Succession Planning: What You Need to Do

By Jezabel Southard

Posted on July 14, 2017

Every company faces an employee’s departure at some point. When an employee is in a professional or IT position, however, their exit can make things more difficult for an entire department or organization – particularly if there is no succession plan in place.

What is a Succession Plan?

A succession plan provides steps for identifying and developing new talent to replace current employees who leave the company (for any reason). Succession planning makes it easier for a company to find experienced, capable people who can step into important roles as these positions become available.

Succession planning may be specific to certain positions, or it may be integrated into a larger program of mentorship and talent development.

Best Practices for Crafting an Effective Succession Plan

  1. Connect your succession plan to your other talent-development initiatives. If your company has a mentorship program, a job-shadowing program, or other methods for improving and expanding employees’ skills, use these as the foundation for your succession plan. By doing so, you improve both your talent development and your methods for addressing the sudden departure of a key employee. If you don’t currently have a talent development plan in place, creating one alongside your succession plan can help boost the efficacy of both programs.
  2. Communicate the plan to your employees. Employees who understand their available opportunities are more likely to engage in developing their own skills and abilities, so they are prepared to step into a new role whenever the opportunity arises. By keeping employees informed of succession plans, you inspire them to take ownership of their own career growth, boosting productivity and encouraging a culture of success.
  3. Work with your staffing partner. Staffing firms specialize in understanding their clients’ needs, so they are better equipped to help clients secure needed talent at key times. Your staffing partner can help you identify ways to develop existing talent and to attract highly qualified candidates.

At TERRA Staffing Group, our recruiters can help you find the talent you need when you need it. Find one our branches today to learn more about our recruiting services.

Categories: HR and Management Advice

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Related Posts