Benefits and drawbacks of succession planning

We are in a new era of work. Not only are we seeing rapid change brought forward by technology, global issues and changing ideas about what work is and how we do it, we also see shrinkage in talent pools and new skills required. An aging workforce, shrinking talent pool and intensified competition will put businesses under increasing pressure in the years to come. The benefits of succession planning have never been more apparent, developing people now for your future organisational needs is critical. Yet few organisations have a plan at all, even for senior leadership positions.

Relying on recruitment to plug the gaps is expensive, time consuming and has mixed results. 

Part of your legacy is to build an organisation that lives and succeeds are you are gone. 

In smaller companies, it may be less complex. Perhaps you look for a business partner, consider your benefits and pay as a retention tool, hire external consultants to lead your learning and development. You have options. The impact of losing a highly valued employee can be more disruptive to a small company. For larger organisations with a good brand and great reputation, you might find it easier to attract and retain talent, but don't assume your people will magically develop into key roles. You need to create the framework to make it so.

One way to ensure interim support for critical roles is to cross-train employees with the most comparable skills to those needed, until the business is able to permanently fill the role. In fact, many of my greatest opportunities came from absorbing responsibilities from others in time of secondments, maternity cover or interim posts. I grew and developed through these opportunities. I , in turn, delegated some of my responsibilities to my team, helping them develop. Rather than taking huge step ups, I gradually developed so the step up wasn't so big. The leaders trusted me because they had seen me in action. The step up was seamless.