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In July 2021, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that 4 million people quit their jobs. Experts have dubbed this phenomenon the “Great Resignation.” As the number of jobs available was more than the workers, employees who felt unappreciated or overworked now knew that there were many better opportunities out there for them.
Therefore, organizations that didn’t have a succession planning strategy were at high risk of losing key employees if they decided to call it quits. Even the C-suite level is not immune to the Great Resignation, making corporate succession planning perhaps more critical than ever.
An organization can groom itself for high positions.
It’s a given fact that employees who are already members of the organization know the work culture. It also has the added benefit of motivating employees to stay within the company and excel. However, it does not mean they should not look outside the company as you may be missing out on more capable employees who would bring in new fresh views.
So, to begin with, the succession planning best practices that you need to know in 2022, let’s start with the most critical question:
Which Candidate to Develop for Critical Positions?
An internal approach includes identifying successors and encouraging employees to nominate themselves for development. They must provide their business case as to why the investment is worth it and how they plan to improve the business process over time. It creates a pipeline of talent committed to proving their vision for success and, therefore, more likely to remain at the company.
Simultaneously, the companies must also be open to external candidates who bring fresh ideas. They can succeed by developing external candidates for these positions by creating robust talent pipelines, networking outside your organization, and establishing events like coaching and development programs for pipeline candidates to engage with.
With the knowledge pool of external and internal candidates, the organization then can hire the specific skill or experience needed to compete in the key position.
Upskilling, Training & Laying Down a Career Path
Many of you will remember how worried you were when the COVID-19 broke out back in 2019. The professional and personal world transformed overnight, leading us into a fast-moving, digital, and innovative online world. Technology platforms took over every mundane task, from food deliveries to online shopping for Christmas. Within months, the skills that were most in demand for 2022 changed.
Only people who did not possess the right future skills needed were at the risk of falling behind. The World Economic Forum states that ‘at least 54% of all employees will need reskilling and upskilling by 2022.’
A sound strategy to retain employees and perform better in key positions is to provide them with the right upskilling and training programs. When employees feel valued, learning, growing, and seeing a future with the organization, they are more inclined to remain. It will further motivate them to advance into newer roles with confidence.
Understanding the Role & Value of Data
By gathering accurate data from the wide range of available technologies, the company can understand the current and future skills required for all roles, candidates developing for these roles, and relevant training to close any skill gaps.
With the insights, the company can make a confident decision by pinpointing the best candidate for the position from the internal talent pool. Furthermore, the data is dynamic and will show results as per the development of the candidate. It helps you overcome disruptions and provide a better tool for predicting leadership.
Start Small & Build Up upon Little Successes
Succession planning is not a one-time process but rather a slow yet ever-evolving process. Companies in the initial stage should begin with more straightforward fixes and then slowly incorporate other succession planning best practices. By consistently implementing small changes, the company can start moving forward in their succession planning, rather than going backward and re-doing the whole thing repeatedly.
It could mean even starting with checking documented information about employees for reliability and converting it to organizational knowledge when possible.
Otherwise, organizations risk playing “a version of the game telephone,” passing down incorrect information from the employee to employee and eventually losing the message.
Succession planning for all key positions is too critical to ignore as it can disrupt the business’s operations and impact profits. Therefore, organizations must take every step to make succession planning a competitive advantage rather than wait for an outside savior to appear when a management crisis paralyzes the company.
Written by Zahara Sayed
Content Writer Focused on HR Tech
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