Succession Planning in HRM
The succession planning becomes one of the most important HR strategic processes. The organization with the robust succession plan in place that is properly communicated and executed builds a strong competitive advantage. As employees know their importance, they tend to be reluctant to job offers from competitor
Each organization needs to be ready that the moment of the leader’s departure will come tomorrow in the morning. That is the key reason the succession planning exists in the company. It is a simple list of key positions, current holders and potential successors from the business with a defined take over date and the personal development plan. First, it sounds easy but it is the HR process that involves the entire leadership team, and the approval and commitment of the executive management is a necessary ingredient of the success.
Objectives of Succession Planning in HRM
The most common goals and objectives for succession planning processes are in the following areas:
- Succession Plans Development
- Succession Plans Execution
- Top Talents Identification
- Top Talents Retention
- Promotions and Success Stories
The development and innovative management of the succession planning are extremely vital. Human Resources has to keep minds of the leadership team on all plans, and it has to define processes and procedures for updating on the implementation progress. It has to incorporate new talents, and it has to eliminate employees who do not participate in the system anymore. The design of the methodology is usually the first objective for HR Professionals in this area.
What is Succession Planning in HRM
Succession planning is a process of developing talent to replace executive, leadership or other key employees when they transition to another role, leave the company, are fired, retire or die. It is relevant to all companies, from the largest to the smallest, in both the for-profit and not-for-profit sectors.
The planning process is meant to create a talent pipeline of successors that will keep the organization running with little to no interruption when inevitable staff changes occur.
Effective succession planning works by assessing staffing needs that may arise as well as creating long-term goals and strategies to manage those gaps, including through leadership development. HR departments, sometimes referred to as the human resources management (HRM) department, are typically a key driver in succession planning, although support from top leadership and other stakeholders is critical to success. Succession planning is also sometimes referred to as replacement planning.
Succession planning ensures that a business can continue running smoothly after an important role becomes vacant. An organization may want a succession plan to retain internal company knowledge, identify skill gap needs for training and to invest in employees. The process helps identify employees with the right skill sets and talent that can fill the vacant position.
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Challenges of Succession Planning in HRM
A lack of trust
Without a general attitude of confidence and trust, it’s hard for a leader to fully commit to the idea of succession.
When someone is convinced that nobody can fill their shoes, it becomes impossible to trust anyone that seems remotely capable of doing so. After you’ve put in years of personal energy towards holding a company together, how can you allow someone new to simply ‘take over’?
It’s important to remember that the right newcomer will build on your work, not trample over it. Leaders need to accept the fact that someone will do a great job when it’s time to take charge. Yielding control to a competent and worthy heir can be – and should be – very freeing.
Choosing the wrong successor
Sometimes, succession is hampered by a bad selection. An insecure leader might choose a safe, unthreatening — and therefore less-qualified — successor. Or, a leader might make the wrong pick due to disengagement from the succession planning process.
The problem is, putting the wrong person in a principal role, whether due to lack of focus or self-protective instincts, only hurts the company long-term. The right hire will come with the skills and talents needed to lift up the whole organisation and keep their predecessor’s legacy alive.
Undercutting the successor
A leader may sometimes fail to give a potential successor the resources and support needed to do well in the role. A controlling, insensitive, or cynical leader can hurt a newcomer’s morale, making it much harder for them to prepare for the job.
Micro-managing and undermining an understudy is unhelpful. After proving their worth, a candidate should be given the freedom to carve out their own path towards established corporate goals, instead of being put in a restrictive box that stunts their growth and sets them up to fail.
A passive-aggressive stance towards planning
A subtle, yet damaging way leaders often weaken a succession programme is to pretend to prepare for new leadership while quietly thwarting the process.
This can look like several things: choosing multiple potential successors (and in effect, choosing nobody), introducing random delays into the interview process, or offering the job to completely ill-suited prospects.
This is often the passive-aggressive behaviour of a leader who feels helpless when the spectre of retirement is raised. But here is where stakeholders must keep the leader accountable, and not allow roadblocks in the process of choosing a replacement.
Unawareness of personality factors
Many of the issues in succession planning mentioned here can be linked to the leader’s personality features. A stable, agreeable leader will allow things to move forward smoothly, whereas deep fear, pride and mistrust can sabotage the peaceful transfer of power, hurting an entire workforce from the top down.
This is why development and insight are crucial for leaders. Executives who ‘know themselves’, and are enlightened about how they may be derailing succession plans, can choose better behaviours for the good of their colleagues and their own legacies.
We all have room for improvement in self-awareness. When leaders take honest inventory of their own personalities, they’re more able to secure a graceful retirement, create succession plans in the best interest of their organisations, and cultivate the talent that’s most worthy of assuming the helm.
Career and Succession Planning in HRM pdf
Many attempts to establish a succession plan fail. Why? They run up against insurmountable implementation challenges, or weak executive commitment and follow-through.
Succession Planning That Works: The Critical Path of Leadership Development is a step-by-step guide to help HR professionals and senior leaders develop a succession plan that delivers a measurable return on investment.
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