Definition Management Succession Planning. Description.
Management Succession Planning is the process of ensuring
that (top-level / important) management positions are filled with suitable skilled and prepared
managers through either identifying and developing
Management Talent within
the organization (Career Management)
or through recruiting suitable candidates from outside the organization.
Management Succession Planning Activities
Typical MSP activities are the development of replacement tables, development
plans, lists of names along with a succession management
strategy, executive profiles, and organizational processes to identify potential,
assess readiness, accelerate management development, assign management accountabilities
and measure management succession success.
As a risk management system, MSP must be proactive in the sense that it should
include planning for both regular succession (retirement, planned promotions)
and for eventualities, such as illness, fatalities and resignation.
Benefits of a comprehensive Succession Planning
Process
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Smoother Transition. Assuming a leadership position
in an organization places high demands on an individual and those demands
may differ significantly from business to business. A highly tuned succession
process can help to ensure that the incumbent leaders take significant responsibility
for 'grooming' their heirs, ensuring a smoother transition.
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Reduce Managerial Entrenchment. Well-managed
succession programs have been shown to reduce the problem of a situation
whereby CEO's or other prominent leaders refuse to step down even
when they are performing badly or their retirement is long overdue.
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Talent Development. Competent and respected
leaders can affect staff commitment and talent attraction in a positive
way. It is better to guide leaders through the business than recruit
a stranger from the market.
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Appreciation by Investors. Investors and customers
are wising up to the need to recognize when a succession process is
working. This is apparent when the process is able to provide a suitable
successor, yet is flexible and sophisticated enough to recruit from
the outside if the right skills are not available within.
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Five Rules for a Management Succession Planning System
"Conger and Fulmer established five requirements for steady and reliable management succession planning.
1: The succession management system must orient towards development. Combining leadership development and succession management will result in optimal results.
2: Succession management systems need to focus on jobs that are important to an organization’s long-run success, also called linchpin positions. Focusing on these positions, companies will be able to supply the appropriate talent needed to fill future linchpin positions.
3: The system should be transparent. Although non-transparent systems have advantages, the idea is that employees will be more motivated if they know where they stand.
4: A successful management system should estimate and analyze progress frequently. In this way, potential problems will be recognized before they appear.
5: Establish a flexible succession management system. The most successful companies are the ones focusing on continuous improvements by changing their system according to feedback received, rather than being rigid.
Source: Conger, J. A. and R. M. Fulmer. “Developing your Leadership Pipeline”. Harvard Business Review, 2003." |
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Narrowing down Variables
"How do you narrow down the variables such as technological advances and strategic planning in succession planning? Especially for the areas in the organisation which require particular skills and knowledge..." |
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Expand Succession Planning
"I would expand the definition of succession planning to include more than just covering top-level management. I believe that a good succession plan covers all employees in positions that require skills or knowledge that is not easily replaceable. This could include middle management and technical positions." |
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Management Succession Planning Special Interest Group
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Compare with: Employability
| Employee Development
| Career Management
| Management Development
| Mentoring |
Coaching |
Talent Management
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Management Succession Planning Sponsor
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Special Interest Group Leader
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