Everyone's Quitting and There's No Plan In Place

The recruiter quit. And I took on her responsibilities. The Assistant HR Director quit. And I assumed the employee relations responsibilities. Then the HR Director quit. And the labor relations responsibilities were piled on. I wanted to quit. It was a large HR department but shrinking rapidly. When would we hire someone new? Could Corporate send reinforcements to help out until we could hire someone? It was at this time in my career that I learned the importance of succession planning.

The pace of work was unsustainable. There was no way I could effectively do the work of three people. Some things would fall through the cracks and I had to prioritize what those things were. Not just prioritize what work I could do, but what work would be left undone.

I talk a lot about employee retention and succession planning fits nicely into employee retention. Succession planning is the process of identifying critical positions within your organization and creating career development plans for individuals to assume those critical roles. It’s planning for “what’s next” in your organization and having a plan in place when someone leaves, whether it’s because of retirement, resignation, or other ways. Having a succession plan in place helps retain employees because employees know there’s a solid plan in place to further the Company. It also helps to create career opportunities for employees. 

Now is the best time to do anything. Putting off important initiatives like succession planning can be detrimental to an organization’s health. The steps to creating a successful succession plan include:

• Identifying Key Roles within the organization

• Identifying the Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities/Competencies needed to be successful in those roles

• Identifying individuals within the organization to assume those key roles

• Having conversations with those individuals to make sure they are interested in assuming key roles

• Externally recruiting for those key roles if there are no internal candidates

• Developing career development plans to prepare those individuals for those roles

The key ingredient in any successful succession plan is communication. Communicating with employees that a plan is in place to continue the business seamlessly. Communication with employees who may be ready for a promotion. Communication with the leadership team to provide career development to those potential promotes. A succession plan can take anywhere from 18-36 months to develop and put into action. The time to start is now. 

Succession planning is forward-looking and helps preserve the health of the organization. It can help preserve institutional knowledge that may walk out the door when someone quits. Other benefits include:

• Increasing employee retention by increasing awareness of career development opportunities

• Increasing communication and transparency within the organization

• Ensuring the stability and health of the organization by transferring knowledge to the next generation

• Preserving the company’s shared values and goals

• Opportunities for leadership development and mentorships

• Building a strong talent pool

Don’t let the future of your organization suffer by failing to put a succession plan in place. 

What are the other benefits of succession planning? 

Reach out to me and schedule a discovery call to talk more about succession planning and how it fits into your organization.