The Case for Succession Planning

On the verge of the retirement of an entire generation, succession planning has become an increasingly important factor in every organization’s survival. To remain competitive, an organization must realize that succession planning is not about simply finding a successor for the CEO or other top officer roles. It is about committing to a leadership development planning system to ensure that your very best leaders have the future skills required to maintain and further grow your company. It is a drive to maintain a high level of talent in all positions.

The key to succession planning is making your strategy specific to your organization: it should focus on your organization’s key roles, as well as the leadership traits and business knowledge that are essential to a successful company executive.

A strategic succession plan will ensure that all your positions are filled with top talent, not just today, but tomorrow and ten years from now. A fully-optimized plan will aid in selecting and attracting top performers, further developing their abilities and preparing them for their future roles within your organization, all while retaining them to ensure a return on your investment. It will help you build a deep talent pool that will contribute to your company’s current and future success, as well as meet the career development objectives of your employees, especially those you’ve determined to be your top performers and future leaders.

When implemented correctly, a succession plan will also act as a tool to pinpoint areas of leadership weakness and develop talent where it currently does not exist. Thus, if you do not have someone internally who can develop into your next COO, you will have the time to bring someone in from the outside and give him/her the opportunity to learn the different facets of your business, its processes, and its culture before the time comes to move him/her into a specific leadership role.

The Top 5 Benefits of Succession Planning

Continuous supply of well-trained, well-rounded, self-motivated leaders who are familiar with your organization and ready to step into key roles as needed.
Alignment of your future organizational needs with the availability of appropriate human capital resources within your organization.
Defined career paths and motivational goals for top employees will allow you to retain a capable supply of successors for each key position defined in your succession plan.
Continuous input from various viewpoints will help improve internal processes and strategies, allowing your service and product offerings.
A company reputation boost as a challenging, stimulation “best place to work” employer, allowing you to increase your ability to hire top talent.

Look for more tips on Succession Planning, such as key steps and pitfalls to try to avoid, in future editions of the Farm Mutual Forum.

Reprinted with permission from the Jacobson Executive Search Succession Planning newsletter.

Posted: Friday, November 16, 2007 12:00:00 AM. Modified: Friday, November 16, 2007 9:38:45 AM.

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