How do you avoid common pitfalls and biases in recruiting for succession planning?

Altogether too often, employers focus on an evaluation of their current needs and current staffing. They think that succession planning is simply finding a replacement for the individual person who is in a given role. The key here is to not focus on the individual, but rather to focus on the organization. With a blank sheet of paper, what would this role do and what would it be responsible for? What are the skills necessary to perform those tasks? What are the credentials or criteria that are aligned with the company's recruiting, DEI and other goals? Focus on the role, not the person.

To avoid common pitfalls and biases in recruiting for succession planning, start by assessing your current and future needs. Identify the key positions in your organization that require succession planning and the skills, knowledge, and experience needed for these roles. Then, develop a talent pool of internal and external candidates and establish a fair and objective selection process that is based on performance and potential, rather than personal biases.

One of the biggest challenges with the talent pool is deciding between internal and external applicants. While some companies have policies to address this, other approach it on an ad hoc basis, favoring internal applicants when there's a perceived strong internal candidate, and favoring outside applicants otherwise. It's important to keep both channels open. Allowing internal applicants (and training and moving staff up the chain) keeps your staff engaged and hopeful for future opportunities; it encourages peak performance. But bringing in outside candidates allows for the introduction of fresh ideas and approaches that may otherwise not be brought to the table.

To develop a talent pool and a succession plan, start by identifying key positions and the competencies required for success. Then, assess the skills and potential of current employees and determine which ones could fill future vacancies. Consider implementing training and development programs to help employees gain the necessary skills and experience. Finally, regularly review and adjust your succession plan to ensure it remains aligned with your business goals and evolving talent needs.

In my experience, clearly defining the assessment methods is one of the most important parts of the process. The requirements of the role, the applicable legal requirements, the corporate hiring philosophy and hiring goals--these all inform a list of factors that have to be evaluated in order to ensure a quality hire. Having that list and applying it in a uniform fashion also helps protect against potential litigation or liability.

Many employers approach hiring from the top down; only senior level staff and supervisors engage in interviews and hiring decisions. This is a missed opportunity. Involving peers and even subordinates in the hiring flow brings more perspectives, more IQ and EQ, and a greater understanding of the needs applicable to a given role--and helps ensure stronger candidates are selected.

In the US military, time spent in a position is typically around 3 years. Since organizations often do not have a say in who replacements will be, succession planning relies more on effective collaboration between the current and incoming leader to ensure a smooth transition. Communication must begin immediately upon identification of the replacement. Senior leaders must also be involved with succession planning, providing clear guidance and expectations to both individuals.

Monitoring and evaluating results also means looking at longer-term metrics like candidate retention (how long they stay in their role), the success of candidates in given positions, their interest/engagement/job satisfaction and related factors. There are some times when someone who truly seems like a great hire just doesn't work out. But in my experience, most of the issues that employers have with bad hires could have been predicted and identified through a better hiring/selection process. Doing a post-mortem on terminations, discipline issues, performance issues and similar HR challenges to try to see if there are issues that could have been identified in the hiring process is a critical step.