In the final part of this 3 part series of blogs on succession planning we outline how to identify areas for improvement and the actions to be taken.
Identifying areas for improvement
Having reviewed your current situation, what are the main areas that you need to improve? Consider the following:
- Strategic/business planning - do you have a clear business plan that provides long-term projections?
- Workforce planning - have you identified the numbers and types of roles that you need in the organisation if success and progress is to be achieved?
- Recruiting high-potential people - are your recruitment procedures stringent enough?
- Identifying high-fliers - do you have performance management procedures and an appraisal system in place?
- Development programmes - do employees have their own training and development plans as part of the appraisal process? Note that all employees should have access to developmental opportunities or you may find yourself accused of unlawful discrimination.
- Career paths - can employees identify in which direction their career is likely to progress and are systems in place for them to discuss their aspirations and potential?
- Exit interviews - do you carry out exit interviews to identify why people leave the organisation and do you take steps to rectify the causes of poor retention?
If your answer is negative to any of the above, it is important that you address these issues before embarking on a succession management plan. Otherwise you may find that you are not recruiting or developing the right people to fit your strategy or your long-term plans. Neither are you going to know what talent lies within the organisation that has so far been undiscovered.
The final steps
The following steps then need to be taken:
- Identify any gaps in the skill levels of potential successors and implement structured development programmes for those individuals who have been identified as potential successors to fill key positions.
- Strengthen your recruitment/selection procedures to ensure that you appoint individuals with the necessary skills and potential to progress within the organisation.
- Introduce performance management and appraisal procedures for all employees so that they have an identified career path and that their talents and aspirations are recognised. This should apply throughout their employment with you – not just at the initial recruitment stage.
- And finally, ensure that all managers are on board as they will be the ones largely responsible for implementing the strategy.
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