Succession planning is using forward-thinking resources to identify and develop new leaders who can replace seasoned management members in the event they resign, retire or die. Having a plan and a trained individual ready to assume management roles as they become available helps reduce downtime and confusion that stems from a shakeup in personnel.
Through one's succession-planning process, superior employees are recruited with the purpose of advancing or promoting them into more challenging roles. Actively pursuing succession planning ensures that employees are constantly developed to fill each needed role. As one's organization expands, loses key employees, provides promotional opportunities, or increases sales, one's succession planning aims to ensure that one has employees on hand ready and waiting to fill new roles.
For succession planning to be successful, written desk procedures must be in place and time must be set aside for cross training. But the benefits outweigh the drawbacks. Employees have more diverse work knowledge and are better prepared for career advancement opportunities. More importantly, the staff can share ideas for newer, better solutions and employees skills are not allowed to become stagnate creating frustration, dissatisfaction and turnover.
