2. Succession Planning
Overall Program Guidelines
Nazar Albuijan
April 19th, 2012

3. What is Succession Planning?
• Position Prospective
(Availability, Readiness, Bench Strength, etc…)
• Integration
(Strategic Planning, Leadership Development, Performance Management,
Career Planning, Workforce Planning, etc…)
• Cross Organizational Unit Boarders
(Cross-Functional Area, Cross-Business Unit)
“a means of identifying critical management positions, starting at the levels of project manager
and supervisor and extending up to the highest position in the organization. Succession
planning also describes management positions to provide maximum flexibility in lateral
management moves and to ensure that as individuals achieve greater seniority, their
management skills will broaden and become more generalized in relation to total
organizational objectives rather than to purely departmental objectives.”

4. Process
Preparation
Succession Strategy
Critical Positions/Jobs
Positions Profiles
Mentorship Network
Governance/ Infrastructure
Training and Identification
Development and Evaluation
Mentor Assignment High Potential Candidates (HPC)
Developmental Assignments HPC Profiles
Training Projections Individual Development Plans (IDP)

5. Stage 1 - Preparation

6. Stage 1 - Preparation:
What Do You Need?
•Strong sponsorship by the Board and
Strategic Alignment CEO and heavy involvement by
management
HR Participation •Involvement should include strategy
input, person/position evaluation, and
Critical Positions mentorship/training
•Management is evaluated against SP
Technology objectives
What Do You Get?
•SP Strategy
•Mentorship Network

7. Stage 1 - Preparation:
What Do You Need?
•Create policies, procedures, roles and
Strategic Alignment responsibilities
•Responsible for administrating the
HR Participation program (tools and processes) not
deliverables
Critical Positions •Establish measurable goals and program
priorities
Technology
What Do You Get?
•Governance structure

8. Stage 1 - Preparation:
What Do You Need?
•Leaders should identify critical positions
Strategic Alignment • Current v. Future (based on
Strategy)
HR Participation • Managerial v. Professional
•Competencies Models
Critical Positions • Core v. Position Specific
• Managerial v. Technical
Technology (Functional)
• Present v. Future
•Other Position requirements (Experience,
Education, Certifications)
What Do You Get?
•Critical positions profiles

9. Stage 1 - Preparation:
What Do You Need?
•Avoid fragmentation by utilizing
Strategic Alignment (streamline) currently available systems
•Avoid additional cost by purchasing
HR Participation software with customization capabilities to
meet specific org requirements
Critical Positions •Reporting (Accessible, Dynamic, Useful)
Technology What Do You Get?
• Infrastructure

10. Stage 2 – Identification &
Evaluation

11. Stage 2 – Identification and Evaluation:
What Do You Need?
•Create a mechanism by which candidates
Identification are identified and included in the program
 Leadership Direct Nomination
Evaluation  High Performers
 Panel Nomination
 Assessment Centers
 Self-Nomination
What Do You Get?
• High Potential Candidates

12. Stage 2 – Identification and Evaluation:
What Do You Need?
•Present Performance Evaluation
Identification  Using Full-Circle, Multi-rater
Assessments
Evaluation  Appraising Performance
• Management by Objectives Trait Rating
• Dimensions/Activity Rating
• Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scales
(BARS)
•Future Potential
 Global Assessment
 Success Factor Analysis
What Do You Get?
•HPC Profiles
•Individual Development Plan (IDP)

13. Stage 3 – Training &
Development

14. Stage 3 – Training and Development:
What Do You Need?
•Important to include practical component
T&D to training (i.e. Acting Assignments)
•Emphasize mentorship
Forecasts •IDP progress should be recorded and
discussed on semi-annually
What Do You Get?
•Mentorship Assignment
•Development Assignment and Training

15. Stage 3 – Training and Development:
What Do You Need?
•IDPs should be systematically maintained
T&D to create a forecast for future training
demands.
Forecasts
What Do You Get?
•T&D Forecasts

16. Overall Takeaways
Continuous process
Long-Term Development and Retention Strategy
Emphasis on What a Firm Needs
Pool of Ready Talent (Vertical and Horizontal Movements)
Emphasis on Results
•The percentage of key jobs which have at least two ready successors
•The percentage of key posts filled externally
•The percentage of developmental action plans implemented
•The extent to which the process contributes positively to business results

17. Thank You
Q&A

18. Appendix 1 – SP Primary Responsibility

19. Appendix 2 – What SP Addresses in the Organization

20. Sources
Robert M. Fulmer, "Choose Tomorrow's Leaders Today: Succession Planning
Grooms Firms for Success." Downloaded on 19 July 2004 from
http://gbr.pepperdine.edu/021/succession.html. Used with permission.
Morrison, C. L., American Society for Training and Development., & Institute for
Corporate Productivity. (2010). Improving succession plans: Harnessing the
power of learning and development. Alexandria, Va: ASTD.
Rothwell, W. J. (2010). Effective succession planning: Ensuring leadership
continuity and building talent from within. New York: AMACOM.
William Rothwell, Ed., Effective Succession Management: Building Winning
Systems or Identifying and Developing Key Talent (Lexington, Mass.: The Center
for Organizational Research [a division of Linkage, Inc.]).