The adage “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail” fittingly describes the purpose and benefits of succession planning.
Succession planning is a process that ensures the right leaders lead your company in case of an unpredictable situation when there is a sudden change in leadership. If a key employee leaves, succession planning allows you to have someone in mind who will immediately fill their position. Succession planning keeps your business moving forward during the inevitable changes that come with running a business. Such plans serve as an excellent tool for retaining your strongest performers, who often tend to be the type of employees who need to know where their career is headed.
There’s a whole lot that is involved in succession planning and it stretches for quite some time too. It’s a process that once started needs to be continued and revisited annually.
If you are one for listicles, here are some critical points that highlight the benefits of succession planning.
1. A safety net for your business
Just the way you install security systems to defend the company from theft, succession planning acts as another step in securing your company. You may think that a leader may be too young to be hit with a serious illness, or may forget that a key player (or several) could be lured away by another company that needs their skills and is willing to pay top dollar for them. These scenarios, if caught unaware, can leave a business uniquely vulnerable. Therefore, you must think of succession planning as a business continuity insurance that requires grooming employees.
2. Creates a structure for training and development
Once your company has identified a few top leaders of your company who are looking to move and there are junior-level employees eyeing senior posts, you can identify any competency gaps and begin grooming them for their eventual succession.
By tapping potential successors early, you give employees time to acquire the skills and experience they’ll need to perform well in their senior roles. This also plays a crucial role in letting your employees know that you’re willing to invest in their growth as well as the company’s.
3. Maintains brand identity
In today’s day and age, it is common to hear of stories where a CEO enters a company from the outside with great promise, only to fail in a short time. Sadly, such disastrous hires often damage the company’s reputation and long-term growth them. This usually happens when the CEO is an outsider CEO who doesn’t understand the fundamental values and mission of their new company.
Succession planning saves you from such a crippling situation. By identifying and grooming an internal successor, your company will be led by someone who shares its values and deeply understand the company’s brand promise, its customers, and its employees because they’ve lived it themselves.