Workforce, Capability & Succession Planning

Transcription

1 V4 Headline / Subhead Vertical Spacing High-Impact Talent Management Workforce, Capability & Succession Planning McLean & Company is a research and advisory firm that provides practical solutions to human resources challenges with executable research, tools, and advice that will have a clear and measurable impact on your business McLean & Company. McLean & Company is a division of Info-Tech Research Group Inc. McLean & Company 1

2 V4 Headline / Subhead Vertical Spacing Are you confused? I am! Talent Management People Strategy? Workforce Planning? Succession Planning? Capability Development? Talent Development? Leadership Development? McLean & Company 2

3 V4 Headline / Subhead Vertical Spacing Moving Target Talent Management was mostly for leaders There was an abundance of skilled candidates Begged the question: So are only Leaders Talent? Elitism trumped democratic people practices Demographics have changed Talent is now scarce, globally Employees expect development Certain skilled roles are as important as leaders Talent Management is now an enterprise function Focused on leader and difficult-to-fill roles This could mean most, in today s environment Increasingly transparent and latticed How do you think about Talent Management in your organization? McLean & Company 3

4 Headline / Subhead Vertical Spacing Talent Management by Bersin Strategy, Workforce Planning and Capability Management V4 McLean & Company 4

5 V4 Dynamics today require a flexible and simple approach Headline / Subhead Vertical Spacing Establish project rationale Manage succession Identify successors and talent pools Assess the foundation Identify key gaps Step 4 We will call it succession planning but it is workforce and talent planning Step 1: Establish project rationale Develop a business case for planning. Step 2: Assess the foundation Align and connect key HR practices to support the success of your planning. Step 3: Identify key gaps Select which key gaps will be incorporated into the plan. Keep the requirements broad enough for diversity in potential successors. Step 4: Identify successors and talent pools Assess internal talent and determine who should go where. Step 5: Manage succession Plan for ongoing communication, tracking, development, and updates. McLean & Company 5

6 V4 Step 1: Establish Project Rationale Headline / Subhead Vertical Spacing Establish project rationale Manage succession Identify successors and talent pools Assess the foundation Identify key gaps Section summary and deliverables: After completing this section you will have: A business case for flexible workforce and succession planning. Deliverables: List of your organization s pain points and flexibility issues from succession planning. Step 4 Workshop activities in the step: Identify pain points from your current or non-existent succession plan. Assess roadblocks to implementing flexible succession planning. McLean & Company 6

7 Succession Planning was the least effective Talent Management area in the 2016 Trends and Priorities Survey Talent Management Area Effectiveness Effectiveness Score Succession Planning was tied with Metrics & Analytics as the least effective of all 30 HR areas surveyed. It is also the top priority Talent Management area. Low Effectiveness (1-2) Moderate Effectiveness (3-4) High Effectiveness (5-6) Note: Results are shown as the percentage of respondents who selected 5 or 6 on a 6-point scale. McLean & Company, HR Trends & Priorities for 2016, N = 555 McLean & Company 7

8 Traditional succession plans often fail in high-change environments because they aren t agile or integrated Traditional succession plans are 1 Too focused on the long term The business environment is more dynamic and uncertain than ever and constantly changing. Key roles today may not exist tomorrow or may exist in multiples to catch up with business requirements. Changes can occur multiple times within the 5-10 year planning time frame. People don t stay in jobs 5-10 years anymore. Millennials don t stay in jobs for as long as previous generations. o In a survey conducted by the Bureau of Labor statistics, 91% of Millennials expected to stay in a job for less than 3 years.* In place of retirement, many Baby Boomers are leaving their full-time jobs for flexible work arrangements that suit their changing lifestyle. Globalization and technology mean employees have more and easier access to job opportunities. o Example: Pursuing passive candidates through LinkedIn or other social media sites is now commonplace. That means it is much more likely for employees who weren t looking for another opportunity to be lured away. 2 3 Too narrow-sighted The traditional focus on upper management leaves organizations unprepared when critical turnover happens lower down leaving them vulnerable. Too disconnected Succession planning often isn t properly integrated with other talent management initiatives, leading to duplication of effort and lost opportunities. * Source: Meister, Job Hopping Is the 'New Normal' for Millennials (emphasis added) McLean & Company 8

9 Rigid succession planning or no plan leaves the organization vulnerable Without responsive succession planning, the organization is too slow to respond to sudden critical vacancies, so there is no ready successor when vacancies occur. This translates into lost knowledge and, often, high costs. Knowledge loss Succession planning is critical to ensure that the knowledge held by those in key roles is successfully passed down to successors. Knowledge loss also: o Creates inefficiency as people duplicate effort to solve problems and find solutions. o Reduces capacity to innovate. o Negatively impacts competitive advantage. o Exposes the organization to the risk of not knowing what to expect. High recruitment costs If an organization has no prepared successors, it must seek outside talent which can come at a steep cost. According to a study conducted by the Saratoga Institute*, the cost of an external hire can be 1.7 times more than that of an internal successor. Productivity Loss If an organization has no prepared successors, it must spend time finding an external replacement. In the meantime, either the critical role s work isn t done and there is a direct vacancy cost; or it is filled by an underqualified employee on an interim basis. In either case, productivity costs can be high. * Source: Business Time, The Power Within (emphasis added) McLean & Company 9

10 Headline / Subhead Vertical Spacing 1.1 Activity: Identify pain points from your current or non-existent workforce succession plan 1.If your organization currently does succession planning, discuss how flexible your process is. Brainstorm and list components of your succession planning process that make it difficult to adapt. V4 2.Discuss pain points that your organization faces as a result of your succession plan or lack thereof. Start with pain points on the previous slide. Brainstorm and list additional pain points and examples. McLean & Company 10

11 Headline / Subhead Vertical Spacing Organizations are missing out on the most impactful HR trend for 2016: Using talent pools for succession planning Implemented Talent Management Trends * * 24 th 20 th 18 th** 13 th Talent pool succession planning, a flexible and change-oriented approach, scored in the top half of emerging trends. It was identified as the Most Impactful * trend in 2016 and V4 McLean & Company, HR Trends & Priorities for 2016, N = 476. **Impact: Denotes a top 10 most impactful trend. Respondents selected which one of the trends they had implemented was the most impactful. A weighted average was then used to rank them. Refer to McLean & Company s HR Trends & Priorities for 2016 blueprint. McLean & Company 11

12 Flexible succession planning uses talent pools for a change-oriented focus and broader application Traditional Succession Planning What it is: Process for identifying and developing employees to fill key senior leader positions. Who it plans for: Key senior leadership business positions. 1-2 employees. Time frame is: Long term (3-5 years). Successors come from: A level/tier below the senior leadership position within the same function. Flexible Succession Planning What it is: Identification of at-risk job pools and selection and development of employee talent pools to progress through pools. Who it plans for: Key senior leadership business positions, key individuals, job pools. Larger employee pools. Time frame is: Short and long term (1-3 years and 3+ years). Successors come from: Levels/tiers below and at the level of the role, across different functions in the organization. Flexible succession planning employs 3 of 4 of the values of Agile* ideology: 1. Adaptability: Run on a short-term timeline for developing successors, which allows flexibility for changes as they occur in the organization or in the business environment. Develop a poolbased approach to ensure that there is a broad supply of ready-to-go successors. 2. Simplicity: Straightforward process that can be clearly communicated and understood by leaders required to identify and develop talent, as well as employees who are part of the plan. 3. Unity: Interconnected with components across other HR practices, as well as overall strategy of the business, to meet business goals. Transparency is the final agile value. The ideal amount of transparency depends on the culture. * Source: HR Reporter, What is Agile Human Resources? McLean & Company 12

13 V4 Headline / Subhead Vertical Spacing Mitigate pains and create opportunity for positive business impact with a flexible approach to succession planning Flexibility allows the organization to have the right people, with the right skills, ready at the right time for key roles. Develop successors for the short and long term. Short-term time frames cover the unexpected vacancies, while long-term time frames are the well-known and planned departures of individuals from critical roles. Incorporate and streamline other HR practices to reduce duplication of effort and minimize administration required to procure information. Account for critical roles across all levels of the organization with minimal extra planning and prepare the organization for unexpected vacant positions by addressing roles or jobs from a pool perspective. Support the creation of better employee development plans which are more focused on career development a big employee engagement driver. A WorldatWork survey on talent management and rewards found that 48% of respondents used talent pools for key organizational roles as a part of their succession planning process. Source: WorldatWork, Leading Through Uncertain Times Succession planning, by definition, is a long-term process, but businesses rarely stay the same for very long. By the time many succession plans have arrived at a solution, successors have already left, and the organization, positions, and job structures all may have changed in the interim. Therefore, plan for change; in fact, make change a key part of the succession plan. Source: Porr, Agile Succession: HR's Toughest Challenge (emphasis added) McLean & Company 13

14 V4 Headline / Subhead Vertical Spacing There are barriers that stand in the way of launching a flexible approach Disconnected HR practices The shorter term, change-focus of a flexible succession planning approach requires timely information from a variety of HR practices. If HR practice areas are not connected, then more time and effort will be required to solicit necessary information. Limited potential successors The use of broad pools requires that employees be sourced from different areas of the organization. If there is no process in place to accurately and adequately assess the competencies required to be successful in a role, it is difficult for managers to expand their view on who can go where. Inaccurate assessment of talent In order to develop the right employees for succession planning, you need to first identify who they are and what makes them right to be included in the plan. If a thorough candidate profile isn t created, you risk succession planning decision making based on incomplete talent assessment or favoritism/bias. Tracking successors Keeping up-to-date records is vital to ensure you can accurately predict who goes where when an unexpected vacancy occurs. Tools and templates should be simple to encourage timely updating; if they are cumbersome, those tasked with updating will likely put it off and succession planning will become stale. Managing the succession plan As a process with both a short and long-term view, flexible succession planning needs to be managed long after planning and initial implementation; it requires frequent updates, reviews, and changes. Organizations often think their work is done once the succession plan is implemented and do not carry out the activities necessary to maintain a robust plan. In the 2016 HR Trends & Priorities Survey, only 25% of respondents rated Internal Talent Assessment as very effective. McLean & Company, 2016, N=555 McLean & Company 14

15 V4 Headline / Subhead Vertical Spacing Step 2: Assess the foundation Establish project rationale Manage succession Identify successors and talent pools Step 4 Assess the foundation Identify key gaps Section summary and deliverables: After completing this section you will have: a) Learned what HR practices directly support succession planning. b) Reviewed your HR practices for basic alignment for succession planning. c) Assembled a succession planning committee. d) Defined metrics to measure project success. Deliverables: Flexible Succession Planning Key Foundational Practices Guide. Talent Management Cycle Framework. Succession plan committee guidelines. Flexible Succession Plan Committee Charter. Project metrics list. Workshop activities in the step: Review key foundational practices. Determine which key foundational practices will be built. Assemble the succession plan committee. Set project metrics to track progress. McLean & Company 15

16 Headline / Subhead Vertical Spacing Establish key foundational practices to support succession goals before, during, and after planning The Talent Management Cycle shows key practices that support succession planning. Incorporate these key practices into your succession planning process: Workforce Planning Internal Talent Assessment Competencies Performance Management Performance Appraisal Review Meeting and Calibration Meeting Career Path Planning 1 Evaluate Talent Internal Talent Assessment Competencies Performance Appraisal Talent Management Cycle 2 Review Talent Review Meeting Calibration Meeting 3 Succession Planning V4 Develop Talent High Potential Development Leadership Development Employee Development Where is Career Path Planning? Career path planning is not included in this diagram because it operates within the other key practice activities. A career path framework is used to determine gaps for workforce planning and focus the development of talent for employees. 4 Manage Talent Workforce Planning = Talent = Performance = Learning & Management Management Development Activities Activities Activities McLean & Company 16

17 Headline / Subhead Vertical Spacing Use the Flexible Succession Plan Key Foundational Practices Guide to identify what practices you have in place Key practices support the successful development and management of flexible succession plans. This template will help you: Understand what key foundational practices are recommended for flexible succession planning. Determine which key foundational practices you currently have in place. Decide which practices you will implement. Record a plan of action for how to put practices into place. V4 Complete this tool with members of the HR team. Determine what key practices you have by using the Flexible Succession Plan Key Foundational Practices Guide template. McLean & Company 17

18 V4 Key Practice: Workforce Planning Headline / Subhead Vertical Spacing What it is: Systematic process designed to identify and address gaps in today s workforce and the human capital needs of the future. It is the cornerstone for all strategic HR decisions. Workforce planning is a high-level planning process which does not take individual employees into consideration. Succession planning looks at individuals and will be discussed in the next section. Why you need it for flexible succession planning: Strategic workforce plans give you a narrow basis of gaps to determine which ones are critical and should be addressed through succession planning. See McLean & Company s Develop a Departmental Strategic Workforce Plan to meet future talent requirements by taking action now. When you need them during the project: Step 2: Identify key gaps to be planned for. To determine what key roles, individuals, or job pools need planning and help narrow down the list of jobs that will ultimately be put into the succession plan. Required elements: Competencies the organization needs to meet business goals Critical gaps in the organization If you don t have the required elements: The process of succession planning described in this project will guide you through how to get the elements defined above. Workforce planning and succession planning are closely related. Workforce planning focuses on changing the size, distribution, and composition of the workforce to meet future needs in an orderly, controlled, and efficient manner. It focuses on the workforce as a whole. Succession planning focuses on people, including the replacement of individuals or groups of people in the workforce. Source: State of Delaware Office of Management & Budget/Human Resources Management, Workforce and Succession Planning FAQ McLean & Company 18

19 V4 Key Practice: Internal talent assessment or 9-box Headline / Subhead Vertical Spacing What it is: A process used to identify where employees stand on a talent spectrum of performance and potential. Ideally, it incorporates information from a 9-box talent grid assessment. Why you need it for flexible succession planning: Results of the talent assessment alone or coupled with a 9- box talent grid are used to determine which employees should be placed into the succession plan. See McLean & Company s Build & Implement a 9-Box Talent Grid to Assess Employee Talent for help setting up your own talent review process. When you need it during the project: Step 3: Identify successors and talent pools. Assign employees to appropriate talent pools. Note: These will be your organization s best talent; the 9-box talent grid identifies them as Top Talent. Step 4: Put the plan into action. Ensure talent pools always contain top talent by annually reviewing 9-box talent grid / talent review results. Required elements: 9-box talent grid (recommended) Talent Review meetings Talent Calibration meetings If you don t have the required elements: Identify how you will define talent in your organization. o Note: The 9-box talent grid uses High, Medium, and Low levels of Performance and Potential to define talent. Run review meetings for managers to share where their employees lie on the talent spectrum and calibrate placements. Use results to determine suitable candidates for succession planning. In a survey done on 43 organizations around the world, 86% of respondents indicated that an effective system for assessing talent was essential for conducting their succession planning. Source: Right Management, Managing Succession McLean & Company 19

20 V4 Key Practice: Competencies Headline / Subhead Vertical Spacing What they are: The critical behaviors for roles within the organization which aid in a range of HR practices including recruiting, performance management, development, and succession planning. Why you need it for flexible succession planning: To determine what criteria employees need to meet in order to be a part of the plan, as well as what criteria they will need to develop in order to eventually become a successor. See McLean & Company s Develop a Comprehensive Competency Framework blueprint to help you identify competencies that make sense for your organization. When you need them during the project: Step 2: Identify key gaps to be planned for. Determine role requirements for each key gap. Step 3: Identify successors and talent pools. Establish required competencies to qualify for a pool. Step 4: Put the plan into action. Focus employee development planning around competency and pool requirements. Required elements: Core Competencies Leadership Competencies Functional Competencies If you don t have the required elements: Use our Comprehensive Competency Library to pick: o 3-5 core competencies that apply to everyone in the organization. o 3-5 leadership competencies that reflect the top tier in your organization. o 3-5 functional competencies for each job function. Assign different levels to each competency and use those as requirements and development objectives for succession planning. In many instances [succession] grooming focuses on the technical/professional parts of the higher-level job with little effort being made to develop the competencies that are so critical to successful performance. Source: CPS HR Services, Competency-Based Succession Planning McLean & Company 20

21 V4 Key Practice: Performance Management Headline / Subhead Vertical Spacing What it is: A process of reviewing and managing an employee s performance and contributions within the role and the organization at large. Why you need it for flexible succession planning: To determine the strength of an employee s performance, to set criteria for who can be placed into the succession plan process, and to assess if an employee should be placed into or removed from a talent pool. See McLean & Company s Modernize the Performance Appraisal to develop effective performance management processes. When you need it during the project: Step 3: Identify successors and talent pools. To select candidates for talent pools based on their performance level; typically high performer employees. Step 4: Put the plan into action. To frequently assess employees in the succession plan, help them develop required competencies, and manage their performance accordingly to help them progress. Required elements: Clear performance expectations Identification of high performers Performance calibration If you don t have the required elements: Start by getting managers and employees to meet quarterly to discuss: o Expectations and goal setting. o Feedback and coaching. o Assessment and self-assessment results. Continuously compile employee results and discuss with managers to calibrate and ensure that results accurately reflect employee performance. You need to have a robust performance management program and well-trained managers for succession planning to work. If you have a large organization, the leadership team needs to be able to trust those managers assessment of employees so that the right employees make it into the plan. Senior HR Leader, Research Industry McLean & Company 21

22 V4 Key Practice: Career Path Planning Headline / Subhead Vertical Spacing What it is: Framework with consistently defined career tiers, competencies, and proficiency levels and potential career path opportunities. The framework should move beyond traditional career ladders to career lattices that introduce lateral career moves, or non-promotion moves, into the career path model. Why you need it for flexible succession planning: A career framework helps identify transferrable skills for movement into both horizontal and lateral career moves which reduces linear thinking of which employees can move into which roles. It also enables employee development and builds the talent pipeline a business necessity in the face of skills gaps. See McLean & Company s Establish an Enterprise-Wide Career Path Framework for more information on career path planning. Required elements: Competencies identified for each tier in the organization If you don t have the required elements: Identify ideal number of tiers (no more than ten) for your framework using existing organizational programs and goals. Select core and common competencies and assign proficiency levels of each for each tier. Select job family specific competencies for each tier as they apply to benchmark roles within job families. Use the results to develop profiles for key gaps and talent pools. When you need it during the project: Step 2: Identify key gaps to be planned for. Use the competencies for each key gap to create profiles that will ultimately be used to understand which employees can be developed to succeed into the gap. Having a career framework can help organizations understand where their talent is concentrated; how prepared or illprepared they are to meet future human resources challenges Source: Belcom & Kegerise, Establishing a Career Framework to Maximize Employee Potential and Support Business Needs McLean & Company 22

23 Headline / Subhead Vertical Spacing Assemble a steering committee of key organizational stakeholders to govern and manage the succession plan HR should not run succession planning alone, because the plan encompasses critical roles that have an impact across all functions and levels of the organization; senior leaders need to take ownership of planning. Here are the following recommended stakeholders and the role they should play in the succession planning process: Stakeholders Role Why they are essential players Human Resources Senior Leadership/ Board of Directors Senior Managers (or one level up from the succession candidates being assessed) Program facilitators who are the central point of contact for succession planning and tracking. Program owners who develop the succession plan and have a hand in managing the roll out and employee development. Program liaisons who enforce the succession plan with employees and provide information for developing the plan. They are responsible for keeping the program on track and supplementing the planning process with information from HR practices such as performance management, internal talent assessment, and others. They are the subject-matter experts and need to provide other committee members with pointers on the topic. Their input is required for determining which roles and corresponding employees will be critical to achieving strategic objectives and goals. Include the Board of Directors, if you have one, as the decision makers for CEO and executive/senior placements. They have more direct contact with the managers of employees and can get information on how they perform, how to develop them, and what an employee s overall talent level is. They may not be included in all committee meetings, but will be required to source information for the process. V4 McLean & Company 23

24 Headline / Subhead Vertical Spacing Establish committee guidelines to engage members in planning and set governance for the process going forward Engaging in group brainstorming and coming to a consensus on committee governance will fast track the group from forming to performing, ready to engage in the succession planning process to come. Have HR work with the Senior Managers and/or the Board of Directors to finalize governance. Decide on the following items of information: Purpose o The high-level reasoning for wanting to do succession planning. Stakeholders involved and their role o Refer to the stakeholder chart on the previous slide. Responsibilities o The activities that the committee will carry out in order to achieve the goals of the purpose, including: selecting roles to plan for, selecting employees, generating development initiatives to keep employees on track, and managing the plan once it has been implemented. Frequency of meeting o How often and when the committee will meet to carry out their responsibilities. We recommend large amounts of time be set aside upfront for the first round of planning and that the committee meet on a biannual basis afterwards. Reporting measures o The results of the activities that the committee carries out and how they will be tracked. This includes the succession plan in itself as well as any metrics used to measure project success. Confidentiality requirements o Who is privy to which information. Record this information in a document that will serve as the Succession Planning Steering Committee s Charter. V4 McLean & Company 24

25 V4 Headline / Subhead Vertical Spacing Set project metrics to determine success after implementation Select metrics based on the outcomes that you want to drive. Improved Efficiency Increased number of internal promotions/movement Measure from: The number of lateral and horizontal movements of employees from succession talent pools before and after the project. Increased readiness of successors Measure from: The percent of employees in succession talent pools that are ready to succeed the incumbent. Increased succession pool Measure from: The number of employees in the pool before and after the project. Cost Savings Decreased unnecessary recruitment costs Measure from: The cost of recruiting for positions that could be filled internally before and after project implementation. Consulting costs versus using McLean s & Company resources Compare the cost of an onsite consultant walking you through the project against the cost of using this Blueprint to implement your project either on your own, with Guided Implementations, or with a workshop. Success rate of employees moving up from the succession pool Measure from: The average ratings/scores/talent review placements of employees who have moved into a role from succession planning. Increased pools/positions with ready successors Measure from: Number of positions with successors before and after project. McLean & Company 25

26 V4 Step 3: Identify key gaps Headline / Subhead Vertical Spacing Establish project rationale Manage succession Identify successors and talent pools Assess the foundation Identify key gaps Section summary and deliverables: After completing this section you will have: a) Identified key gaps. b) Skills profiles for each key gap. c) Determined which key gaps will be included in the succession plan. Deliverables: Flexible Succession Plan Tracking Tool. Workshop activities in the step: Step Identify business strategy and initiatives that key gaps will be determined from. Identify key gaps from business initiatives. Develop profiles for key gaps. Assess the risk of departure for each key gap. Select key gaps to be placed into succession planning. McLean & Company 26

27 V4 Headline / Subhead Vertical Spacing What is a key gap? Definition: A key gap is a current or future vacancy that, if left open, would negatively impact the organization s ability to function towards achieving its main objectives. Key gaps are planned for by using succession planning, talent acquisition, retention strategies, or general talent development. Key gaps include: Key Roles Key Individuals Strategic Roles: Roles that give the greatest competitive advantage. Often these are roles that involve decision-making responsibility. Core Roles: Roles that must provide consistent results to achieve business goals. Proprietary Roles: Roles that are tied closely to unique or proprietary internal processes or knowledge that cannot be procured externally. These are often highly technical or specialized. Required Roles: Roles that support the department and are required to keep it moving forward day to day. These individuals are the backbone of the organization and the go-to people who form the corporate culture. It is their skills, knowledge, and experience that makes them critical to your organization and not necessarily the role that they currently inhabit. Key Job Pools Groupings of similar key roles that can be filled by employees from varying backgrounds. Roles that have similar skills and competencies. May not be comprised of current key roles or roles that currently exist, but cover expectancies for the creation of future vacancies. Job pools make your succession plan more flexible to anticipate needs and roles not yet created. McLean & Company 27

28 Headline / Subhead Vertical Spacing Begin the process of identifying key gaps by reviewing business strategy and initiatives 1. Identify business strategy 2. Determine initiatives 3. Select key gaps Work with the committee in the process of identifying key gaps. Identify strategy and initiatives with the support of senior leadership and the Board of Directors. 1 Identify business strategy 2 Determine initiatives V4 Develop desired state: Describe the organization you wish to have by identifying the ideal Culture, People, Processes, and Technology (CPPT). Develop the ideal state for a shortterm time frame, between 3-5 years. This is short enough to account for major changes, but cover a significant enough amount of time for them to be achieved. Assess current state: Review where the organization currently stands in terms of its Culture, People, Processes, and Technology (CPPT). Brutal honesty when assessing the current state will result in better initiatives, as more accuracy can be placed on what needs to get done to close the gap. Conduct a gap analysis: Initiatives guide how the organization will get from the current state to the future state. For each factor of CPPT, determine whether: o You need to take action. o What kind of change you need to make. o Workforce implications of the change. McLean & Company 28

29 Headline / Subhead Vertical Spacing Map roles, individuals, and job pools that support initiatives to determine what the organization s key gaps are 1. Identify business strategy 2. Determine initiatives 3. Select key gaps Bring in the help of senior managers on the committee to define key gaps. Senior managers will understand the majority of roles, individuals, and job pools better than the rest of committee. Their input will be vital to selection. 3 Select key gaps Map key gaps back to your initiatives Determine criticality by reviewing which key gaps: o Generate business results that directly impact an initiative. o Are unique to the organization. o Have a specialized skill set. o Are needed for meeting compliance requirements. o Would create process failure if absent from the organization. o Have a direct impact on the customer base. Work your way through initiatives from most important to least important. Assessing senior leadership roles first will reveal the most obvious key gaps. o Start with the top ranks of the organization and work your way down and across the organization to cover all possibilities for key gaps. V4 Key Foundational Practice: A strategic workforce plan provides you with the information necessary to understand what your key gaps are. McLean & Company 29

30 Headline / Subhead Vertical Spacing Example: Identify key gaps by reviewing strategy, setting initiatives, mapping key gaps from initiatives 1 Identify business strategy Develop desired state: Employees who want to continually improve their skills. Assess current state: Highly intelligent, committed people who care about the organization and its mission and want to learn more. Map key gaps back to your initiatives Determine initiatives Conduct a gap analysis: HR will also have to develop and standardize a learning & development program for employees at different levels. 3 Select key gaps 2 V4 Key roles Director of Learning: Critical to setting the strategy for and overseeing the L&D function. Systems Administrator: Directly manages the learning management system. Key individuals Ally A. is the Instructional Designer for learning programs, and has a rare knowledge of all functions across the organization for developing programs. Job pools The training delivery job pool, made up of training managers that train and interact with participants. McLean & Company 30

31 Headline / Subhead Vertical Spacing Case Study: This organization failed to realize they had a key gap with an important individual Situation The Payroll Manager of a large Provincial hospital, with a 20-year tenure, announced her retirement. Throughout her tenure, this employee took on many tasks outside the scope of her role, including pension calculations/filings and other finance-related tasks that required a high level of specialized knowledge of internal systems. Low-level roles can become critical to business continuation if they re occupied by only one person, creating a single point of failure if they become vacant. Source: Large Provincial Hospital Action Little time or effort was placed on fully understanding what she did day to day. Furthermore, the search for a replacement was left far too late, which meant that she vacated the role without training a replacement. Key Gap: Payroll Manager Results It wasn t until after she left that it became obvious how much extra work she was doing, which made it nearly impossible to find a replacement. Her manager found a replacement to take the payroll duties, but had to distribute the other duties to colleagues (who were very unhappy about the extra tasks). Lessons learned V4 At first glance, this role may not seem like a key role, but the incumbent turned it into one. Do not forget to include those individuals that carry a unique skillset or experience within the organization so that you can start building up employees in talent pools to develop similar traits. McLean & Company 31

32 V4 Create profiles for each key gap to document requirements Headline / Subhead Vertical Spacing Work with senior managers to compile requirements for each key gap. In most cases they will have the most knowledge on the key gap and will be most familiar with the sources that they can draw the requirements from. Start with the incumbents: Interview them and those who work closely with them. Determine what competencies they use on the job and what levels. Identify specific credentials employees uses on the job. Then assess the key gap that the fill objectively: Use job descriptions, observations, and/or focus groups to determine what it takes to be successful in the key role. Ensure that you can answer to the following questions: What competencies are required to do the job? What proficiency level of the competencies are required? What credentials, designations, or education are required? What special or unique experiences are required? Are there any new competencies that may be required in the future to increase the effectiveness of the job? Document key gap profiles in McLean & Company s Flexible Succession Tracking Tool. Profiles for each key gap will: Outline what competencies and knowledge are required to be successful in the key gap. Determine what development is necessary to build up required competencies and knowledge. Clarify what next steps should be taken to address the key gap; whether it should be in the succession plan or not. Key Foundational Practice: Use your organization s core, leadership, and functional competencies to build requirements. McLean & Company 32

33 V4 Assess risk of departure for each key gap in succession plan Headline / Subhead Vertical Spacing Understanding the risk of departure of the current incumbent in a key gap will help: Identify timelines for selecting a successor. o A high risk of departure means you should start the process now, whereas a lower risk means that you still have time to build and train up candidates. Determine the type and pace of development that should be provided for potential successors. Finalize which key gaps should be included in the succession plan and which ones can wait. o The risk of their departure will help you prioritize which ones should be included in succession planning, especially if you have capacity constraints on the number of key gaps in the plan. Work with senior managers to gather incumbent information and get an idea for their risk of departure with the following guidelines. There is a high risk of departure if: The employee is nearing retirement, actively job searching, disengaged, or faces dismissal. There is a medium risk of departure if: The employee is sending mixed messages about happiness at work or sending no messages; it may be difficult to guess. There is a low risk of departure if: The employee is new to the role, highly engaged, a high potential, in their mid to late 50s. Senior managers can gather this info from the incumbents profile. Seek out: performance appraisal results, engagement with the organization, next steps in their career path, and tenure. Contrast this information against demographic trends of the key gap including historical turnover and retirement rates. McLean & Company 33

34 V4 Headline / Subhead Vertical Spacing Use results from key gap profiles and risk assessment to determine which ones should be put into your succession plan Not all key gaps belong in succession plans. Some gaps may already have individuals ready. Others require different HR processes and approaches. Don t forget to plan for key gaps that don t make it into the succession plan. Ensure that they are included in talent acquisition plans, retention initiatives, and knowledge transfer programs. Involve all committee members, senior leaders, senior managers, and the Board for final input into which key gaps should be in the succession plan. Have senior leader(s) make the final decisions. Place key gaps into the succession plan that: Require learning & development opportunities and resources that your organization can provide. o If they require development beyond what your organization can offer, then it may be more cost effective to recruit externally for the position. Have a medium to high risk of departure. o These are red flags for the organization and should start having successors developed for them immediately. Can be filled more cost effectively internally than externally. Do not place key gaps into the succession plan that: Have many employees in the job market that can be easily and quickly hired for it. o In this situation, a cost-benefit analysis can determine that it is more profitable to recruit externally than develop internally. Are so high risk that there is no time at all to develop the skills required for the key gap in an employee in the organization. May have a need for a unique perspective and fresh approach that can only be brought in externally from an individual with diversity of thought. McLean & Company 34

35 V4 Step 4: Identify successors and talent pools Headline / Subhead Vertical Spacing Establish project rationale Manage succession Identify successors and talent pools Assess the foundation Identify key gaps Section summary and deliverables: After completing this section you will have: a) Well-defined succession talent pools. b) Employee placements in succession talent pools. c) Development initiatives for each talent pool. Deliverables: Flexible Succession Plan Tracking Tool Step 4 Workshop activities in the step: Create talent pools and define requirements for membership in the pool. Create high-level development objectives for succession talent pools. Populate talent pools and assess employee readiness. McLean & Company 35

36 V4 Headline / Subhead Vertical Spacing What is a talent pool? Definition: Talent pools consist of employees that are chosen and developed based on specific key gap(s). When the key gap(s) becomes vacant, the successor will be selected from the talent pool. Talent pools should map back to the key gaps they are developed for. This ensures that those included in the pool and the development that they receive reflects the key gaps for a successful transition. Talent pools may address more than one key gap. Key roles, and individuals that were not previously grouped together in the previous section as job pools, may finally be lumped together as one talent pool develops employees for several positions throughout the organization. Talent pool Talent pools should have their own requirements. Criteria for who can be placed into the talent pool reduces the pre-screening required on candidates who eventually are selected to succeed into key gaps. Final successor Talent pools should have their own development. This will guide what activities, programs, and initiatives employees in that group should be working towards. Development should be based on the competencies that were identified for the key gaps that the pool is designed to source. Key gap they are ready to fill McLean & Company 36

37 Headline / Subhead Vertical Spacing Example: Identify successors and talent pools by mapping to key gaps, setting requirements, and building development Key Gap: Director of Learning Talent Pool: Director Pool The talent pool also covers other key gaps, including the Director of Planning and the Director of Marketing. Requirements to be in the pool include leadershiplevel competencies and core competencies. Development for the pool includes attending leadership coaching sessions, support from a director-level mentor, and formal training. Employees who met the requirements come from different silos and levels within the organization. V4 McLean & Co. Insight Keep your talent pools diverse. If you find that after placing employees in talent pools the profile for each employee is very similar, you should investigate to see if there is bias in your evaluation or selection process. McLean & Company 37

38 Headline / Subhead Vertical Spacing Set the minimum requirements for each talent pool to determine which employees are suitable for placement in them The minimum talent level This should be whatever your talent assessment process calls the organization s best talent. If you use a 9-box Talent Grid, the minimum level will be those in the Top Talent grouping: o Medium Performance/High Potential employees. o High Performance/Medium Potential employees. o High Performance/High Potential employees. V4 The minimum competency level The competencies required should be derived from the profiles created for the key gaps that the talent pool is being designed to address. The minimum level for each competency required should be below the actual level required for success. Development opportunities provided should be able to improve the competency level from the minimum to the desired state. The minimum job tier or level Refer to your career path framework or organization chart to determine how may tiers below the key gap that the pool is planning to address is suitable for employees in the pool. In some cases this may be up to two tiers below the intended gaps, as employees who are rising stars can make the progression rapidly within a shorter time frame when given the right development opportunities. O P T I O N A L The baseline credentials Include these if it is absolutely critical for the key gaps that the talent pool is being designed for AND if it is unlikely for employees to gain these credentials within the recommended short-term time frame. Membership in a specific job function Some situations may require specific experiences within a job function or family if the key gap is highly specialized and unique. Key Foundational Practices: Competencies, internal talent assessment, and a career path framework help determine talent pool criteria. McLean & Company 38

39 Headline / Subhead Vertical Spacing Create high-level objectives for what development should be provided to move employees from their pool into the key gap Development covers a variety of approaches: Formal Training Learning from planned training materials. Lecture, seminar, workshops. Group discussions. Role playing. Live webinars and video conferences. E-learning. Relational Learning Learning from other people. Coaching. Mentoring. Peer mentoring. Experiential Learning Learning from on-the-job experiences. On-the-job short-term assignments. Major line assignments. Special projects. Use a model to determine how much of each type of development should be planned for. 20% Relational Learning 70% Formal Training 10% Experiential Learning V4 Relational Learning supports knowledge transfer between those employees in key gaps and those in talent pools who may one day replace them, a crucial aspect of managing the departure of retiring employees. Experiential Learning Development for succession plan employees should include a component in which the employees are presented with real life business issues and have to deliver on them, proving their abilities. Source: Senior HR Leader, Research Industry McLean & Co. Insight Setting high-level development objectives beforehand ensures that the employee will receive the development that they need and that the development is relevant to the organization s needs as well. McLean & Company 39

40 Headline / Subhead Vertical Spacing Populate your talent pools by gathering and analyzing employee information Gather information on potential talent pool candidates. 1. Review talent in your organization. Use review tools, such as performance appraisals, competencies, and internal talent assessment. 2. Evaluate talent. Get managers to evaluate their employees talent and calibrate amongst themselves. This will help to minimize bias. If you use the 9-box talent grid, employee talent levels are defined by grid placement. 3. Develop talent. Employees with the highest talent level are candidates for the talent pool. In the case of the 9-box talent grid, you use employees identified as Top Talent. McLean & Co. Insight Don t duplicate your efforts; the review of talent for succession planning should align with your standard annual talent review process. Create talent profiles for each candidate to compile information. After you compile a list of employees for each desired talent level, create a detailed profile for each qualifying employee. Be sure to include: Current position. Tenure with the company. Competencies and associated proficiency levels. Qualifications and credentials. *Note: If employee records are not up to date, update them by interviewing the employee and their manager. Select employees to be placed in talent pools. Placements in the pools should be based primarily on how well their profile aligns with minimum talent pool requirements. Placements should be reviewed by a committee to calibrate and discuss suitability. You may also want to conduct further assessments including: job simulations (on the job); competency-based aptitude tests (objective data); HR-led interviews (objectivity and confirmation); and stretch assignments (challenge comfort zones). V4 McLean & Company 40

41 V4 Headline / Subhead Vertical Spacing Assess the readiness of employees placed in the pool to understand who the most prepared successors are Readiness not only helps define development needs, but also assesses any risks around the organization s ability to fill a key gap, i.e. will a successor be ready to take on a key gap prior to it being vacated or will there be a shortfall. Collect information from managers on how effectively the potential successor would serve in the gap today. Have managers: Review the competencies for the key gap based on the profile created for it. Determine what competencies the succession candidate currently has based on their talent pool profile and what must be learned. Determine how difficult it will be for the successor to acquire missing skills or knowledge, whether the resources are available to provide the required development, and how long it will take to provide it. Don t assume that all employees want a career change today or in the future: Career conversations with managers will determine their career aspirations. HR needs to provide supervisors with guidelines on how to do this effectively and set appropriate expectations. If the potential successor isn t interested in the key gap you have in mind, remove them from your list of potential successors. Be very cautious about making promises. The fact is that a key gap may not become available immediately or it could be offered to a more qualified successor. See this upcoming slide for more information on how to handle this situation. McLean & Co. Insight In a situation where nobody in the talent pool is ready now, identify an emergency successor plan just in case something happens before an employee is ready. This successor can be an employee that would be able to carry out the basic functionality for the role on a short-term basis until a member from the talent pool can be developed or an external hire is brought in as a solution. They can also be a contractor or consultant hired on a temporary basis. McLean & Company 41

42 V4 Headline / Subhead Vertical Spacing Step 5: Manage succession Establish project rationale Manage succession Identify successors and talent pools Assess the foundation Identify key gaps Section summary and deliverables: After completing this section you will have: a) Well-defined succession talent pools. b) Employee placements in succession talent pools. c) Development initiatives for each talent pool. Deliverables: Flexible Succession Plan Tracking Tool. Step 4 Workshop activities in the step: Document your succession plan. Plan your communication strategy. McLean & Company 42

43 Headline / Subhead Vertical Spacing Finalize your succession planning process with documentation and timelines Include the following items of information in your written record to outline what your succession plan entails. Purpose: The organization s reasoning for doing succession planning. Scope: Whom the plan applies to. Committee: Whom is currently involved in the plan process of the plan, including committee members. Definitions: Any terminology within the project or coined by your committee for the project. Process: Development of the plan from the identification of key gaps to the identification of talent pools, to the management of the plan. Tracking: How the plan will be tracked and where to find the most up-to-date information. Selection process: How employees will be selected from the talent pool into a key gap when a vacancy opens. V4 Frequency of review: How often the record will be reviewed for updates and the date of the last update. See the next slides for more information on tracking and the selection process. McLean & Company 43

44 V4 Headline / Subhead Vertical Spacing Identify technology to track the flexible succession plan The flexible succession planning process developed in this blueprint has been designed to be tracked with the Flexible Succession Plan Tracking Tool. However, if you feel that you need a system with a larger capacity, consider an integrative software system. Vendor sampling: There are a number of vendors in the succession planning space. Here are a few of the most widely known: PeopleFluent Halogen Software SuccessFactors Cornerstone OnDemand Oracle Workday ADP McLean & Company 44

45 Headline / Subhead Vertical Spacing Set the process for selecting a final successor from the talent pools to move into a key gap First, identify top contenders within your talent pool by frequently reviewing and updating employee profiles. Top contenders are candidates who: Fit the talent pool target profile the best. Have the highest readiness level. If possible, have a replacement ready to fill their role once they move into a key gap. Then, once you have your top contenders, determine: Frequently updating employees successionfocused development on a quarterly basis makes this information more readily available for when the need arises to use it, enhancing flexibility. V4 When to start the process of selecting a successor. When: The risk of departure of a key gap reaches an extreme level. An employee gives sudden notice of retirement, resignation, or is terminated from the organization. How these employees will be made aware of the vacancy. Communicated via: Posting created for the key gap. One-on-one discussions with the most ready successors within the relevant talent pool. What application process will be used. Options can include: Resume application. Committee-led interview. Psychometric testing currently used by the organization. Direct selection of the only candidate that is ready if no others are. Who will make the final decision on the successor. Decision making can come from: The vote of committee members. The final decision from the direct supervisor for the key gap OR from senior leaders/board of Directors. McLean & Company 45

46 Determine the degree of transparency you will have with sharing components of your flexible succession plan Most organizations fall somewhere between the extremes of secrecy and transparency when it comes to discussing succession planning outside of the committee. Secrecy Succession plan process, key gaps, and employees in talent pools are not y shared with employees outside of steering committee. All components of flexible succession planning are widely known and shared with all employees. T r a n s p a r e n c y The amount of secrecy or transparency you have with your communication will reflect your organizational culture. Determine the level of transparency for these components: Process overview Letting employees know whether or not the organization is engaging in succession planning. What key gaps are being planned for Disclosing the key gaps that a succession plan is being developed for. Which employees are in talent pools Informing employees on whether they are in the succession plan, what talent pool they are a part of, and what key gap the talent pool is being developed to close. Communicating succession planning halfway can create questions, awkwardness, and an air of mistrust. Senior HR Leader, Formerly in the Hospitality Industry McLean & Company 46

47 Present an inclusive communication if you want transparency Process overview Share the process with all employees so that everyone is aware that succession planning is occurring. Explain why succession planning is done: o The benefits to different groups in the organization as well as how it aligns with objectives. Provide a high-level overview of what the process is: o High-level summary of activities that the committee carried out to get to the final plan. o Dates and timelines for when planning, selection, and development will occur. Keep the identified audience informed as major updates or changes are made to the succession plan. Key gaps to be planned for Let incumbents of key gaps know that talent pools are being developed. Ensure that these incumbents know you still value them in their role (if applicable) and that the succession plan is a backup measure just in case they decide to leave. Pros: Incumbents can be actively involved in the development of pools and in the provision of information for succession planning. Cons: Incumbents may become paranoid about their standing in the organization if the message isn't communicated well. Employees in talent pools Let employees know they are part of the succession plan. Clarify that their placement in the pool does not necessarily guarantee their succession into a new role now or in the future. o Stress that the talent pool development will make them stronger performers regardless. Pros: Everyone is aware of the process and can focus their performance accordingly to stay or be placed in plans. Employees identified as successors will be more inclined to stay at the organization, boosting retention rates. Employees who decide they aren't interested can back out of the pool immediately so time is not wasted. Cons: Employees who don t eventually fill key gaps may feel left out. An ego problem may arise from employees who are told. McLean & Company 47

48 Deliver a more guarded communication if you opt for secrecy Process overview Share the process with senior leaders, senior managers, and other senior stakeholders outside of the committee. Have your senior leaders present the program to the intended audience to enhance buy-in and demonstrate support from the top for the program. Explain why succession planning is done: o The benefits to different groups in the organization as well as how it aligns with objectives. Provide a high-level overview of what the process is: o High-level summary of activities that the committee carried out to get to the final plan. Keep the identified audience informed as major updates or changes are made to the succession plan. Key gaps to be planned for Do not inform incumbents of key gaps that their roles are key gaps. Pros: Incumbents will not feel insecure about their status if they don t know that you are developing successors. Cons: Can be more difficult to get incumbents to help develop employees in talent pools if they don't have a defined purpose for doing so. Employees in talent pools Do not share with employees that they are in the succession plan. Make it very apparent to employees that they are valued and demonstrate this through communicating that they will receive special development as a reward. Ensure that senior managers are aware that their own employees are in talent pools so that they can guide their development accordingly. Pros: Employees who are not specifically a part of the plan won t have a basis to feel disengaged. Employees who no longer fit pool requirements can be removed with little fuss. Cons: Employees that don t specifically know they are a part of the succession plan may leave. McLean & Company 48

49 V4 Headline / Subhead Vertical Spacing Managers work with employees in pools to plan development Managers and employees should integrate the development required for each talent pool into each employee s personal development plan. 1 2 Have the employee develop drafts of their development goals prior to their development meeting. Employees who know what pools they re in are able to draft relevant development goals beforehand. Get managers and employees to meet together to discuss development goals. Managers should review employee goals and align them with the high-level development activities designated for the employee s respective talent pool. For more information on employee development planning see Implement Effective Employee Development Planning Have managers provide feedback and coaching. Managers should provide employees with constructive feedback on their progress throughout development initiatives. Committee members involved in the development of talent pools should also provide employees with feedback to reinforce the support of the business towards their development. Managers should check-in and review goals with employees on a regularly scheduled basis to update, adjust, and provide feedback. Results from check-ins on employees in talent pools should be relayed back to the committee to update employee profiles and readiness level for key gaps. McLean & Company 49

50 Headline / Subhead Vertical Spacing Frequently assess and update employee profiles in the succession plan to determine readiness to succeed into gaps As employees progress through their talent pool development ensure that their profiles are up to date. Frequent updates enhance the responsiveness of your plan to change as the information is always as up to date as possible within the time and resource limitations of your organization. Frequency: Because the majority of information used to assess readiness will come from managers, try to align the frequency of updating to your organization s regular review cycles. V4 Readiness can be determined by assessing an employee s: Competencies, talent level, and other credentials as they relate to the talent pool target. Desire to progress into a new role. This information should be collected from managers by collecting: Employee progress in their development plan. Results of career discussions. Updated performance appraisal ratings. Results from employee talent reviews or employee placements in the 9-box talent grid. Key Foundational Practices: Competencies, performance management, and internal talent assessment will help you assess employee readiness and update their profiles. McLean & Company 50

51 Headline / Subhead Vertical Spacing Be prepared to update employees accordingly as results from frequent assessment require the succession plan to change Take the appropriate actions when different situations occur to mitigate negative impact or use the situation to bolster success of planning. Situation: Employees need to be removed from the talent pool and succession plan. Occurs because: Assessments reveal that employees no longer meet the requirements of the pool; the pool may cease to exist as key gaps change or the employee voluntary withdraws. Action to take: Proceed with a delicate approach if they have been told they are in a pool to reduce the potential for hurt feelings. Ensure that employees understand the reasoning. Clarify what will happen with the development opportunities that the employee was provided with. Let employees know how they can return back into the pool. Situation: Employees are not selected for a key gap when one arises. Occurs because: Several ready candidates are viable for the gap, but only one can be selected. Action to take: Employees who applied for the gap need to be informed that they were not selected. Engage them with development and the concept of the pool itself by informing them that you still value their talent. Consider job enrichment, job enlargement, or a rotation into the successor s role to provide other mobility options. Situation: Employees need to be added to a talent pool and the succession plan. V4 Occurs because: After initial planning has been set up, subsequent talent reviews reveal newly designated Top Talent that can be placed into pools. Action to take: Proceed with informing the relative audience that you communicated to for the initial communication. See the next slide for actions to take when an employee is selected McLean & Company 51

52 V4 Headline / Subhead Vertical Spacing Manage the movement of identified successors into key gaps Use the selection methods identified earlier in the section and recorded in your written documentation of the succession plan. Manage the transition of successors for a smooth changeover: Ensure that there is enough time for them to close loose ends in their role. Avoid a sudden departure that leaves their previous responsibilities and duties in limbo due to a ripple effect. Work with them to determine who will take over what duties until there is a replacement. Ramp them up into the key gap for a smooth transition. If they haven t yet been mentored by the departing employee in the key gap, work in some time for the two to meet. Have the employee start to take on some of the departing employee s duties if appropriate. Communicate the new successor to employees. Ensure that the relevant employees understand the transition is already in place so no doubt is left as to what happens when the employee in the key gap leaves. Plan to manage the ripples. A ripple effect is the gaps created by an employee when they leave their current role for another. When a successor moves into a key gap, they leave behind their role, which requires another employee to leave their role to fill it and so on and so forth. In certain cases where the succession talent pool employee is leaving a less critical role, basic replacement planning is enough to backfill their vacant position. Consider using the gap as a development tool for other employees in the talent pool to take on, either temporarily or on a more permanent basis. This may be the time to use the emergency successor identified beforehand to temporarily plug the gap until a replacement is found. Filling one position typically creates a cascading effect that involves a number of employee moves. The company must be ready to act in order to keep positions filled and employees moving properly on their development path. Source: PwC, Succession planning: What is the cost of doing it poorly or not at all? McLean & Company 52

53 V4 Headline / Subhead Vertical Spacing Measure the success of your planning and update accordingly to continuously enhance the results Review metrics Metrics should be reviewed and updated as necessary as frequently as the succession plan is reviewed and updated. Refer back to the metrics that you selected at the beginning of the project Collect feedback Collect feedback from all groups involved in the succession planning. Focus on soliciting info on: The key foundational practices. The key gaps that have been identified. The talent pools that have been developed. The employee placements in talent pools. Employee development. Success of final successors. Update the process Make changes to the plan based on feedback and metrics to ensure that it adapts to better suit organizational needs. Communicate changes to stakeholders involved. Assign responsibilities for changes. Update documentation. Succession planning does not stop with nominating successors: it should be continuously realigned with market trends, business strategy, and talent developments. Source: HReonline McLean & Company 53

54 V4 Summary Headline / Subhead Vertical Spacing Establish project rationale Manage succession Identify successors and talent pools Step 4 Assess the foundation Identify key gaps Key takeaways: Flexible succession planning makes the organization more agile and adaptable to providing successors in a high-change environment. Key gaps, the roles, individuals, and job pools that are planned for should be identified based on how well they support organizational objectives. Talent pools should map back to the key gaps they were created to close and be comprised of employees that meet the minimum competency, talent, and job tier required. Manage the plan by frequently assessing employees in the talent pool to ensure readiness for expected and unexpected vacancies. McLean & Company 54

55 Actionable Business Strategy Culture People Strategy Learning Organization Capabilities Programs Leadership and Management Key Business Skills Technical and Process Skills Sales and Service Compliance and Safety Application and Support Pre and Post Discussions Coaching and Recognition Online Support Teams and Communities PM and Comp (PDPs) Measurements and Impact Commitment to Key Behaviors Behavioral Measures Employee Surveys Customer Satisfaction Business Impacts