News

Staffing is the number one challenge facing most companies today, and succession planning is often the most effective remedy. With its proactive approach to staffing needs, emphasis on employee development, and focus on career growth opportunities, the benefits offered by succession planning are numerous. A variety of factors can cause a position to become available including business growth and expansion, promotion or transfer, medical leaves, resignation or termination, or retirement or death. Succession planning allows you to anticipate key staffing needs before they become “emergency” situations. It also enables you to:

• Minimize the potential for gaps in your team.
• Ensure continuity of staffing.
• Prevent premature promotions.
• Avoid transition shortcomings when employees are promoted.
• Ensure ongoing availability of leadership talent.
• Work toward improving the diversity in our workforce, which is critical to our ongoing success and growth.
• Choose the best person for the position, rather than the best available person.

Due to its strong focus on developing internal talent, succession planning can help avoid some of the risks associated with hiring new talent. Companies generally have better information about internal candidates than external ones. An organization’s reputation for training and development, coupled with career growth opportunities, has been proven to play a significant role in:

• Attracting quality candidates.
• Motivating existing employees.
• Retaining top performers.
• Building employee satisfaction.

Succession planning involves evaluating performance and identifying the succession readiness of employees. It allows you to determine:

• The percentage of high performers or potential high performers.
• The number of marginal or inconsistent performers.

This, in turn, helps you evaluate how well you have been:

• Recruiting, interviewing, and hiring.
• Training and developing your team.
• Managing employee performance.

Succession planning helps maximize your team’s competency and effectiveness in the long-term, ensuring the ongoing success of your organization. Watch for new postings on workforce strategy here on our blog, as well as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.