Bonjour everyone. I had a question, if any of you can please help me out with this one.
I am working for a medium-sized industrial unit, and because of a rising rate of attrition, succession planning has become the need of the hour. I would like to ask the esteemed members if there is a scientific method of succession planning. I know the meaning and the pitfalls of the process, but the exact scientific way is not something that I've delved into.
I'd made a plan once, but it was entirely based on my personal observations and their performance appraisal formats. I hope that all of you can shed some more light on the same.
Thanks
Regards,
Medha
[Admin: Sent by Medha]
From India, Gurgaon
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675I am working for a medium-sized industrial unit, and because of a rising rate of attrition, succession planning has become the need of the hour. I would like to ask the esteemed members if there is a scientific method of succession planning. I know the meaning and the pitfalls of the process, but the exact scientific way is not something that I've delved into.
I'd made a plan once, but it was entirely based on my personal observations and their performance appraisal formats. I hope that all of you can shed some more light on the same.
Thanks
Regards,
Medha
[Admin: Sent by Medha]
From India, Gurgaon
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Hi Medha, you have put up a very relevant question about the scientific process, kudos to you as for a minute I was stumped and delved deep hard on my experience.
Our economy is one dominated by specialization. The more we depend on the expertise and knowledge of key players in our organizations, the more important it is to forecast changes. Whether these are owners and senior managers, or technical, business development, human resource, and even scientific positions, if the position is both critical to the core function of the business and difficult to replace, it should be included in the company's succession planning.
We, the HR professionals, often feel like we are pulling up the next chance card when we are hit with vacancies due to expansion, resignation, termination, retirement, contract completion, advancement, medical leave, mergers and acquisitions, and a host of other reasons.
A fundamental truth about the high-performing organization is that high performers come for the culture but stay for the manager. Top performers demand systems, work assignments, and managers who focus on, encourage, support, and reward high performance.
For leadership/executive planning and development to be successful, it must:
· Link planning and development to business drivers
· Establish accountability for behavior change
· Encourage decision-making that leads to value creation
· Provide for coaching with specific goals and action plans
· Shape behavior through effective reward and recognition
· Promote high-performing team behavior
To improve your effectiveness at succession planning and administration, Management Resource Planning formalizes, strengthens, and lends priority to the planning of succession and development alternatives for current and future executives of a company. This review process is the primary vehicle for the planning of executive and leadership continuity and development.
The key issues to be addressed are:
Present State - What is the present state of leadership in the organization? Is there adequate coverage for each of the key positions?
Future State - How will the organization change and what are the implications for future positions? What skill gaps exist that will impact the future state of the business?
Retention Issues - What retention issues does the business face? How is the organization dealing with them?
Diversity - What processes are being used to develop them?
Action Plan - What specific results will the organization try to achieve during the coming year to improve the strength of the management resource talent pool?
The Key Processes to be done are:
· Review business strategy and implications for position requirements and potential additions, vacancies, etc.
· Review key position requirements
· Develop employee profiles
· Plan for succession
Scientific Methods:
There are two methods:
A. The Markov Matrix is a mathematical chain probability analysis (also called a vacancy chain or transition matrix) which has a wide range of applications. In HR, a Markov Matrix factors a company's specific history of attrition, length of service, waiting times for advancement, rates of internal promotion, and other factors which assist in forecasting vacancies and analyzing the probability of various strategies associated with filling these positions.
B. Succession Wizard software
Conclusion:
Whether simplified or sophisticated tools are used, the most important first step is to make sure the HR Director (or equivalent position) is in the information loop as soon as possible. As vacancies become known or as they are anticipated, internal candidates will need to be evaluated for possible advancement. The HR Director can maintain the necessary level of confidentiality while exploring candidate possibilities in an objective and discreet manner.
Development of position descriptions for key personnel is an important task in the planning process, and although most companies have job descriptions for staff, they frequently lack documentation on top-level and specialist professionals. Even small family businesses will benefit by having these emergency game plans in place.
Proponents of 360° Performance Reviews, with bottom-up or peer-level feedback, will find this process provides information which can be used to assess the leadership and management potential of individuals being considered for advancement.
Should an internal candidate be selected, this will likely cause a domino effect leading to further position vacancies, and these are also embraced in the planning process. Replacement charts are helpful to gain an overview of filled and vacant positions, reporting streams, and possible advancement scenarios. This can be done with creative use of basic and inexpensive charting software (often preloaded in most computers).
Companies which encourage staff and managers to keep resumes updated, and which have a process in place for collecting information, will not be caught off-guard when assessment of internal candidates becomes time-critical.
All employees who wish to be considered for advancement should be counseled on the importance of keeping fresh information on file regarding job-specific training, relevant education, work or community achievements, assessment results, languages, special areas of expertise, and anything else that would improve the company's ability to build upon the strength of its workforce.
If no internal candidate is acceptable, a search strategy will need to be determined. The higher the level of position and the more confidential the search, the longer the lead time. Outsourcing should be considered, particularly if activity is highly confidential.
Cheerio
Rajat Joshi
From India, Pune
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Our economy is one dominated by specialization. The more we depend on the expertise and knowledge of key players in our organizations, the more important it is to forecast changes. Whether these are owners and senior managers, or technical, business development, human resource, and even scientific positions, if the position is both critical to the core function of the business and difficult to replace, it should be included in the company's succession planning.
We, the HR professionals, often feel like we are pulling up the next chance card when we are hit with vacancies due to expansion, resignation, termination, retirement, contract completion, advancement, medical leave, mergers and acquisitions, and a host of other reasons.
A fundamental truth about the high-performing organization is that high performers come for the culture but stay for the manager. Top performers demand systems, work assignments, and managers who focus on, encourage, support, and reward high performance.
For leadership/executive planning and development to be successful, it must:
· Link planning and development to business drivers
· Establish accountability for behavior change
· Encourage decision-making that leads to value creation
· Provide for coaching with specific goals and action plans
· Shape behavior through effective reward and recognition
· Promote high-performing team behavior
To improve your effectiveness at succession planning and administration, Management Resource Planning formalizes, strengthens, and lends priority to the planning of succession and development alternatives for current and future executives of a company. This review process is the primary vehicle for the planning of executive and leadership continuity and development.
The key issues to be addressed are:
Present State - What is the present state of leadership in the organization? Is there adequate coverage for each of the key positions?
Future State - How will the organization change and what are the implications for future positions? What skill gaps exist that will impact the future state of the business?
Retention Issues - What retention issues does the business face? How is the organization dealing with them?
Diversity - What processes are being used to develop them?
Action Plan - What specific results will the organization try to achieve during the coming year to improve the strength of the management resource talent pool?
The Key Processes to be done are:
· Review business strategy and implications for position requirements and potential additions, vacancies, etc.
· Review key position requirements
· Develop employee profiles
· Plan for succession
Scientific Methods:
There are two methods:
A. The Markov Matrix is a mathematical chain probability analysis (also called a vacancy chain or transition matrix) which has a wide range of applications. In HR, a Markov Matrix factors a company's specific history of attrition, length of service, waiting times for advancement, rates of internal promotion, and other factors which assist in forecasting vacancies and analyzing the probability of various strategies associated with filling these positions.
B. Succession Wizard software
Conclusion:
Whether simplified or sophisticated tools are used, the most important first step is to make sure the HR Director (or equivalent position) is in the information loop as soon as possible. As vacancies become known or as they are anticipated, internal candidates will need to be evaluated for possible advancement. The HR Director can maintain the necessary level of confidentiality while exploring candidate possibilities in an objective and discreet manner.
Development of position descriptions for key personnel is an important task in the planning process, and although most companies have job descriptions for staff, they frequently lack documentation on top-level and specialist professionals. Even small family businesses will benefit by having these emergency game plans in place.
Proponents of 360° Performance Reviews, with bottom-up or peer-level feedback, will find this process provides information which can be used to assess the leadership and management potential of individuals being considered for advancement.
Should an internal candidate be selected, this will likely cause a domino effect leading to further position vacancies, and these are also embraced in the planning process. Replacement charts are helpful to gain an overview of filled and vacant positions, reporting streams, and possible advancement scenarios. This can be done with creative use of basic and inexpensive charting software (often preloaded in most computers).
Companies which encourage staff and managers to keep resumes updated, and which have a process in place for collecting information, will not be caught off-guard when assessment of internal candidates becomes time-critical.
All employees who wish to be considered for advancement should be counseled on the importance of keeping fresh information on file regarding job-specific training, relevant education, work or community achievements, assessment results, languages, special areas of expertise, and anything else that would improve the company's ability to build upon the strength of its workforce.
If no internal candidate is acceptable, a search strategy will need to be determined. The higher the level of position and the more confidential the search, the longer the lead time. Outsourcing should be considered, particularly if activity is highly confidential.
Cheerio
Rajat Joshi
From India, Pune
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Hi, somehow I think I missed out on the point or essentials required by you, so I referred your query to my e-group, and here is the response received from Seshan Anantharaman.
Succession Planning Experience in the USA
Hi Rajat/Medha,
I have had the opportunity to work on succession planning in the USA at one of my employer sites. I am not aware of any scientific approach or method that is trademarked as a scientific process like we have in the world of Science & Technology. Often, succession planning is reactive, ad-hoc, and unstructured. However, to the extent I am aware, it is all about leadership, performance feedback, culture, and strategy interwoven to evolve an integrated approach. I have used Dr. Stephen C. Schoonover's approach (www.schoonover.com) and Hagburg's approach (www.hcgnet.com) and have used them very successfully at one of my US employer sites for their clients.
However, I can tell you that there are no shortcuts here, and it is a long, winding path uphill and steep.
Succession Planning Tools
Here are some of the succession planning tool sites:
- ETWeb Succession Planning: Web-based software for talent management from ExecuTrack www.executrack.com
- Management Audit: Evaluate management capability for selection, development, promotion www.corporate-insights.org
- Succession Planning Tool: Free download - Org Chart Software. Try it free www.orgplus.com
Hope you get to gather more mileage from the referred sites. Keep me informed if you find something very interesting. Happy hunting.
Regards,
Anantharaman Seshan
Seshan Anantharaman [Email Removed For Privacy Reasons]
IT-HR & Marketing Consultant
[Phone Number Removed For Privacy-Reasons]
From India, Pune
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Succession Planning Experience in the USA
Hi Rajat/Medha,
I have had the opportunity to work on succession planning in the USA at one of my employer sites. I am not aware of any scientific approach or method that is trademarked as a scientific process like we have in the world of Science & Technology. Often, succession planning is reactive, ad-hoc, and unstructured. However, to the extent I am aware, it is all about leadership, performance feedback, culture, and strategy interwoven to evolve an integrated approach. I have used Dr. Stephen C. Schoonover's approach (www.schoonover.com) and Hagburg's approach (www.hcgnet.com) and have used them very successfully at one of my US employer sites for their clients.
However, I can tell you that there are no shortcuts here, and it is a long, winding path uphill and steep.
Succession Planning Tools
Here are some of the succession planning tool sites:
- ETWeb Succession Planning: Web-based software for talent management from ExecuTrack www.executrack.com
- Management Audit: Evaluate management capability for selection, development, promotion www.corporate-insights.org
- Succession Planning Tool: Free download - Org Chart Software. Try it free www.orgplus.com
Hope you get to gather more mileage from the referred sites. Keep me informed if you find something very interesting. Happy hunting.
Regards,
Anantharaman Seshan
Seshan Anantharaman [Email Removed For Privacy Reasons]
IT-HR & Marketing Consultant
[Phone Number Removed For Privacy-Reasons]
From India, Pune
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Succession planning.pdf
SUCCESSION PLANNING.ppt