Succession planning is essential to ensure that important positions in the company are not left vacant for long periods or filled by people who do not have the skills or knowledge to perform what job roles in various forms require.

So, knowing who is next in the ranking to occupy top positions and being able to direct these people to become the next generation of successful leaders of your company is crucial for maintaining a competitive advantage and high team morale.

However, according to a survey conducted by SHRM, only 21% of HR professionals stated that their organizations have a formal succession plan in place, and another 24% have a but informal one. This means that more than half of the organizations where the HR specialists surveyed work do not have any succession plan.

The concept of succession planning Succession Planning 

Succession planning is the process of selecting and developing key talents to ensure the continuity of pivotal roles in the company as it comes to identifying outstanding performers and potential leaders, guiding and developing them so that they can progress within the organization and move to high-level positions.

Employees in general in various positions are promoted, they move from one company to another and retire, and this is a recurring scene on a daily basis in the business world, that's why companies need to develop a strong plan to ensure that jobs are filled by people who are ready and fully qualified to perform the tasks required by job positions, especially those pivotal ones. 

The importance of succession planning

Succession planning is important for the success of an organization for many reasons including:

• Minimize risks and disruption at work and ensure continuity in case of unexpected departure of the employee. 
•  Transfer basic knowledge and experience instead of losing them when someone leaves who was performing an important role.
• Succession planning gives high-potential, high-performing employees a clear career path in your organization.
• It helps you to plan and prepare for the future based on different scenarios. This reassures potential shareholders that the employer has a clear outlook. 

The four steps of the succession planning process 

1. Talent development
2. Identification of leadership talents
3. Leadership development
4. Making a succession decision 

Best practices for succession planning 

While succession planning brings many benefits to the company, there are only ٣٤% of companies that see their succession planning process as very effective.

Therefore, applying succession planning best practices can help companies overcome common succession planning challenges, such as adopting a long-term perspective and following up on development plans, such as the following:

1. Adopt a long-term vision. 
2. Ensure an organized and clear development structure. 
3. Collaborate with talent management in the planning process. 
4. Use special metrics that focus on results and not on the planning process itself.
   To further illustrate this point, there are some common metrics when planning career progression that you should follow such as:

• The number of high-potential employees who are eligible to fill pivotal positions. 
• The percentage of filling important positions. 
• The rate of functional turnover. 
• The power of substitute assistants. 
• The utilization rate of talent. 
• The percentage of interviews conducted to fill important job vacancies. 
• The number of consecutive promotions. 

5. Realism and clear communication

Source:

https://www.aihr.com/blog/succession-planning/