Emerging Best Practices in

Succession Planning
Karen N. Caruso, Ph.D.
Leah Groehler, Ph.D.
viaPeople
www.viapeople.com
Overview

• Succession Planning as a critical business

process
• Trends influencing Succession Planning
practices
• Emerging Best Practices in Succession
Planning
• Best Practices in action
What is Succession Planning?

Succession Planning can be defined as a

purposeful and systematic effort made by an
organization to ensure leadership continuity,
retain and develop knowledge and
intellectual capital for the future, and
encourage individual employee growth and
development.
Why is Succession Planning such a
“Hot Topic”?
• Board concerns and directives
• Increased costs associated with external searches
• Increased turnover
– People who had been regarded as successors for key
positions left by surprise
– High performers are leaving
• Managers complain that they have no one ready to fill
vacancies
• Employees complain that promotion decisions are
made unfairly
• Insufficient numbers of women and/minorities at
senior levels
Trends Impacting Succession Planning

• Shifting demographics
– Shortfall in the number of future leaders
– Increase in attrition in executive level positions
• Economic conditions resulting in massive
downsizing and increasingly flat and dynamic
organizational structures.
• Reduced loyalty among employees despite
focus on employee engagement and
involvement
Trends Impacting Succession
Planning, contd.
• Recognition on the part of senior executives
of the importance of values, competencies,
intellectual capital, and leadership
• Increase in the complexity of executive
positions
– Financial market and employee expectations
– Globalization
– Technology
Emerging Best Practices
1. Top management involvement
2. Targeted processes to focus on clearly
defined, specific goals
3. Comprehensive assessment programs
based upon competencies
4. Creation of talent databases incorporating
performance, assessment, demographic,
education, experience, and career interests
5. Identification of future talent requirements
6. Structured and individualized development
programs
Best Practice 1: Top Management
Involvement

• Communicates importance of planning

for the future
• Allocation of adequate resources
• Modeling of effective coaching and
development
• Key development resource to high
potentials
Best Practice 2: Targeted Processes

• Evolutionary versus revolutionary

• Clearly defined set of goals
• Meaningful executive reviews
• Eliminate administrative burdens
• Using technology to facilitate data gathering,
tracking and decision making
Best Practice 3: Comprehensive
Assessment of Talent
• Behaviorally defined competencies
• Learning agility and derailment factors
• Defining performance and potential
• Early identification of talent
• Multi-source methods
• On-going feedback processes
• Continuous re-assessment
– Test learning agility, development of competence
and performance
Best Practice 4: Creation of Talent
Databases
• Integration of data from multiple systems,
including HRIS, CRMS, SFA systems
• Definition of missing talent data elements
• Collection of missing talent data
– Education, competencies, experiences, career
interests, mobility
• Reporting to facilitate decision making
Best Practice 5: Identification of
Future Talent Requirements
• Competency, skill and experience
requirements for critical positions
• Profiling the development content of key jobs
– P & L accountability
– Forming/managing external alliances
• Detection of current and future talent gaps
• Targeted career pathing and development
• Sourcing and recruitment plans to secure
new external talent
Best Practice 6: Structured and
Individualized Development Planning
• Formal, structured development plans
• Targeted, individual activities with
emphasis on experience-based learning
• Transitional coaching during stretch
assignments
• Reporting and tracking of progress and
outcomes
• Accountability for performance
Case Example: Board Directive
for Succession Plan
• Selected critical positions and identified talent
requirements
– Leadership competencies
– Technical skills and experiences
• Comprehensive assessment of current talent
– Customized online Talent Assessment of skills,
experiences, overall future potential
• Identified successors and positions without
internal successors
Case Example: Succession Linked to
Career Pathing and Development
• Identified Current and Future Talent Requirements
– Identified critical positions and detailed requirements (skills
and specific experiences)
– Created developmental paths for critical positions
• Employed On-going, Comprehensive Assessment
Programs
– Annual leadership 360 assessment
– Structured quarterly assessment for all
• Development checkpoints
• Reward and recognition
– In-depth assessment for high-potentials
• Learning Agility, Potential for Derailment
Sample Sales Management
Career Path
Area Director

Senior Regional Director

Regional Director

Area Training Manager

Senior Business A Division Manager Senior Business B Division Manager

Business A Division Manager Business B Division Manager

Senior Division Manager

Division Manager
Case Example: Succession Linked to
Career Pathing and Development
• Developed Robust Talent Database
– Online Talent Assessment to gather critical information
– Integrates data from multiple systems
– Updated regularly
– Real-time reporting
• Individualized Development Planning
– Linked to performance management
– Updated quarterly
– Targeted development resources
• Open Communication
– Internal Branding
Performance vs. Potential
Potential as Measured by Management Aptitude
5

Sanchez
4

O’Toole
Chung
Smith
3

Johnson
Riviera
2
1

1 2 3 4 5

Performance as Measured by GID/DIR Assessment

Continuing Challenges
• Ineffective balance between identification and
development
• Identifying successors/hi-po’s not in line with
most organizational cultures
• “Executive cloning”
• Poor linkage to business strategy
• Overemphasis on replacement planning
• Lack of top management support
• Poor business unit buy in
• Lack of organization-wide talent database
For More Information:
Dr. Leah Groehler
lgroehler@viapeople.com

Dr. Karen Caruso

kcaruso@viapeople.com

1-888-viaPeople
Questions