Models of Succession Planning

There are three main models that companies use to implement succession planning:

  • Short-term planning or emergency replacements
  • Long-term planning or managing talent
  • Combination of above plans

Organizations should take a close look at their goals and levels of commitment before choosing a model that best suits their needs.

Short-term or emergency replacements

This is the most common model of succession planning and serves as a crucial point for all types of businesses. Short-term replacement planning is focused on an urgent need caused by a sudden development within the organization –skilled employee leaving the company, expansion or contraction of business. Sometimes, emergency replacement planning must work to retain knowledge that is about to be lost. Emergency knowledge retention is an option to consider if the organization is about to lose specialized knowledge and does not have a successor to take the knowledge.

Emergency succession planning can come into play any time the organization expands in a new direction or discovers the talent gaps to fill the required managerial position. Generally, human resources will try to fill the role from within the organization, but often go outside, if no one has been trained for the job in the organization.

Long-term planning or managing talent

Talent management focuses on the future needs of the organization. Working within the strategic framework for the company’s future goals, senior management identifies the positions necessary for growth and the best candidates to fill those roles. Some organizations invite all employees to take part in an assessment process, while others have managers identify leadership candidates.

If companies wish to grow leaders from within their existing talent pool and have the time and resources to develop a useful program, effective talent management will become a key component of its long-term human capital strategy. The advantages of this model include:

  • Identifies a specialized talent pool
  • Defines and builds future skills required for the success of the organization
  • Motivates and retains employees by involvement in their career growth

Some of the disadvantages of this type of model include:

  • Expensive and time consuming
  • Existing employee-base may not have required skills and experience for key posts and outside hiring can lead to resentment
  • Managers may be frustrated by not being allowed to choose a successor

Combination of both the plans

This model allows senior management to plan for the long-term growth of both the organization and employees within the organization and prepare for emergency replacements to ensure that business is not affected by knowledge loss or lack of skilled employees.

HR professionals will find that the advantages of succession planning greatly outweigh the disadvantages, which can be overcome by proper planning and communication within the employees and senior management.