Strategic Succession Planning Training Course

Course overview

The most important pillar of any organization are its people. A section of people in every organization are responsible for positions which are critical for maintaining its competitive edge and the continuity of business. The incumbents of these positions are either very senior or are technical experts in their respective fields. By virtue of their seniority and technical expertise, it becomes difficult to replace them. Such people are difficult to hire from the external market and it takes too long to train them internally. The original scope of Succession Planning is this section of employees. This process is so important that it merits the attention of the leadership team.  The leadership team is usually involved personally in the succession planning of these key positions.

Succession Planning helps to ensure that the organization has access to a pipeline of talented and capable leaders who are ready to assume higher-level roles. It also helps the organization to have the right people in place to continue its success. Another benefit of having a robust Succession Planning process is that the organization has a succession of strong leaders who can take the organization forward in a positive direction. Furthermore, Succession Planning helps the organization to have a smooth transition whenever a senior leader or technical expert leaves the organization. This helps to avoid disruption and maintain continuity of operations.

Do succession plans have limitations? Sure they do.

Do the limitations outweigh the benefits? Never.

Succession Planning is a resource intensive exercise, specially in terms of the leadership teams time and the manpower allocated by the Human Resource department. Because of the above-mentioned importance and inherent challenges, succession planning is rightly called a strategic HR task.

Learning Objectives

• Understand the importance and need of Succession Planning
• Be prepared for the high level of time and resource commitment
• The importance of leadership buy-in
• Understand the limitations of the process
• Understand and develop a Succession Planning model
• Emphasize the need for monitoring
• Leverage technology
• Reap the benefits of outcomes other than having a talent pipeline for future

Our Unique Training Methodology

• Group discussions
• Breakout sessions
• Roleplays
• Simulation of typical succession planning meeting
• Whiteboarding
• Brain storming

Training Medium

The Training on “Succession Planning” is designed in a way that it can be delivered face to face and virtually.

Course Duration

This Training on “Succession Planning” is versatile in its delivery. The training can be delivered as a three-day program or can be spread across seven days.

Pre-course Assessment

All participants need to:

• Re-design minimum 2 Job descriptions in the provided template
• Prepare a high-level list of key positions in the organization and make a note of why they are critical to the success of the organization.

Course Modules

Module 1: Introduction and Ice Breaker

Every participant needs to introduce themselves. If their organization has been in a situation where a key position has been vacant for more than a few days, we would request them to briefly explain the monetary impact on the business and emotional impact on the team.

Module 2: Objective of Succession Planning

• Build a talent pipeline for the future
• Employee retention
• Increase in employee engagement
• Promote gender diversity

Module 3: Scope of Succession Planning

The scope of Succession Planning is always key positions only. The definition of key position will be different for different organizations. The training will support participants in framing their own organizational specific definition of key talent.

Module 3: Prerequisites for Succession Planning

The successful implementation of a Succession Planning process requires the following items, we will deep dive into each of them in the course.

• A detailed criteria for selecting and developing leaders
• Timeline for transition
• Scouting the external and internal job market
• Good quality job descriptions
• Communication with stakeholders
• Well defined career paths for candidates
• Monitoring progress

Module 4: Common challenges in the Succession Planning process

In theory Succession Planning sounds easy, however that are many challenges. Few of them are listed below, we will understand each of them in the training and how to overcome them.

• Lack of an effective talent pool to draw future leaders
• Lack of a robust process for selecting and developing leader
• Unclear job descriptions making it difficult to identify the most suitable candidates for the position
• Poor communication with internal and external stakeholders about Succession Planning
• Resistance to change
• Lack of resources to implement an effective succession plan

Module 5: Limitations for Succession Plans and how to overcome them

• Limited scope
• Limited diversity
• Inflexibility
• Resistance to change
• Overemphasis on seniority and technical expertise
• Culture of entitlement
• Risk of failure

Module 6: The methodology of Succession Planning

The methodology of the Succession Planning is determined depending on the nature of the business and the number of people in the organization. During the training we will share an example of midsize local manufacturing company.

Module 7: Use of technology

Most organizations use an ERP that has a functionality to link data from multiple sources, store new information and transfer information.  A few good examples are Success Factors and SAP-HR, both of which have a “Talent Management” module which help to record, edit, transfer and download employee specific information related to Succession Planning.

Post-course Assessment

Participants will study their existing ERP and how it can be optimized for Succession Planning. In the absence of an ERP participants will design a template that captures the most important information of Succession Planning discussions.

Lessons Learned

The Training Bee takes pride in identifying the most critical training requirements of the workplace and curating training programs that are forward looking. The aim of this training on “Succession Planning” is to help participants understand the merits and challenges of Succession Planning, how to develop a organization specific plan and a monitoring system that takes the exercise to another level.

Our team of competent trainers, research the present and future workplace trends across industries and geographies and deliver information, knowledge and tools to overcome the challenges of tomorrow. This preemptive outlook differentiates our course design, its delivery and keeps our clients asking for more.