Chapter 7 - Succession Management – Week 12

Question 1

The systematic process of determining critical roles within the organization, identifying and evaluating possible successors, and developing them for these roles

Answer 1

Success Management

Question 2

Talent management is linked to success management and focuses on the flow of employees from:

Answer 2

Starting from selection
To career management
To exit from the organization

Question 3

While focusing only on the CEO in the past, success management now focuses on the following critical roles

Answer 3

1. CEO
2. Senior Management (executives)
3. Critical roles based on long-term value (e.g. scientist or customer relation specialists)

Question 4

From the survey referenced in the slides, what percentage of companies would know who would take charge if the CEO resigned today

Answer 4

50%

Question 5

What are the benefits of succession management programs

Answer 5

• 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

Question 6

The process of identifying short-term and long-term emergency backups to fill critical positions

Answer 6

Replacement planning

Question 7

How has replacement planning evolved to succession management?

Answer 7

by broadening the focus,
expanding the time horizon,
creating a talent pool of replacements,
and improving the evaluation system

Question 8

What are advantages to promoting internally

Answer 8

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

Question 9

Advantages of hiring externally

Answer 9

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

Question 10

5 Steps for Succession Management Process

Am
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In
Permanent
Messes

Answer 10

1. Align succession management plans with strategy
2. Identify the skills and competencies needed to meet strategic objectives
3. Identify high-potential employees
4. Provide developmental opportunities and experiences
5. Monitor succession management

Question 11

Step 1: Align Succession Management with Strategy

Answer 11

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

Question 12

Step 2: Identify the Skills and Competencies Needed

Answer 12

The skills and competencies of successful managers must be identified using the:
Job-based approach
Competency-based approach

Question 13

What is the Job-Based Approach

Answer 13

Job-based approach: Focus on duties, skills, job experience, and responsibilities required to perform the job
Not adequate since jobs change rapidly

Question 14

Competency-Based Approach

Answer 14

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

Question 15

What are the 3 Types of Competencies

Answer 15

1. Core competencies
   Characteristics everyone in an organization has to possess
2. Role or specific competencies
   Business knowledge shared by different positions in an organization
3. Unique or distinctive competencies
   Characteristics that apply to specific positions only

Question 16

Step 3: Identify High-Potential Employees

Answer 16

Organizations use several approaches to identify managerial talent, including:
- Temporary replacements

• Replacement charts
• Strategic replacement
• Talent management culture
• Employee Value Proposition (EVP)

Question 17

What are Temporary replacements

Answer 17

Appoint designated backups at the very least

Question 18

What are replacement charts?

Answer 18

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

Question 19

What is Strategic replacement?

Answer 19

Identifies leadership competencies and organization needs, based on the organizations plan
Organization then tries to support and train these managers from within

Question 20

What is Talent management culture?

Answer 20

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

Question 21

What is an Employee Value Proposition (EVP)?

Answer 21

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

Question 22

Step 4: Provide Developmental Opportunities and Experiences

Answer 22

Through:
Management Development Methods
Formal Training and Development
Mentorship

Question 23

What are examples of Management Development Methods

Answer 23

• 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

Question 24

What are examples of traditional Training and Development techniques

Answer 24

Traditional and passive techniques are the least effective, but they are fast and easy to use:
Lectures
Seminars
Discussion groups

Question 25

What are examples of more effective training and development techniques

Answer 25

Role-playing
Case studies
Behaviour modeling
Action learning
Experiential learning

Question 26

What are Mentors?

Answer 26

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

Question 27

Step 5: Monitor Succession Management

Answer 27

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

Question 28

HR Metrics for Success Management

Answer 28

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

Question 29

What are HR Metric - Lag Measures/Indicator

Answer 29

Information that results from an event or a change

Question 30

What is the employee role in sucession management

Answer 30

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

Question 31

What is he employee role in succession management

Answer 31

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

Question 32

Vacancy Risk is

Answer 32

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

Question 33

Readiness Risk is

Answer 33

HR must develop employees so that when opportunities arise, there are qualified and motivated personnel in place

Question 34

Transition Risk is

Answer 34

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