Succession Planning is the process where we recognize and identify high potentials in an organization to build a strong success line for future leaders who will take up the critical positions. This process provides a framework for developing the capabilities of potential leaders to move into new positions, as well as developing the people and positions that advance the company. Rather than simply replacing the people, succession plans help stack your personnel in a way that moves the organization strategically toward the future.

Process for Succession Planning

1. Identify Critical Positions – Succession planning is a process to identify the next generation of leaders in your organization who have the potential to fill key roles when the current personnel move on. The first step in creating a succession plan is to identify which key positions you should include in the plan and look for a potential successor.
2. Role-Based Competency Identification – The second step includes the Competency mapping of functional & behavioral both for all critical positions, which defines the role requirement and helps to do the gap analysis for the development journey for the potential successor.
3. Individual Development Program (IDP) – Gap Analysis leads the IDP path for the potential employee to invest in their work and themselves, contributing to greater job satisfaction. IDP is a process for setting goals for professional development and identifying ways to learn or improve important competencies for a potential employee in the future to achieve these goals.
4. Performance Review & Opportunity – Based on the IDP plan regular interventions and review is needed to check the successor’s capability and readiness for the new roles & responsibility.

There are many things to consider for an organization for Succession Planning process like; when to start this process or who will be the successors and what development journey an employee can go through before taking up the new responsibilities. It is good ides to review structured succession plan so all the development journey will be covered in a positive way and which enables critical positions to be instantly available from the internal talent pool in case somebody leaves the organization or retires.