You can’t run a business, regardless of its size, without talented people. The trick is to ensure continuity in their various roles. When they leave, you’ll want to be sure that a qualified person is there, ready to take their place. The most successful companies can experience a downturn in operations should someone they relied on quits or moves on. This is where succession planning comes in.
What is Succession Planning?
Succession planning as a strategy identifies and develops future leaders at your company — not just at the top but in major roles at all levels. Well-developed succession plans identify and train the best and the brightest to assume positions crucial to the company’s ongoing success. Seven steps you can take ensure it.
The members of your workforce aren’t fixed assets — and changes in your team’s lineup are inevitable. You may not always be able to predict a valued employee’s departure from the firm. But through effective succession planning, you can pave the way for continuity critical to your business’s future.
What You Need to Do
Be proactive.
- Don’t be caught off guard.
- Get a feel for the potential loss of an employee.
- Analyze the day-to-day importance of their role and their impact on daily operations.
Pinpoint succession candidates.
- Search out which employees might fill the role.
- Ask yourself: which employees might be the strongest candidates?
- Root out those who may not be interested.
- Consider possible friction if a next-in-line employee is not chosen.
Let them know.
- Conduct private meetings with potential candidates as a morale-building exercise.
- Be honest. Explain that there are no guarantees.
Step up professional development efforts.
- Begin job rotation for prospective candidates.
- Assign mentors for development in skill areas.
- Assess communication and interpersonal skills.
Do trial runs of your Succession Plan.
- Have potential successors assume management responsibilities.
- Use the results to gauge additional training and development needed.
Integrate your succession plan into your hiring strategy.
- Note other talent gaps left after successors are chosen.
- Begin putting in place recruiting efforts to fill the successor’s current position.
Think about your successor.
- Consider circumstances under which you might leave.
- Which employee might fill your role?
- What can be done to help groom an employee for the transition?
- What can you do to ensure seamless continuity?
Succession (Management) Plan – Inclusivity
Creating a business that lasts beyond your life requires a detailed and thoughtful plan that looks beyond the founder’s endgame strategy. Creating a sustainable business and finding success in succession planning requires effort. Roll up your sleeves, confer with a team of reliable experts, and sort out management elements that support growth and profitability. Such plans attract, retain, and reward higher management and ownership. Succession Management Programs (SMP) help build an enterprise supported by a team of management professionals tied to its success.
Contact Our Offices Today!
Setting up good planning strategies can help to ensure professional continuity in your business ranks through contracts and by-laws. Find out how The Voeller Law Firm can help you develop the legal side of a plan that’s right for you. Call now for a free consultation. The Voeller Law Firm, located at 19311, FM 2252, Suite 103, San Antonio, Texas 78266. (210) 651-3851
