Aileen MacMillan

The quality of the leadership within our institutions affects much of our daily lives. Unfortunately, the credit crisis has shaken confidence in leadership on a number of fronts. On the positive side it has also given leaders the opportunity to demonstrate their dedication and strength.

Consequently, a discussion about succession planning is timely. A few days ago, a HR.com student member commented: “We are covering succession planning. When I asked my company about it, I was told we really don't have a succession plan in place. After reading about and researching the subject, I am in desperate need of any feedback.”

First of all, this student can be sure that he or she is not the only employee working for a company that is operating without a succession plan in place. For example, Agatha Gilmore writes in Talent Management Magazine that “fewer than half of organizations surveyed for the 2007 (Aberdeen Research) report "The Looming Leadership Void: Identifying, Developing, and Retaining Your Top Talent" currently have a succession planning strategy in place, though this number is expected to jump to 75 percent by the end of 2008.”

Over and above the need to be prepared to replace a CEO who decides to leave a company or who is no longer able to lead the company, there are other benefits to be derived from succession planning. Benefits reach downwards throughout an organization, a point that William Rothwell emphasizes when he defines succession planning in the document Ten Key Steps to Effective Succession Planning. Rothwell differentiates between succession and replacement, and describes the goal of succession planning “to build deep bench strength throughout the organization so that, whenever a vacancy occurs, the organization has many qualified candidates internally that may be considered for advancement.”

To work effectively, succession planning must be a part of an integrated talent management process. Performance management lies at the heart of the process. Information gathered that relates to employee interests, abilities, strengths and weaknesses proves invaluable when potential leaders must be identified. Properly recorded performance management data makes it easy to pinpoint employees who have demonstrated an ability to get results. In addition, development plans that are aligned with business goals and strategy support the growth of future leaders.

So, in response to the member comment, succession planning is a critical process. In today’s economic environment the need for competent leaders is heightened, a point that is emphasized in The Globe and Mail article Hit the ground running. In the article, Immen provides examples that show the intense demands on new leaders to demonstrate “immediate, measurable success.”

Furthermore, succession planning is one of “four fundamentals” that Jac Fitz-Enz writes are necessary “To guarantee your company's viability in the madness of the 21st-century market” and he suggests “you can do it by building on these four fundamentals, using the latest advances in technology and behavioral science:
1. Leadership.
2. Succession planning.
3. Performance management.
4. Retention.”

Does anyone have any more words of advice for this HR.com member?

References:

Fitz-Enz, Jac. “Ensuring the Future.” Talent Management Magazine [www.talentmgt.com]. September 2008.

Gallup Poll. “U.S. Leaders Not Getting High Marks on Credit Crisis” [www.gallup.com]. September 29, 2008.

Gilmore, Agatha. “Creating Consistency: Enterprise-Wide Succession Plans.” Talent Management Magazine [www.talentmgt.com]. March 2008.

Immen, Wallace. “Hit the ground running.” The Globe and Mail, October 1, 2008, pp. C1.

Rothwell, William J. Ten Key Steps to Effective Succession Planning. Rothwell and Associates, Inc.,