Developing the NEXT !

“Employees are like an asset for any organization”, this is not just a term to call employees an asset but it is surely to be a universal reality. Human factor is the mandatory part for the success of any organization but many organizations realize this when it’s too late…

How would it feel when your top or middle management leaves the organization and you are looking for another compatible and potential person to get on-board for the smooth and flawless execution of business processes. This is what you can tackle by developing an effective succession planning system in your organization when “Developing the NEXT” will be essential part of your strategy.

Succession planning is absent in many organizations, either they lack the forethought to plan ahead or they are chaotic what leadership development really entails. Undoubtedly, Succession Plan is a vital part of doing business, no matter how certain your future appears. No matter how good organizations are at revenue forecasts or economic predictions, no one can truly plan for disaster. Whether it's an unexpected illness, switching to another firm, sudden death, a natural disaster, or a decision of a key member to suddenly retire, the reasons for having a succession plan in place before it is needed are endless.

The most important reason, off course, is that we rely on employees to carry out our strategy, provide services and reach our organization's goals. We need to think about what would happen to the business and mission if a key staff member leaves.

Succession planning is a systematic approach in identifying and developing internal people with the potential to fill key business leadership positions in the company. It increases the availability of experienced and capable employees who are prepared to assume these roles as they become available.

• A strategic plan that is aligned with the learning needs of organization.  
• Linking succession plan to HR processes.
• A competent Human Resource Department that analyses the need of succession plan considering the past trends of attrition and market conditions.
• An effective talent acquisition team, which can make it successful by hiring right people in right place at right time.
• Training & development team that would develop and train successor according to the required KSAs for the specific roles.
• Assessment of prospective leaders and high potential employees.
• An incentive and reward plan to motivate the employees.
• Performance management system
• Career planning of individuals & retention

For small organizations, it is a luxury to implement a succession plan, and for mid-sized to large organizations need it anyway with a systematic approach, where they are able to develop the future leaders by socializing the vision, values and mission of the organization.

We can divide the Succession plan into following phases:

There are many challenges to an effective succession planning which includes:

• Lack of strategic alignment in the process
• Choosing successor illogically
• Lack of transparency in the process
• Inadequate training & development
• Lack of financial resources
• Lack of foresight & planning
• Poor retention strategies
• Poor communication in the organization that creates confusion among the employees

To conclude, creating a succession plan is a roadmap of success for any organization. It motivates employees and has an appropriate approach to manage the employees’ competencies and identifying the right successors. By implementing this, organization nurtures a culture of good communication and inter-departmental relations in the company. It saves cost and time to identify the compatible replacement and enhances the learning and development of employees. Planning for the future is good for the organizations and, if done correctly, can inspire your employees to stay involved and maintain company loyalty.