Partner Article

5 steps to making an effective succession plan

In order to thrive and survive, businesses have to be nimble, alert and able to readily adapt to changing circumstances. Succession is a perfect example of how a business can ensure that when change comes – to personnel, in this case – it is not left wanting.

Key members of staff leaving a company may well be a surprise, but with a considered and robust succession plan, employees moving on should not cause a crisis. It’s easy to see succession in business to be just about CEOs or C-suite members being replaced, but it actually encompasses a far greater number of staff.

Creating a succession plan is about more than simply having a list of people who could take on a certain role when it is vacated. It involves recognising the skills and aptitudes needed in each position, and then developing a strategy for ensuring that the right person – be they from inside or outside the company – is given the development opportunities and business exposure they need to fit the bill.

There are simple steps that businesses of any size can take to develop robust succession plans that allow their business to continue to grow through periods of change:

1. Identify the critical and specialist roles in your company. Succession plans apply to more than just the senior leadership of a company. In many companies employees at every level possess technical skills that will be greatly missed if they were to leave.

2. Think about the additional roles your business may need in the future. As a business grows, the demand for more staff will naturally increase. Of course, this doesn’t simply mean having more people in the office. There may be the need for certain specialist skills that the business didn’t need before but now are crucial. On the other hand, for roles which now have a greater span of responsibility, broader skill sets might be required to ensure business-wide plans can be successfully implemented.

3. Pinpoint the skills, capabilities and behaviours that are required in each of these roles. Doing this helps a business to determine whether there is a current employee who could take on the role if the incumbent were to leave. If there isn’t anyone with those exact skills at the moment, it’s important to think about whether current employees have the potential if given the right development opportunities. Recruitment plans, training and mentoring for staff need to be included within a succession plan. Managers must ask whether potential recruits have the aptitude to progress their careers in line with shifting business goals and functions.

4. Spot key reasons why top talent may be leaving. Performing exit interviews can help determine why people are leaving a business. It can also be an effective way to gather intelligence about what employees are looking for in terms of advancement and development. As well as meeting a business need, investing time in staff can improve motivation and retention through helping them see a future with the company.

5. Revisit, revise and refresh your succession plan. As business evolves, so must succession planning. This does not necessarily mean starting from scratch, but with a business and its employees developing, it is important plans adapt too.

The importance of a good succession plan must not be underestimated. It is crucial that it is part and parcel of a business plan, since realising commercial goals depends on having dedicated, skilled and engaged employees.

Dr Jill Miller will be chairing two conferences on HR for SMEs in May. For more information visit http://www.cipd.co.uk/events/hr-sme

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Dr Jill Miller .