To beat the battle for talent, many companies have started grooming internal employees to take on top positions in the future. While this is surely one of management's biggest responsibilities, succession planning is repeatedly turning out the biggest failure as well.
The prime reason for the dreadful crumble is that most succession planning efforts start at the top and if needed, work their way down to middle management level at best. The focus is solely on planning for the top ranks – CEO and few other key positions with just the senior (and middle) managers being groomed for advancement. In fact, a 2009 survey report from the Centre for Creative Leadership (CCL) reveals that only 11% of succession programmes include front-line supervisors!
Needless to say, this top-down approach is limited to identifying best candidates as replacement for ‘business-critical' positions. It is in no way concerned with building a talent pool of fine performers for future roles throughout the organisation – which is what succession planning should actually be about.
In direct contrast is the more comprehensive planning of succession from the bottom-up which starts right at the lowest end of the ladder – the front-line. Beginning at the entry-level employees, it works its way up to front-line supervisors, middle managers right on till the top C-suites. Such an effective succession management aims to build a series of feeder groups up and down the entire leadership progression and thus helping to build bench strength for all positions.
This leadership pipeline ensures that right people are available to step in to the right jobs at the right time! The result is a vibrant, young workforce that is passionate, eager to learn as well as committed to the future of the organisation.
Moreover, as Mr. Jim Hopkins, a top performance consultant observes, “The bottom line is this; by developing each person and each role in your succession plan you not only have an active pipeline of qualified people for future promotion, you have a very well-run organisation until succession is required.”
Seeing value in everyone
Such strategic development from the bottom presents an acute challenge and is not without its detractors. Cynics argue that attempts to begin succession planning at lower levels are found to result in a lack of commitment at both higher and lower levels and those attempts typically fail. To avoid such setbacks the management should: Ensure that systematic plans and procedures are in place – like comprehensible profiles for every position clearly specifying what the position-holder must know, what experiences he should have, what he can do, and what personal attributes he must possess to be a high performing employee. Ensure that it also addresses the development needs of each role.
Look at the entire inventory of people that the organisation has right now and target that that every employee should be able to support at least one other job function. Keep an eye open for learning agility, ability to execute details well and hit targets, etc.
Ensure transparent communication and engagement where selected employees are informed about their planned career paths. This helps garner understanding, support, interest and even excitement.
Articulate the vision, rationale, clear sense of where they are headed and how it aligns with the overall company direction. Varied development programmes are needed to meet the unique developmental needs, especially as front-line employees generally have no management/leadership skills.
Above all, the lynchpin is to hire quality employees that are the right fit and can add value right from the start!
Strategic leadership development goes on simultaneously by assessing top-performers against the profiles to determine who can be groomed as potential executives to replace the current ones. This future-oriented strategy will definitely ensure business continuity over multiple leadership positions.
Mr. Jim Hopkins continues, “By building your succession plan from the bottom up, nothing slips through the cracks for the top of the pyramid. Design your plan with the assumption that your next CEO could come from any employee working for you today if that person develops the skills, attitudes and performance you are seeking.”
To sum up, in the battle for talent, succession planning at the front line is a critically acclaimed new weapon. After all, organisations are only as good as the people working in them!
Source: The Hindu
