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Succession Planning

Published October 2007

Using a Bottom-Up Approach to Succession Planning

Shelly Heiden

With recent research estimates indicating 40 percent of the nation's 64 million public and private workers will reach retirement age by 2010, companies need to prepare now for the reality that an entire generation of leaders will be exiting the workforce over the next few years.

Coupled with a growing skills gap and shortage of qualified workers plaguing today's organizations (especially in specialized fields such as IT), this phenomenon is leading companies to realize no organization — regardless of size, industry or sector — is immune to the looming "talent crisis." To insulate themselves from the potentially devastating effects such a crisis could bring, organizations need to prepare their workforce and succession strategies today.

Forward-thinking organizations realize succession planning is an ongoing process focused on continuously identifying, preparing and developing individuals to take over key roles when employees leave the workforce because of promotions, retirements, resignations, etc. By moving succession planning to the forefront of the corporate agenda and taking a proactive approach to leadership management and employee development today, these organizations are laying the foundation for smooth leadership transitions in the future, thereby sidestepping the talent crisis.

Although developing a succession management strategy is crucial for weathering the talent crisis, companies must realize effective succession management requires more than just identifying and replacing "critical" employees. The key is finding the right person for every job, with the ultimate goal of aligning the skills, experience and professional goals of current employees with the organization's current and future business needs.

Executive teams often plan what their organization will look like as they develop and refine their business strategy and plans. A common mistake corporations make during this planning process is failing to consider how their employees' career goals and objectives map to corporate planning and goals.

This "top-down" approach can result in redundancy, decreased productivity and increased employee turnover within organizations because the talent base is not aligned to support both employee goals and corporate objectives simultaneously.

Succession planning is not, nor should it be, practiced as a one-way, "top-down" process that identifies and assigns talent based on the needs of the organization without providing visibility into and consideration for an individual employee's career goals. Organizations are recognizing the long-term benefits — for both employees and organizations — of replacing traditional hierarchical structures with more-linear organization models. This "bottom-up" approach to succession planning gives employees greater control over their careers by allowing them to actively participate in developing and charting their career path.