Succession Planning: The Overlooked Cornerstone of Business Continuity has already evolved
While HR functions can be complex, one critical aspect is often underestimated and oversimplified: succession planning. In today’s fast-paced business environment, succession planning is not merely about backfilling potential vacancies—it’s a strategic approach that must be embedded within your organizational evolution strategy.
Why Succession Planning Remains a Low Priority
Despite its importance, succession planning often sits at the bottom of the priority list in many organizations. Research shows that only 35% of companies have formal succession plans in place—regardless of their quality or sophistication. Typically, it’s considered important but not urgent until a crisis arises with the departure of a key leader. At that point, what should have been a smooth transition turns into a frantic scramble.
The average time to fill executive positions can span months, with new leaders often taking 26 weeks or more to reach full productivity. The lack of preparation can cripple an organization, whereas an effective succession plan can avoid this disruption and maintain organizational stability.
Why is succession planning so undervalued? Leadership and key stakeholders often see limited immediate value, perceiving it as an administrative overhead that doesn't align with their short-term goals.
Traditional Succession Planning: What It Looks Like
In many cases, succession planning is handled by maintaining a shortlist of potential candidates who are assessed based on their skills, competencies, and leadership potential. These individuals are often part of a development and career plan designed to prepare them for future roles.
The reality, however, is that much of this planning is conducted in outdated, low-structured systems like Excel sheets—rarely updated and lacking the sophistication to handle the evolving needs of modern organizations.
Why Traditional Succession Planning Falls Short in 2024 and Beyond
- High Employee Mobility: With 1 in 3 employees actively job-hunting across Europe, employee churn is higher than ever. This increases the risks organizations face if they lack a robust and agile succession plan.
- Beyond Top Executives: Succession planning is not just for senior leadership—it must also encompass key employees across all levels, particularly in specialized roles requiring hard-to-find niche skills.
- Rapidly Changing Business Environment: Traditional succession plans cover a period of 1-3 years, but in today's world, three years is a long time. Business needs can change rapidly, rendering succession plans for specific roles obsolete in the face of evolving responsibilities or organizational structures.
- Operational Friction: Continuously reviewing and updating succession plans requires attention from leadership, often leading to a bureaucratic burden that can slow down business processes. It doesn’t align with the dynamic organizational rhythm required in today’s fast-paced environments.
- Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI): Succession planning offers a valuable opportunity to drive diversity in leadership. However, relying on internal pools of candidates (which account for 82% of succession plans) can fail to change the status quo, limiting diversity at the leadership level.
Best Practices for Succession Planning in 2024 and Beyond
The key takeaway for modern succession planning: Integrate it into workforce planning and organizational evolution.
- Think Beyond Top Executives: Succession planning isn’t just about preparing for executive vacancies. It’s about future-proofing your workforce at all levels, ensuring your organization is prepared for leadership changes across departments and functions.
- Define Leadership 'Personas': Identify the skills, competencies, and behaviors that align with your organizational culture. Develop a framework that accelerates career growth for individuals, focusing on what your business will need in the next 18, 36, or even 60 months.
- Augment with Recruiting Strategy: Succession planning should work in tandem with your external recruitment strategy, ensuring you’re identifying high-potential candidates both inside and outside the organization.
- Rethink Backfilling: Succession planning is not just about filling positions but also about redefining roles and responsibilities. Organizations should consider multiple scenarios for distributing responsibilities across teams, rather than focusing solely on replacing individuals.
Business Benefits of a Modern Succession Plan
- Integrated Workforce Planning: Succession planning should not be viewed as a standalone HR process but as part of an ongoing workforce and organizational planning exercise. This ensures it remains relevant and adaptable.
- Streamlined Development Process: Succession planning follow-ups are no longer just recurring administrative tasks. Instead, they should be embedded within your existing people development, management, and enablement strategies, such as continuous feedback and recognition (CFR).
- Agile Response to Vacancies: A robust succession strategy allows organizations to respond to unexpected vacancies quickly. Whether backfilling from an internal talent pool, redistributing responsibilities, or assigning interim leadership, your organization remains resilient and prepared.
Conclusion
A structured, modern approach to succession planning doesn’t just fill gaps—it future-proofs your organization. By embedding succession planning within your broader workforce strategy, you’re building a leadership pipeline that’s ready to meet the challenges of tomorrow while fostering growth and development across all levels of your organization.
