By Paul Plotczyk, President, WSA

In a previous  LeadingUpset article, Talent Management: Why it's Hot at the Top (2007), many readers agreed with our comment that the phrase, “people are our most important asset,” is a tired and over-used sound bite that often elicits a collective groan..

Although companies promote the idea that employees are their biggest source of competitive advantage, the reality is that most of them are as unprepared for the challenge of finding, motivating, and retaining talented workers as they were a decade ago.  In fact, we have seen the talent issue become an even more acute and global problem since we started our research into the talent war in the late ‘90s.

Additionally, even though over 50% of the executives who participated in our Executive Level Organizational Upset Survey said that the number one requirement to ensure the future success of their organizations was Quality Staff, too many organizations still dismiss talent management as a short-term, tactical problem rather than an integral part of a long-term business strategy.

This lack of strategic mind space devoted to talent management is further aggravated by statements that we frequently hear characterizing initial efforts as “expensive” and largely “failing to address the problem”.

Shareholders and investment analysts add to the problem by continuing to promote this obsession with short-term performance, encouraging the positioning of Talent Management as a primarily tactical – and expensive! - concern.

Key external factors creating uncertainty such as demographic change, globalization, and the rise of the knowledge workers compound the issue even further.

The long and the short of it is: the War for Talent is still on – and it has become more complex. 

Succession Planning – How to Get Your Executives' Attention

It is well known and accepted that leadership is at the heart of the success or failure of an organization. Since Succession Planning starts with leadership, we have found that even executives in organizations that pay little attention to Talent Management, sit up and take notice when the discussion is about the successors to key leadership positions.

You can further capture the attention of top executives by initiating a Succession Planning process with a discussion of the Core Competencies necessary to succeed in their respective positions.

The executive interviews outlined below not only validate the selected Core Competencies and instruct executive in the somewhat sensitive process of identifying a successor. They also allow you to frame the Succession Planning process in the context of the organization's strategy. This ensures that Succession Planning is targeted, relevant and viewed as a key part of the overall business strategy.

The “How To's” of Succession Planning

The following 4 steps form the foundation we have found to be most effective in a Succession Planning initiative:

Step 1. Build and Validate a Strategic Leadership Competency Profile

• Create the strategic context, linking succession planning to business objectives.
• Determine the Core Competencies critical to success in specific job functions/roles. (We use a list of 64 research-based leadership competencies to help start the process.)
• Document the current and anticipated activities that will be critical to success in a role/job for which you are creating a succession plan. (We use a Leadership Activity Analysis Behavioral Survey supported by behavioral event interviews to create this list.)

Step 2. Select Successor Talent

Interview your executives and other key staff to determine what the current and future talent needs of the organization are. Help them to identify potential successors for their position.

There are a number of tools you can use to evaluate and select potential successors:

• 9 Box Successor Performance/Potential Matrix – map overall potential against actual performance.
• Successor Leadership Competency Assessment – categorize potential against current performance in each leadership competency.
• Succession Planning Grid – a visual overview of the readiness of the talent pool for each business unit/group.

Step 3. Create and Use Individual Development Plans (IDPs)

Create a first draft of Individual Development Plans (IDPs) for each role/job function. The IDP specifies the key development activities (mentoring, training, job rotation, etc.) each successor needs to model at a high level in order to advance to the executive role for which they have been designated as successor.

Step 4. Guide and Leverage the Development and Succession Processes

In this step the successor and the executive whom he is expected to succeed finalize the IDP, detailing specific expectations, assignments, locations, milestones, timelines, etc. The developmental experiences should lead to a deeper knowledge of the business and an understanding of the many different cultural environments in which the company exists.

The executive ensures that the potential successor (some plans call for more than one potential successor for each executive position) individual moves along a path designed to increase their skills and competencies necessary for advancement. Performance is closely monitored, with scheduled coaching/mentoring activity. IDP activities should also strengthen the collaborative capabilities across the enterprise.

Another useful approach to managing and leverage a company's talent pool is to create a Talent Board. The Board is made up of a group of executives who are responsible for ensuring that prospective leaders get involved in appropriate stretch assignments, move through a portfolio of roles and receive exposure to various cultural environments if the organization is global.   

Conclusion

There is no doubt that attracting, developing and retaining the right people can make or break an organization. This is particularly true for the team at the top. Succession Planning is a key part of the overall Talent Management Initiative and one that you can likely get your current leadership team to pay attention to – a critical success factor for any strategic plan.

The key to ensuring an organization has the right people at the right time is clear: have top leadership involved in succession planning, as in the case of a Talent Board. Incumbent leaders have the best long range view of where the company is going and what type of talent they will need to get there.

If you would like to hear more about how to make sure your organization has the bench strength it needs to continue its success, call me at 781-343-4005 or email me at paulp@wsa-intl.com.

Related Articles

Talent Management Part I: Why It's Hot at the Top

Talent Management Part II: Lighting a Fire at the Top

Boomers and X-ers and Y-ers – Oh My!

Related Ideas

Talent Management