Talent Management Development Services >> Succession Planning

When key leadership roles in your organization become available, how ready are your future leaders to step up to the challenge? World-class organizations know the importance of having top talent lined up and ready to go.

PAUL ALEXANDER's Succession Planning involves planning for the smooth continuation and success of a business which depends greatly on the availability of competent staff. Succession planning enables your organization to identify talented employees and provide education to develop them for future higher level and broader responsibilities.

Many CEOs express concern about the lack of bench strength in their companies. They are very worried that they lack sufficient "ready now" candidates to replace planned and unplanned losses of key leaders. As a result, the future continuity and performance of the business is at risk. Succession planning helps you build bench strength, and is the pre-emptive process of identifying significant leadership positions that could put the organization at risk if left unfulfilled, targeting employees that could move into such roles and grooming them for succession.

Managing leadership succession effectively requires a structured approach that is agreed to, understood and followed by everyone involved in the planning process. PAUL ALEXANDER’s consultants work with your organizations to indentify and develop bench strength critical to avoid talent shortages.

Replacement Planning versus Succession Planning

When asked if their organization has a succession plan, most HR professionals will respond “yes.” However, some organizations are engaged in a process closer to replacement planning rather than true succession planning. The goal of replacement planning is to identify a “back up” to fill the job when it is vacant. The focus is on past performance and demonstrating skills to fill a particular role. By contrast, the goal of succession planning is to identify a talent pipeline that can be developed in preparation for future responsibilities and considers not only past performance but the future potential of the individual.

PAUL ALEXANDER’s Succession Planning and development process include the following:

• Clarification of key positions and the criteria required to fulfill them
• Development of the leadership success criteria and practices to generate the talent required to meet business strategies
• Identification and development of a talent pipeline for the key positions
• Identification of leaders strengths and experiences to accelerate leadership growth of individuals within the talent pipeline
• Providing learning and development experiences to accelerates leadership growth of individuals within the talent pipeline
• Development of a value proposition to motivate and retain key talent in the pipeline

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