Top 10 Ways to Succeed at Succession Planning

Gordon Neufeld
For succession planning to be successful, companies need to establish a culture in which the process is consistently viewed as a bottom-up activity. Managers, technical gurus, sales stars, and even key executive assistants all play vital and valuable roles. Without this type of culture and a process in place to ensure a seamless transfer of knowledge and relationships, the equivalent of corporate dead air may result: performance lags, productivity loss, not to mention the financial costs associated with not having someone in a key position. Smart companies put a protocol in place for high-value individuals to ensure a succession-ready environment.
A top 10 list for succeeding at succession requires that talent managers:
10. Pick a timeline. Orienting an individual into a successor’s role takes time. At minimum, a 12-month window gives both parties the opportunity to transfer knowledge and manage relationships.
9. Choose possible successors. Starting with a short list, select who works well with the organization and who the emerging stars are. Is there a likely candidate or an unlikely candidate missing from the list?
8. Narrow the list. Everyone on the list should be interviewed to discern their interest and eligibility. Some may gracefully decline, while others will feel honored to be asked. Everyone needs to know there are other candidates so that no one is considered a sure thing.
7. Get buy-in. Discussions in both directions will help with the decision making. What is HR’s responsibility? What do managers higher up in the organization think?
6. Plan. What are the development needs of the potential successor? Is there technical training that needs to take place? Perhaps an executive MBA that needs to be conquered? Don’t forget the soft skills, as well. For instance, a Gen Y employee might need coaching to learn how to deal inoffensively with older colleagues who have boomer-type values and ways of doing business.
5. Facilitate succession via formal and informal shadowing. Let employees learn from the master. They should go on the sales calls, take minutes at the board of directors meetings and be part of the vice president’s budget sessions. Having the successor shadow his or her successee can be the most valuable way to impart knowledge.
4. Capture learning. Do this on paper, on tape, on video. Often, what is most important are the stories. Those leaving an organization must have their corporate histories captured. Generation Y and the millennials may ingest these stories best if delivered via social
networking or another Web 2.0 device. But, however they are shared, listening to or reading about a successor’s business war stories will transfer valuable knowledge to help those less experienced build the future.
3. Do a test drive. Assuming things have gone well (if not, see No. 9) it is time for a role reversal and some on-the-job experience. While a successee is completing a part of his or her new success plan, the successor needs to step in and fly solo.
2. Handoff. Whenever the formal switch takes place, the handoff should be smooth, with roles functioning as prescribed.
1. Evaluate. Don’t forget to lead a session on the process. What worked? What improvements need to be implemented? Most importantly, who is your successor?
The key to a consistent, successful succession plan starts with HR dialogue that might begin five to 10 years from an expected retirement day. With average retirement ages dropping like stones in a lake, the day when successors will be needed may arrive a lot sooner than many companies think. Adopting a systemic process and succession culture will pay off in many ways for forward-thinking companies. The most important payoff is ensuring valuable employees remain with the company, allowing them to evolve and reinvent while doing what they do best — creating value for their employers.