How do you align your succession planning strategy with your business goals and culture?

This is a key function of the Talent Acquisition Department in any organisation. By aligning your Succession Planning Strategy with your business goals and culture, you can nurture a pipeline of capable identified employees who will contribute to your organization's long-term success. It is also an extremely important contributor to employee motivation and morale in an organisation. As an individual if you have a career plan mapped out for you in the organisation, this will give you a sense of purpose and motivation. An often overlooked key function in most organisations in my opinion..

I would also say this would be a good opportunity to gain a considerable amount of data and info from throughout the organization as well. This would be an ideal time to get this valuable overview and still specifically help main goal as a well. The organization can gain these insights by solicitation of data and info from throughout the organization on every level. This can be achieved via various methods such as questioners, team and/or one-to-one meetings, etc. The articulated data can then be organized in a variety of different manners acourding to each organizations needs and utilized for the existing business needs as well as the goals from this article.

Succession planning is crucial for a company's long-term strategy. At our HR consulting firm, we work closely with clients to align their succession planning with their business goals and culture. We identify key positions, assess skills and competencies, and develop high-potential employees. By doing so, we help clients build a pipeline of talented leaders who can guide the organization into the future. Thank you for considering our firm for your succession planning needs.

A robust strategic plan is a must - and I'm not talking about the one gathering dust on the shelf and withering from lack of attention or use. After that is done then you can then project your business goals with an eye to all that will be necessary - capital planning, leadership development, talent acquisition planning, etc. as part of your GAP strategy. Once you know the significant GAPs then review them at a more micro-level. On the people side include an intensive look at your existing talent, and make projections about where you might be able to promote from within including salary, benefits, and acquisition costs. Once completed then assess and review the competencies of your existing talent and what it will take for them to step up.

Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of your current leadership team. Identify potential gaps in skills, competencies, and experience that might hinder achieving business goals.

I’d recommend broadening your strategy beyond legacy “high-potential talent.” While assessing skills and capabilities has historically been difficult to do at scale, technology is making what was formerly impossible, possible. This means you can map out much larger portions of the org than you realize. That doesn’t mean you have to start with the enterprise, but you should widen the net. The reality is you have a lot more high-potential people in your org than you realize, but it’s impossible to know where they are and how to best mobilize them if you don’t know where they are. Understanding the talent you have is one of the most important variables to planning for the future.

Many organizations struggle with identifying high potential talent. They often lack a clear definition of “potential” and, as a result, rely too heavily on current performance. Even when potential is well defined, organizations lack consistency in how they identify high potential talent. Most are only moderately consistent within departments and even less consistent across divisions and departments. When asked what one thing would improve their ability to identify high-potential talent, the most common response was “consistency”.

The organization's management team in charge of this project should also ensure they weigh all options that are available to them. This includes not only the valuable ideas raised here so far, but also taking a further step. This step (as obvious as it may seem on paper) would entail a comprehensive method to ascertain that said employee(s) that have been found to be viable are also wanting, willing and able to step up into these new roles. While one or two may true, not all necessarily will be. For example one might be willing -even want to- but are not in actuality able to for any number of reasons. Another example may be an employee being willing and able, but not actually WANTING to, which can obviously lead to a whole host of issues.

Look for individuals within the organization who have demonstrated exceptional performance, leadership potential, and alignment with the company's values and culture.

Through many years in leadership positions I learned the value of continuing to elevate my existing teams and strategically when hiring. It’s import to mentor and coach so that your replacement is being progressively equipped. This is ideal if/ when you’ve begun to have conversations regarding your own interest in advancing.

In my experience, so many people given the opportunity and support will WOW all those around them yet so many people in an organization are not seen and heard. I suggest a balance between over mapping succession plans with broadening the capabilities and influence deep within the organization to tap those diamonds in the rough that through are inspiring those around them to rise to the occasion. Teamwork is crucial in trying times, thus empathy and the manner people interact across the entire enterprise ecosystem inside and outside the organization will become far more essential in the future. It will be less about any individual skillset and more and more on innate and cultivated leadership ability. We can train skills but attitude is key!

Two other steps that should most likely be added are tracking not only the data mentioned, but also obtaining feedback from every level and department of the organization. The second would be ensuring backup, alternative, and contingency plans of actions for a wide variety of possibilities down the road.

Develop individualized development plans for high-potential employees that focus on bridging skill gaps, expanding competencies, and exposing them to cross-functional experiences.

Avoid the trap of the organization fully delegating succession planning to HR. It takes a village to make succession plans fruitful and knowing "who is included in the village" that it will take it a vital early step. Communicate their role in the plan(s), and hold them accountable. From inside stakeholders, to external stakeholders create a detailed list of "the village" and be specific about what is needed and necessary from each.

I have found that this step is of the utmost importance and nothing should be left to chance. While every organization is different, and operates in a variety of different ways - including workplace culture, we have found that in certain instances employees feel (whether for legitimate reasons or not) that they need to play down, exaggerate, or rarely even outright lie when asked to provide input and feedback, especially if they feel their opinions or experiences would differ from the vast majority. For this reason, an organization may wish to make either parts of the process or the entire process anonymous.

Transparency in your communication with all stakeholders is key to succession planning. Get them engaged early the process by asking for their input. When you make them feel valued & trusted, they are more likely to see this can benefit them & the organization. Recognizing their experience & knowledge shows them you respect their contributions. Let them see the positive impact they can make on a future leaders by sharing their knowledge.

As leadership changes, so can the culture. It’s important to include the pillars of your organizational culture as well as the expectations of leadership in your succession planning. This knowledge is often not passed on from one leader to another. When we include items that directly impact the culture, it reinforces the importance for cultural & emotional intelligence in the workplace.

While it is certainly important to maintain a set structure and standards (or pillars) that will guide the organization, strenuous efforts must be continually employed to provide up-to-date feedback on current developments, trends, cultures, and employee demographics.

Ensure that the high-potential employees not only have the necessary skills but also embody the company's values and cultural norms. This alignment is crucial for maintaining a cohesive organizational culture.

Organizations have found that creating a semi-permanent to permanent, or even just a long-term (over the life of the entire project) infrastructure capacity to gain the relevant information and data can provide much-needed help over sporadic check-ins or weekly/monthly meetings.

Hold regular meetings to review the progress of succession candidates, assess their readiness for leadership roles, and adjust the succession plan as necessary. Don't forget you will need to adapt to changing circumstances, as business goals evolve or unforeseen challenges arise, be prepared to adapt your succession planning strategy accordingly.

Incorporating principles of emotional intelligence (EQ) into your organization can greatly enhance and facilitate your succession plan. It can help you identify the segments in your organization with the highest and lowest levels of EQ. You can then formulate a plan to increase the EQ of your leadership first, followed by the general workforce. And finally, you can incorporate EQ evaluations into your interview and hiring process in order to select for higher EQ as part of your succession plan, driving your bottom line skyward!

An organization should ensure they aren't only looking and their current operational needs and goals, but what they should consider and take into account what those may be further out in the long-term. Another area that should be looked at (if possible) is any similarly situated organizations that have undertaken similar projects.

To align your succession planning strategy with your business goals and culture, you need to identify the skills, knowledge, and behaviors required for success in your organization. Then, evaluate your current talent pool to determine who has the potential to fill key roles in the future. Develop training & development plans to prepare your employees for these roles, and provide opportunities for job shadowing and mentoring. Finally, ensure that your succession planning strategy is often reviewed & updated to reflect changes in your business goals and culture. By doing so, you can build a pipeline of qualified and engaged employees who can help you achieve your long-term objectives while maintaining your organizational values and culture.

By closely aligning your succession planning strategy with your business goals and culture, you can cultivate a pipeline of capable leaders who are not only equipped to drive your organization's success but also embody its values and contribute to a positive and sustainable company culture.

There's some discussion of gathering data, but more specifically, when concerned about succession planning, I find it quite valuable to train your staff on how to properly create SOPs and require everyone in the organization to make it a habit to create an SOP for every vital task or recurring project that they are responsible for. Updated JDs for every position are crucial. Cross train when you can. Employee surveys can help you to identify who is interested in learning more about other job functions and departments. Job sharing may be another consideration.