The Secrets to an Effective Succession Plan

5 Mar, 2020

Ted Coss shares his can’t-lose methods to developing an effective succession plan.

Every organization talks about the need for succession planning, but would you believe that only 35% of them actually have a formalized plan in place? Succession planning is the process organizations use to identify the key positions, candidates and employees needed to meet short- and long-term challenges, as well as the process of developing and advancing selected employees in the succession pipeline. Oftentimes this is seen as just another task for executives to check off their list once a year. What they don’t realize is that by proactively preparing for a smooth transition plan, business initiatives won’t be knocked off kilter when there are changes in leadership (and there will be, trust me).

But, before you dive into a plan, be mindful of the following:

• Be transparent. Put your leaders at ease by explaining to them the reason behind succession planning. This will alleviate fears of being replaced.
• Turn leadership succession planning into an integral part of a leader’s day-to-day job. This will keep leaders engaged in the short term while setting them up for long-term success.
• Identify exactly who is accountable for succession planning and developing your top talent.

Although succession planning is about planning an organization for the future, many executives erroneously build their succession plans around their current staffing needs. There are two problems with this strategy. The first is that you are missing out on the opportunity to develop your future leaders. The focus should be on “how do we get them ready” versus “is that person ready?”

The second is that roles are constantly evolving so the position you are looking to fill today may look vastly different down the road. The most effective organizations take the time to understand future business dynamics and their implications for effective leadership. By keeping these implications in mind while developing and promoting leaders, an organization can prepare itself to thrive in an ever-changing environment.

Now, here are my top three “secrets” for creating an effective succession plan.

1. Break it down. In today’s fast-paced world, long-term strategies tend to get pushed to the back burner. So, in order to create a successful succession plan, break it down into more manageable pieces. Instead of holding your succession plan meeting annually, plan on holding one meeting per month. Not only does this keep your end goal top of mind, it’ll keep your leaders focused and engaged.
2. Give “what’s in it for me?” a boost. Incentivize managers to develop their team members. By tying a portion of their bonus to developing and promoting their own people, leaders will make succession planning a priority.
3. Create a mentoring framework. When it comes to grooming future leaders, your organization has a tremendous resource in the form of existing leaders. By encouraging your leaders to become mentors, they’ll not only pass along their experience and institutional knowledge, they’ll also help to create a sense of continuity for employees throughout the organization. A succession situation can be far less stressful when everyone has some familiarity with the potential candidates and trusts that they’ve been well-prepared for the role.

When it comes to finding top talent, partner with a company that has the deep expertise and experience to make that perfect connection. That’s Buckman Enochs Coss. Give me a call today and let me show you how we can work for you.