor their
progress
 Step 6: Document and implement succession plans
 Step 7: Evaluate Effectiveness.
CHALLENGES with SUCCESSION
PLANNING
  Deciding who to promote
 Resisting bias
--overcoming the “like me bias.”
--overcoming the “like us bias.” 
 prompts people to think of their own
mortality
--negative impact
--company morale
 success at one level on the organization chart
does not guarantee success at higher levels
SUCCESS FACTORS
 Engagement of senior leadership
 Buy in of operational leaders
 Institutionalization of the company culture
 The philosophy behind the plan must align

with the elements of the plan

 WIIFM (What's In It For Me) at all levels of the

organization
RESULTS OF THE KEY FACTORS
 Building bench strength
 Helps to determine who will be your consistent

stable performers
 Identifies next gen leaders and how and how

to most effectively invest in them

 Seamless capturing of Intellectual Property
 Increased employee engagement and retention
 Development of a culture of engagement, and
 Stronger customer service and retention
CONCLUSION
 For organizations to excel in today’s highly competitive
global marketplace, succession management is
imperative. Organizations that build up intellectual
capital by continuously cultivating the next generation
of employees can experience a distinct business
advantage.
 A comprehensive succession management process can

increase employee engagement and retention, which

facilitates
s. organizational growth.
 The organization’s corporate health depends on the

effectiveness, breadth, and depth of your succession

effort