When people think of succession planning, they tend to think of executive replacement. But what about all the other areas of the company? Do you have the next generation ready to fill roles at all levels of your company? Have you created a development plan for people to move up or across the organization? Or do you often hire outside of the company for roles because you think no one internal is good enough?
The only way to reduce the effect of lost talent or under-performing employees is with a multilevel succession roadmap. This kind of leadership commitment to developing and mentoring the next generation is a vital component of a company that believes its most important asset is its people. If the company doesn’t believe this at all levels, it will not be successful.
Multilevel program
That’s why I believe the best succession planning programs are multilevel and address the entire company. Remember, as people move throughout the organization it creates a company-wide ripple effect. But if you have a holistic success plan, the impact will be minimal and allow for a smoother transition. This program identifies and fosters the next generation of leaders through mentoring, development and stretch assignments, so each individual is ready to take on the next phase of their career, no matter their current seat in the company.
Create leaders
The key to creating an innovative, agile company is to encourage managers to create leaders and develop their teams. Creating incentives for executives to mentor and develop their people is one of the best ways to create a collaborative culture. The best companies avoid roadblocks by creating new positions, collaborative opportunities and challenging projects so current and future leaders have room to grow. Succession planning must become part of the culture.
How is succession planning for all levels the answer?
Most companies focus on succession planning for executive teams only. This is important, but it doesn’t really provide a roadmap of success for a whole company. It leaves a lot of unanswered questions: Do we have the skills we need to execute our strategic plans? Do we have an engaged workforce that can move with us into our future? If the goal is to build a company that retains the right talent and can move into the vision you are creating, you need to make sure you are looking beyond your executives.
Flexibility to change
The reason for an all-level succession map is that you may need different skills throughout your company and to be flexible to changes that might happen in your industry. You need to have the right people in the right places so that you can grow now and in the future. Companies that don’t have multilevel succession roadmaps cannot move as quickly as they need to when changes in technology, industry and trends come up. Companies that only focus up will not have the right resources in place to survive the future if they don’t focus across.
You have to know where you are going and how you are going to get there. You need to hold onto these concepts in your mind at all times: Where are we going and where are we right now? What skills will be necessary for future roles as well as current ones?
Building a succession planning roadmap involves many key points. Thrive Change Management offers a comprehensive Succession Planning Program that involves identification and assessment, selection, initiation, education and monitoring. Please contact us for more information or email: jake@thrive-cm.com.
First published on Forbes.com
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