Chapter 7 - Succession Management – Week 12 Flashcards
The systematic process of determining critical roles within the organization, identifying and evaluating possible successors, and developing them for these roles
Success Management
Talent management is linked to success management and focuses on the flow of employees from:
Starting from selection
To career management
To exit from the organization
While focusing only on the CEO in the past, success management now focuses on the following critical roles
- CEO
- Senior Management (executives)
- Critical roles based on long-term value (e.g. scientist or customer relation specialists)
From the survey referenced in the slides, what percentage of companies would know who would take charge if the CEO resigned today
50%
What are the benefits of succession management programs
- Improves internal candidate pools
- Assures business continuity
- Reduces skill gaps
- Retains employees
- Develops leaders more quickly
- Encourages the advancement of diverse groups
- Improves employees’ ability to respond to changing environmental demands
The process of identifying short-term and long-term emergency backups to fill critical positions
Replacement planning
How has replacement planning evolved to succession management?
by broadening the focus,
expanding the time horizon,
creating a talent pool of replacements,
and improving the evaluation system
What are advantages to promoting internally
More and better information
Organizations that offer career development and opportunities to internal candidates increase commitment and retention
Internally developed leaders preserve corporate culture
Can hit the road running
Less internal disruption
Recruitment and selection costs are lower
Advantages of hiring externally
May have skills to lead the organization through a major transformation or change in strategy
New knowledge and skills to the organization and prevents the organization from becoming inbred and stale
5 Steps for Succession Management Process
Am I In Permanent Messes
- Align succession management plans with strategy
- Identify the skills and competencies needed to meet strategic objectives
- Identify high-potential employees
- Provide developmental opportunities and experiences
- Monitor succession management
Step 1: Align Succession Management with Strategy
Organization must start with the business plan and strategies
Using environment scanning, managers try to predict where the organization will be in three, five, or ten years
Step 2: Identify the Skills and Competencies Needed
The skills and competencies of successful managers must be identified using the:
Job-based approach
Competency-based approach
What is the Job-Based Approach
Job-based approach: Focus on duties, skills, job experience, and responsibilities required to perform the job
Not adequate since jobs change rapidly
Competency-Based Approach
Groups of related behaviours that are needed for successful performance. Focus on measurable attributes that differentiate successful employees from those who are not successful
Hard and soft skills
Produces more flexible individuals
What are the 3 Types of Competencies
- Core competencies
Characteristics everyone in an organization has to possess - Role or specific competencies
Business knowledge shared by different positions in an organization - Unique or distinctive competencies
Characteristics that apply to specific positions only
Step 3: Identify High-Potential Employees
Organizations use several approaches to identify managerial talent, including:
- Temporary replacements
- Replacement charts
- Strategic replacement
- Talent management culture
- Employee Value Proposition (EVP)
What are Temporary replacements
Appoint designated backups at the very least
What are replacement charts?
Predict departure dates
Provide a shortlist of possible successors
Target them for growth and annual development plans
Stay in touch, and remain responsible for developing them
What is Strategic replacement?
Identifies leadership competencies and organization needs, based on the organizations plan
Organization then tries to support and train these managers from within
What is Talent management culture?
Talent matters and must be developed at all levels
Leaders answer the question: Why would a talented person want to work here?
Employee brand is managed as much as the company brand.
Reputation matters – Great place to work now and in the future based on what applicants are looking for
What is an Employee Value Proposition (EVP)?
Brand positioning so that employees will see the org as an employer worth working for; and all company messages sent to the labour market are compelling and consistent. (See 7.1)
What attracts candidates these days:
A winning company – growth and development
A “big risk, big reward” company, which offers great potential for advancement and compensation
A “save the world” organization, which is attractive to those wanting a mission
A “lifestyle” company – flexibilty, and a good relationship with the boss
Step 4: Provide Developmental Opportunities and Experiences
Through:
Management Development Methods
Formal Training and Development
Mentorship
What are examples of Management Development Methods
- Promotions
An employee’s upward advancement in the hierarchy of an organization - Job rotations
A process whereby an employee’s upward advancement in the hierarchy of an organization is achieved by lateral as well as vertical moves - Special Assignments and action learning
On-the-job learning is still a favourite method of developing management skills
To test high-potential employees, they can be given a special assignment in addition to their regular duties
Special assignments develop new skills and provide network opportunities
Mistakes are tolerated to allow candidates to be innovative
What are examples of traditional Training and Development techniques
Traditional and passive techniques are the least effective, but they are fast and easy to use:
Lectures
Seminars
Discussion groups
What are examples of more effective training and development techniques
Role-playing Case studies Behaviour modeling Action learning Experiential learning
What are Mentors?
Executives who coach, advise, and encourage junior employees
Mentors take an active interest in career development and psychosocial development of the protégé
Used to happen informally
Formal mentorship programs in organizations are becoming more common
Step 5: Monitor Succession Management
Corporations with strong succession management programs are higher performers in revenue growth, profitability, and market share
HR metrics can be used to help monitor succession management
HR Metrics for Success Management
Increased engagement scores
Increased positive perceptions of development opportunities
High-potential employees’ perceptions of the succession management process
Higher participation in developmental activities
Greater numbers involved in the mentoring process
What are HR Metric - Lag Measures/Indicator
Information that results from an event or a change
What is the employee role in sucession management
Participatory process between managers and employees that has replaced the top-down approach
Gain employee commitment to and ownership of the plans
Employees have a “voice” in the process
Employees must consider that their relationship with the organization is not static
The implied employment contract once thought to protect employees is no longer valid
A new, transactional employment contract is in place that provides benefits to employees for their contributions in the short-term only
Organizations still need to manage their employees and view their value and contributions in light of the intense competition for leadership talent
What is he employee role in succession management
Participatory process between managers and employees that has replaced the top-down approach
Gain employee commitment to and ownership of the plans
Employees have a “voice” in the process
Employees must consider that their relationship with the organization is not static
The implied employment contract once thought to protect employees is no longer valid
A new, transactional employment contract is in place that provides benefits to employees for their contributions in the short-term only
Organizations still need to manage their employees and view their value and contributions in light of the intense competition for leadership talent
Vacancy Risk is
Organizations that are unable to fill key vacant positions quickly with effective leaders may suffer business losses and/or an inability to move forward on strategic goals
Readiness Risk is
HR must develop employees so that when opportunities arise, there are qualified and motivated personnel in place
Transition Risk is
In addition to preparing employees for key roles, HR must develop programs to retain key employees and to monitor competitors and others to be able to quickly identify external candidates
