No organization will have their leaders forever. Leadership comes in ebbs and flows and organizations should be actively seeking out the next generation of leaders, internally. Succession planning benefits both the employee and the organization; “it’s a proactive measure that” aligns “talent development with the company’s future leadership needs.”10 It’s no secret—it’s vastly more sustainable and economical to upskill and develop top performers than to hire externally. Succession planning reduces the cost of recruitment and creates stronger internal candidates—in fact, 82% of managers are hired based on performance.
Succession technology can help increase visibility into your talent pipeline, build bench strength, improve talent identification of at-risk positions and improve your ability to hire internally. The technology can also help you manage business risk, ensuring leadership and critical-role continuity across all levels of an organization.
When evaluating succession and how it interacts with the employee lifecycle strategy, consider these questions:
• Does the succession plan ensure leadership continuity, across the entire organization? Though executive leaders are important, many companies hyper-focus on the highest levels of leadership and ignore the potential of lower level leaders, managers and contributors. Organizations must expand their search for leadership to all roles who might be primed for leadership roles.
• Is there a way to evaluate talent readiness and identify at-risk positions? Organizations must invest in programs that develop and prepare top performers. This portrays the future state of the organization and minimizes the risk of premature departure of employees who have promising potential.
• Is it easy for managers to identify top talent? Managers must have access to succession technology—the right technology allows managers, at all levels, to measure employee competencies, skills, certifications and experiences.
• Does the organization have adequate bench strength? It is inevitable that organizations will have vacant positions due to the ever-changing business demands. By engaging in succession planning, organizations know where there are gaps, and which people internally can help fill them. This improves their ability to adapt and pivot during times of change.
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