SUCCESSION PLANNING AND CAREER DEVELOPMENT

Andrews Cobbinah, ACIHRM, MLPI · HR Practitioner

Succession Planning. Career Development. That's what I'm going to talk about today. But wait, which one even comes first? Well, Succession Planning (SP) comes first. Career Development (CD) follows. The former identifies potential. The latter builds capability. Simpliciter.

The thing is, many organizations completely overlook the importance of having an effective succession plan. Yes, they really do. It's a reality.

See, not having a succession plan at all is a whole problem on its own. But there are organizations who actually have the plan and just leave it sitting quietly in a file or buried somewhere on a computer. And that's another problem altogether. Seriously.

If you've ever designed a succession plan before, you already know the drill. At the very least, you identify few key leadership positions that are either hard to fill or are the engine of operations. Then, you identify short-term and long-term successors. I call them talents. That's what goes into a simple SP table or grid. Though simple but it represents a 3–5-year strategy. And it works magic! And that's how you secure continuity, stability, and a pipeline of solid talents who can step in without disruption when key roles become vacant.

But someone may ask: so after designing the succession plan… what next? Charley! Career Development. That's what's next.

Once you've identified your short-term and long-term successors, the real work begins. You have to get intentional about developing them. Give them stretch assignments. Expose them to new responsibilities. Train them. Coach them. Let them further their education. Let them get that professional certification. Get them into seminars, conferences, and workshops. Let them shadow leaders. Help them grow into the roles you're preparing them for. That is what effective Succession Planning and Career Development look like.

And yes, one may also ask: "What if we train and develop them and they leave?" Well… what if they stay? Do the cost–benefit analysis and see. But I believe "Bonding" and "Good Employee Experience" are your best bet.

If your organisation begins to shake and panic over key leadership vacancies, start checking your succession planning and career development initiatives. Get one in place if you don't have it. Recheck it if you do.

And just so we are clear. We all know succession planning feeds into internal recruitment. But this is not to say external recruitment is bad. No. It's not. It simply ensures business continuity and prevents unnecessary disruptions, to say the least.

My question to you is; Does your organization have successors ready, or are you still hoping nothing happens?