Writing a Succession Plan involves the following steps:
Define your goals: Identify the reasons for developing a succession plan and what you hope to achieve with it.
Assess your current workforce: Evaluate the skills, knowledge, and experience of your current employees to determine who is most likely to fill key positions in the future.
Identify critical positions: Determine which positions are critical to the success of your organization and prioritize them for succession planning.
Develop candidate profiles: Based on the assessments of your current workforce, create profiles of the ideal candidates for each critical position.
Develop a training and development plan: Identify the skills and knowledge that the potential successors need to acquire and create a plan for training and development to prepare them for the transition.
Create a timeline: Determine the timeline for each succession event, including target dates for completing the training and development plan, identifying potential successors, and making the transition.
Identify backup plans: Consider alternative candidates or strategies in case the primary succession plan does not work out.
Communicate the plan: Ensure that all stakeholders, including employees, managers, and key stakeholders, are aware of the succession plan and their roles in implementing it.
Implement the plan: Put the succession plan into action and monitor its progress, making adjustments as necessary.
Review and update the plan: Regularly review and update the succession plan to ensure that it remains relevant and effective over time.
It is important to note that succession planning is an ongoing process that requires commitment and resources from the organization. Effective succession planning helps ensure the continuity and stability of the organization, and prepares the next generation of leaders to take the organization to new heights.
A past student examined their company’s succession management plan and realized there were many gaps. With the permission of their company, the student conducted a needs assessment to determine what employees wanted in a succession management plan. Based on that data as well as interviews with top management, the student created a company succession plan based on principles of good leadership and mentorship.