Performance and talent: Essentials of succession planning

Abstract

The following chapter provides an overview of succession planning as a key tool to ensure a company’s long-term success – a risk management approach to address the potential risk of losing key talent, whether it be in a planned (e.g., retirement) or unplanned (e.g., voluntary turnover/attrition) fashion. In the following paragraphs, succession planning is described as a process and its meaning for the business. It is looked at from different perspectives in an effort to provide an all-around view with the intent on providing hints and thoughts of real-life challenges one could reasonably expect when embarking on the mission to introduce succession planning to an organization. However, when pointing out realistic challenges with the design and implementation of succession planning, the message should not be understood in any negative or discouraging way. On the contrary, despite all those challenges, succession planning is viewed here as a necessary component of business long-term sustainability. And, it is not looked at as a “necessary evil,” but as an interesting and very rewarding challenge when mastered. This tool goes directly to the heart of any organization: to its people. Without the people the organization is after all an empty shell. Succession planning provides guidance in regard to the development of the people – something that will help with retention of talent. The desire for growth and development is part of the human being and companies failing to understand that will ultimately fail in their effort to attract and retain the best talent.