
One of the most significant contributions leaders can make is ensuring their business’ continuity and sustainability – by having employees who are willing and capable of filling each key position with a plan for doing so when the need arises.
Through a Succession Plan an organization addresses – for each of its key positions – questions such as:
- What the organization would do if it had to fill the position tomorrow
- Whether there is, at least, one successor who could immediately perform the duties of each position
- If there is no successor ready now, what will need to be done to enable the best internal candidate to be ready and by when
- Can the organization afford to wait, or would it be better to recruit a replacement
- During Talent Review Succession Planning meetings, the leadership team in a disciplined fashion
- Asks each leader to report on the status of the Individual Development Plans for each of their ‘A’ Players and High Potentials
- Ensures that each ‘A’ Player and High Potential is receiving regular coaching and is actively involved in opportunities that will help retain them while accelerating their development
Not having a Succession Plan can be costly and sometimes disastrous. It’s expensive to recruit, interview, select, on-board and train a replacement – and significant opportunity costs are incurred when a key position is not being performed. While Succession Planning increases the levels of engagement and performance of ‘A’ Players and High Potentials – the talent most needed in the future.
By Pete Tosh, Founder of The Focus Group