Effective Succession Planning and Career Development

Effective Succession Planning and Career Development

"Succession Planning and Career Development are two sides of the same coin. Both should be used in tandem to improve talent mobility and build an organization able to weather unforeseen changes" .

What is effective succession planning? Why the organization needs it?

Succession planning is the strategic, systematic and deliberate effort to develop competencies in potential leaders through purposed learning experiences such as a targeted rotations and educational training in order to fill high-level positions without favoritism.

The purposes of succession planning:

* Contribute to implementing the organization's strategic business plans

* Identify replacement needs as a means of targeting necessary training, employees education and employee development

* Increase the talent pool of employees

* Provide increased opportunities for high potential workers

* Tap the potential for intellectual capital in the organization

* Help individuals realize their career plans within the organization

* Encourage the advancement of divers groups

* Improve employee morale

* Improve employees' ability to respond to changing environmental demands

* Cope with the effects of voluntary separation programs

* Cope with effects of downsizing

* Decide what workers can be terminated without damage to the organization

* Reduce headcount to essential workers only

How should systematic Succession Planning be carried out in organizational setting?

There are many reasons make the answer to this question. For example, national culture, organizational culture, and top management values. The following model has the most common steps that successful organizations follow. The model is called "seven-pointed star model for systematic succession planning and management."

Step 1: Make the commitment

In this step the organization's decision-makers should:

➢ Assess current problems and practices

➢ Assess and demonstrate the need for the program

➢ Determine the organization's exact SP&M program requirements

➢ Link the SP&M program directly to organizational and human resource strategic plans

➢ Benchmark SP&M practices in other organizations

➢ Clarify the roles if different groups in the program

➢ Formulate a program mission statement

➢ Write a policy and procedures to guide the program

➢ Identify target groups to be served by the program

➢ Establish program priorities

➢ Prepare an action plan to guide the program

➢ Communicate the action plan

➢ Conduct SP&M meeting as necessary to unveil the program and review progress continually

➢ Train those involved in the program as necessary

➢ Counsel managers about SP&M problems in their areas of responsibility

Step 2: Assess Present Work/ People Requirements

In this step, decision-makers should clarify where key leadership positions exist in the organization and should apply one or more approaches to determine work or competency requirements.

Step 3: Appraise Individual Performance

In this step, the organization should also begin establishing an inventory of talent so that it is clear what human assets are already available

Step 4: Assess Future work/ People Requirements

Decision-makers should make an effort to assess future work requirements and competencies. By this step, future leaders may be prepared to cope with changing requirements and organizational strategic objectives.

Step 5: Assess Future Individual Potential

In this step, the organization should establish a process to assess future individual potential. That future-oriented process should not be confused with past-or present-oriented employee performance appraisal.

Step 6: Close the Development Gap

The organization should establish a continuing program for leadership development to cultivate future leaders internally. Decision-makers should also explore alternatives to traditional promotion-from-within methods of meeting succession needs.

Step 7: Evaluate the Succession Planning Program

The results of evaluation should, in turn, be used to make continuous program improvements and to maintain a communication to systematic SP&M

Problems affecting the Succession Planning and management and how to avoid them:

Problem 1: Lack of Support

The lack support from top company executives is the main problem that affects the company succession plan and career development. If top managers are unwilling to support a systematic approach to succession planning, it cannot succeed. The best strategy to avoid this problem is to try to win over one or more credible idea champions.

Problem 2: Corporate Politics

One of the important problems that can affect Succession Planning is using the corporate ladder by top managers to promote friends. To solve this problem, decision makers must insist on formal ways to identify work requirements and assess performance and potential rather than permit subjective judgments to prevail.

Problem 3: quick-Fix Attitudes

This problem can cause far ranging consequences because ill-chosen leaders can prompt higher-than-normal turnover among their followers, create employee morale problems, and even bankrupt