Succession Planning

BIS

my organization is wanting to start a process to do this since about a 3rd of our staff are within one to two years of retirement eligiblity. Does anyone have a program, process and plan to do that which they would be willing to share.

Also what are your successes with this and areas of improvement

Thanks

Gillian3

This is an area where everyone knows that it is a good idea, but day to day business demands take over and not much gets done. Succession planning is not like a training program with scheduled dates so attendance can be planned. It is a long term effort to increase skills so that an individual has the ability to take over when someone retires. Succession planning is typically accomplished by identifying those individuals who are the logical replacements, understand the areas where they need improvement, then methodically figure out how to make sure that they have the opportunity to gain those skills. One major area of concern comes when you identify the logical replacements - how are they being chosen? Are they chosen because of the skills they already possess or because of some other reason? How will you deal with those who are not chosen, particularly if they are in a protected class and can make a case that they are as skilled as the person chosen? If you avoid these concerns by expanding the development opportunities beyond the chosen few, then the cost is increased. You have a lot to think about.

BIS

Gillian - Thanks for the thoughts on this issue. It is a large complex issue with many facets and complications. BIS