How to Use Succession Planning for Career Planning

Employee turnover is a constant struggle for employers because turnover is costly and can leave shortsighted organizations in a tough spot when a critical role is suddenly left vacant by a departing employee.

Smart, forward-looking organizations use succession planning to anticipate and avoid these compromising situations. Similarly, smart and savvy employees can use their organization’s succession plan to promote themselves and grow their careers.

What is Succession Planning?

Succession planning is the process whereby organizations anticipate the departure of key employees so they know who to train and prepare to fill vacant positions.

If done right, employers can avoid the lag in productivity that typically accompanies the departure of an important employee. And as an employee, you can learn the plan to position yourself to be selected for these high-value roles when they open up.

Who Should Handle Succession Planning?

Before we get to how organizations should handle succession planning, it is important to discuss who is responsible for creating and overseeing such planning.

Given the importance of succession planning, it needs support and buy-in from the very top – i.e. the company’s leadership team or C-suite.  That said, upper management does not always have a detailed view or understanding of the key players and roles within the organization. Thus, it will ultimately be the team leads and department heads who will own the laboring work over succession planning. As such, savvy employees who want to learn the success plan will have to learn it from their managers and department heads.

How Organizations Typically Handle the Succession Planning Process?

To create a thorough succession plan, organizations typically follow the steps below. If you want to use succession planning to launch your career, you should be aware of these steps and how you can use them to your advantage.

1.     Identify Key Roles

The first step in succession planning is to identify the key roles in your company.

Managers do so by identifying which positions are most critical to organizational success, and if left vacant, would make it difficult to reach business goals. Employees who want to grow in their careers should do the very same.

2.     Identify Capabilities for Key Roles

Once managers have narrowed down which roles are most critical to operational success, their next step is to understand the requirements and capabilities necessary to fill those roles.

Managers will typically analyze those currently filling those roles and learn what skills or knowledge they must possess to perform.

If you do the same, you too can learn what skills and qualities you must possess to qualify for the most important positions in your organization.

3.     Identify Potential Successors

Once managers identify the key roles and the capabilities required for them, the next step is identifying the talent currently within your organization who qualifies for those key roles.

Managers accomplish this step by focusing on those who are interested in these key positions, and those who have the skills, experience, and educational background most similar to those currently working in those positions.

With that in mind, make yourself visible and show your interest in these roles. Also, be sure to demonstrate that you have the skills to qualify for these roles.

4.     Identify Development Needs and Develop Talent

The best managers know how to identify and develop talent from within. As such, managers will need to teach, train, develop, and transfer whatever skills and knowledge are necessary to potential successors so they can be ready if called upon.

Be mindful of the training opportunities your organization offers, as these trainings will often teach the skills most important to the organization itself. Signing up for these trainings will also make you more visible.

5.     Evaluate Effectiveness

The final step managers will take in succession planning is to evaluate the plan and adjust as necessary based on new hires and new needs. The key roles in your organization may change, so the plan needs to be flexible.

Be mindful of these changes, so you too can adjust and continually present yourself as a successor for the important roles in your organization that are sure to advance your career.

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