1. HR Glossary
2. Succession planning

Succession planning

What is Succession planning?

Succession planning involves identifying high potential employees capable of taking up top management positions when vacancies arise. In other words, it refers to the passing management roles to another potential employee to ensure leadership continuity, especially for critical positions. It is an ongoing process of identifying competencies, assessing works, developing strategies, and retaining a talent pool of those worthy of success in essential management roles.

For example,

• The CEO of a company is going to resign next month.
• The board of directors wants to appoint the new CEO from the current employees.
• BOD decided to evaluate the performance and skills of exceptional performing employees and choose the one that best suits the position.

Succession Planning Process in HRM

Here are the steps to be followed for succession planning:

Understand the strategy and the structure

To plan for the organization, you should understand the goals and attributes to avoid future conflicts and make the process smooth going.

Evaluate the skills of your employees

To know what needs to be implemented, you should evaluate the employees' skill sets based on their job roles. The right person in the right place will make a better organization.

Include the training and development

By including the employees' training and development, they can adapt to the new changes and future challenges to be taken in the job role.

Recognition of the employees

Recognition of the employees is one of the crucial aspects of balancing the new implementation. It gives a clear path to the employees about their work.

Implement the strategy and monitor it

The plans made after the evaluation should be implemented. After the successful implementation, the changes should be constantly monitored and evaluated to see whether it is working as per the plan.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is succession planning essential?

Succession planning includes one of the prime missions of an organization. It provides a clear vision of the development of the employees, a way to identify the key roles for them, and also cuts the company's costs.

What are the benefits of succession planning?

• It provides a career advancement chance for the employees
• It helps the companies to plan in advance for the future needs
• Provides the time for the managers to leisurely train the new employees
• It builds confidence among the workforce and the investors
• It also helps develop an exit strategy for the higher authorities

What are the challenges in succession planning?

• Hiring the wrong candidate might lead to a performance decline in the company.
• Quick hiring to appoint someone might also lead to performance issues.
• If the planning is not conducted correctly, it might lead to many problems regarding poor company performance and disharmony in the company environment.

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