Does Your Succession Plan Work?

This example shows how a leader that the succession planning process missed turned out to be the best choice for the job. The organizations’ succession plan identified specific people who were thought by their managers to have the potential to fill leadership positions. The development plan included coaching, support for ongoing education, leadership development programs, and opportunities to work in cross functional areas to gain tactical experience.

For employees that were not included in the succession plan, the opportunities available to them for promotion to leadership positions were support for continuing education, the opportunity to volunteer for various organization wide committees, and the ability to apply for leadership positions posted internally. The internal hiring process mirrored the external process.

In one such competition there were several candidates for a management position, but only two of these candidates are noted in this post.

One candidate was reluctantly nudged into the competition by others that felt he had demonstrated many of the competencies required. He consistently exhibited a solid understanding that everyone’s contribution to the organization was critical to the success of the organization. He was well respected both on a technical basis and an interpersonal basis by his peer group. He influenced the attitudes of his co-workers in a way that built commitment to quality and productivity. However, in his over ten years of experience, he had never expressed an interest in a leadership position; had not taken advantage of the opportunity to advance his formal education, or volunteered for any of the committees that would have him ‘noticed’ by the leaders of the organization.

Another candidate who had expressed an eagerness to attain a management position applied for the competition. During his employment with the organization he had taken advantage of the support for continuing education and volunteered for many of the organization wide committees. He was respected for his technical knowledge, however his interpersonal skills did not garner the level of trust and respect that the other candidate enjoyed. His influence with his coworkers was compromised because his skills (emotional intelligence) needed development in several areas.

Each candidate underwent an extensive interview process and wrote an exam that required knowledge of the business and a solid understanding of leadership practices. Once the interview and exam phases were complete the interviewing panel tabulated the results. The ‘reluctant’ candidate topped the list with the highest score, the ‘eager’ candidate placed fifth (out of six candidates) in the ranking.

Many of the criteria for ranking the candidates were items that could be objectively ranked, while the emotional intelligence items by nature had a certain amount of subjectivity in the rankings. The rankings were 80% objective and 20% subjective.

Why did the reluctant candidate fair so well in the rankings? By all appearances and criteria set by the organization for leadership he appeared to be a follower rather than a leader. Yet close observation of his actions throughout his work life and analysis of his interview and test results showed a remarkable level of understanding how to coach and motivate people.

Previous managers that he had reported to failed to submit his name for leadership development, in part because he did not overtly seek such a position. But also, because they failed to note his demonstrated skills and thus did not coach and mentor him.

The succession planning process, which appeared to be comprehensive, failed in one important aspect-the managers that submitted names were not adequately trained to effectively evaluate candidates. In this situation the internal hiring process filled in the gap.

Recruitment and Succession Plans

One of the hottest topics in the business sections of various Medias three years ago was the skills/competencies shortage experienced by companies in Canada, and the prediction that this would become a larger issue over the next ten years. It seemed that not only was there a skills shortage, defined as not enough people with specific skill sets and experience, but that there was a perceived shortage of people to fulfill roles, skills or no skills. Given the current global economic downturn and massive layoffs, is the skills/competencies shortage still a critical factor? If you talk to business leaders about their organizations succession plans it appears that the shortage of skills/competencies still exists.

The shortage is to some degree related to ineffective or non existent development plans, and the failure to include the competency commitment to learning in the hiring process, rather than the size of the available labour pool. Is your organization developing short-lived strategies to lure skilled workers to your business? Alternatively, are companies looking to the future and developing solid succession plans?

An effective recruitment system does not stop at the actual hiring of a new employee. It seems that the need for an effective orientation process is a well-accepted practice these days. Nevertheless, is the need to link a succession plan to the recruitment system a practice at all? Listening to leaders as they discuss their specific leadership and labour shortages, I begin to wonder how many even have succession plans. Moreover, it is not just leaders; a casual coffee with friends reveals that many are noticing the gaps in experience and skills sets within the organizations they work for, whether they are in leadership positions or non-leadership positions. When asked about the succession planning process for the organization, the answers are similar….well I’m not sure there is a succession plan.

A good succession plan should be a solidly linked component of the recruitment system, not a stand-alone program. There are many reasons why there are labour and leadership shortages, and the entire problem cannot be attributed to any one reason. However, organizations can begin to inoculate themselves from the impact of such shortages by looking at developing a recruitment system that links every aspect of an employee’s career development beginning with the recruiting action through to the succession plan of the organization. It is true that not everyone hired will ultimately be part of the leadership succession plan, but everyone hired is expected to contribute to the success of your business, so it makes sense to consider development of all your employees in some form.

When you audit the competencies available in your organization for current training and development needs and succession planning, do you also audit the competencies available in your organization for the future, to adapt to the changes coming in your industry? Are you reading this thinking that in your industry, change doesn’t occur that rapidly and you don’t need to be as concerned about employee’s commitment to learning? Have you looked beyond your specific industry/current target market to be aware of forces that may affect your revenue streams? How far ahead do you plan/predict future competency needs?

The ability of organizations to adapt to changing needs requires that HR work collaboratively across the organization to identify and develop the competencies/skills required to support the business in the future. HR programs must be clearly and solidly linked not just to other HR programs but to fully support and integrate with non-HR projects and activities throughout the organization.