Succession planning is the process by which companies plan the hiring, training, and development of employees to ensure their growth from one position to the next as part of the company’s long-term growth plan. Succession planning was once reserved for planning for the replacement of key management positions of corporations. Today companies large and small have come to recognize the benefits of maintaining a continuous cycle of succession planning for all key positions at every level of the company. Matching company goals to employee talents realizes rewards for both, including greater job satisfaction productivity.
A good succession plan will include the recruitment of qualified, educated employees, assessment of their current skills, training to increase their knowledge and abilities, and prepare them for more responsible positions as they become available.
Succession planning is an ongoing process that plans, administers, and assesses each employee, while training them to attain higher levels of responsibility as the need arises. A successful plan ensures that the investment made in each employee brings a return in the form of preparedness, confidence and ability. Getting the right person in the right job is the goal. Training current employees for roles that may not exist now, but most assuredly will exist in the future, is much the same as keeping a backup copy of computer files. You may not ever need it, but you’ll be relieved to know you have it if the need arises.