Global Succession Planning

BUILDING A PLATFORM FOR ORGANIZATIONAL SUSTAINABILITY

PREPARING FOR THE FUTUREYou may have the talent in place

to meet your operational needs

today, but what about tomorrow?

Succession planning is a vital

exercise to help your company

determine critical roles, distinguish

what skills will be needed to sustain

them in the future, and then identify

suitable candidates to develop

to take over those positions.

Succession planning requires close

coordination with diversity and

workforce planning activities,

and can no longer be conducted

behind closed doors. In these pages,

we look at succession planning

models and best practices. As with

all things, what works at one

company may not gain traction

at another. The first step in any

succession planning strategy is

to understand your organization

fully so you can design a plan

that plays to your strengths and

prepares for your challenges.

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IMPETUS FOR SUCCESSION PLANNING

Succession planning has evolved beyond merely readying an individual for a

future position. It is now a formal, global preparedness exercise that requires

cross-functional and regional collaboration throughout the organization. Existing

processes for pinpointing future leaders may no longer be effective in today’s

changing global business environment, and strategies that work well in one

country may fail in another.

Even though succession planning is evolving, we find that companies are hesitant

to change their processes. They often feel comfortable with existing programs,

and do not recognize succession planning properly as sustainability and risk

reduction initiatives. However, the risk of failure is palpable: Companies that are

mollified by existing processes will find difficulties operating in the future, as they

will not have the right people and skills to maintain operations, growth and strategy.

Leading companies are embracing comprehensive, global succession planning

as an organizational imperative, performed in conjunction with workforce planning

and diversity and inclusion efforts.

By considering these elements, companies can design and implement a strategy

that locates the most promising talent, find the right place for those individuals to

thrive, reducing risk and creating a strong, sustainable business advantage.

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42% of respondents said

they were actively dissatisfied

with their organizations’

abilities to fill senior

positions. – Corporate

Research Forum survey.

Succession planning has evolved beyond merely readying an

individual for a future position.

WORKFORCE PLANNING:

Identify skills that will be

required to run the company

successfully in the future.

SUCCESSION PLANNING:

Create a sustainble pool

of successors for

business-impacting roles.

DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION:

Ensure diverse viewpoints

are represented in

your workforce.

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SUCCESSION PLANNING MODEL

Succession planning requires

a high degree of consistency,

but the exact amount will vary based

on the level of centralization in the

organization. Without consistency,

separate functions in various regions

will all take different approaches to

identifying talent, which will stymie

organizational efforts and make it

impossible to gain global insight. This

platform must encourage groups to

coordinate across geographies and

business functions.

Once the coordination and global

platform are established, the company

must allow for local differences.

Succession planning concerns in San

Francisco may not be effective in

Singapore, for example. It is important

to account for local skills requirements

and employee attitudes.

As with many elements of

running a global organization,

when it comes to succession

planning, one size does not fit all.

62% of employees say

they would be ‘significantly

more engaged’ at work if their

company had a succession plan.

– 2015 Software Advice survey

Cross-functional and

cross-geographical

coordination

COLLABORATION AND COMMUNICATION

Local customization to

account for cultural and

workplace differences

STRONG PLATFORM FOR SUSTAINABILITY AND STRATEGIC CONSISTENCY

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INTEGRATE WITH BUSINESS PLANNING AND PRODUCT ROADMAP STRATEGIES

As your organization considers where

it wants to be in the future, you must

also consider what leadership skills,

roles and headcount will be required

to get you there. Succession and

workforce planning must be closely

aligned with overall company strategy

— to ignore this is like planning a road

trip without first determining how much

petrol you need in the tank.

DIVERSITY OF EXPERIENCE

Of course, you’ll want to consider

diversity and inclusion as you move

forward with succession planning.

But you’ll also want to take into account

diversity of experiences as you expand

into new markets and geographies.

People from one business function or

region have much to contribute elsewhere

in the organization. Think of this as

company cross-training that builds

professionals with a wide spectrum of

experiences that will break through silos

and introduce new ways to address

challenges and promote growth.

EXTERNAL HIRES

Companies are familiar with the make

vs. buy exercise to determine whether

to build something in-house or to

outsource it. It is a formal process, using

carefully collected data to make a critical

decision. Similar deliberations must

be made for succession planning —

whether to develop talent in-house, or

hire someone from outside the company.

This must be a formal practice using

data collected from internal and external

talent mapping, and requires direction

from both the talent management and

acquisition functions. It also requires

a strong external talent community to

create a pipeline of potential candidates

for the organization.

“The key issue is a balance

between identifying talent within

your organization and getting

people from outside. Successful

organizations should be able to

integrate internal succession plans

with having good intelligence

about external talent pools.”

— Gary Miles

TRANSPARENCY

At many companies, succession planning

is still shrouded in secrecy. Leaders

meet behind closed doors and identify

future leadership candidates. Those

candidates are then tapped on the

shoulder, and everyone else is kept

out of the loop. This is no longer a

sustainable system for succession

planning, as it creates an elitist culture

with little accountability. Transparency

should be the watchword for succession

planning: Our experience shows that

candidates want to know if they are

being considered for higher positions

in the organization. After all, not everyone

wants to climb the ladder, so two-way

dialogue is critical. In addition, it is fair

and honest to let professionals know if

they are not candidates for succession

so they can plan their careers accordingly.

TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT

Training must play an important role in

succession planning — but the type of

training can dictate how successful your

program will be. Coursework alone no

longer produces the well-rounded leaders

your company requires. Experiential

learning allows professionals to think

creatively and solve problems. It allows

for the development of both hard and

soft skills by exposing professionals

to a wide variety of situations, allowing

time for both action and reflection. This

kind of training can include cross-regional

and cross-functional assignments,

corporate social responsibility activities

and even role playing.

FIVE KEY SUCCESSION PLANNING CONSIDERATIONS

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“… To promote

diversity and

multiculturalism in the

workplace, systematic efforts

must be made to identify and

groom the best successors for key

positions, not just rely on managers

to clone themselves.” — Effective

Succession Planning by

William J. Rothwell

DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

Diversity is important for growth

because it brings into the company

a multitude of voices that have a wide

range of experiences. Diversity is the

antidote to homogenous thinking.

A workforce that mirrors the

marketplace as a whole is best

enabled to design and deliver

products and services to serve it.

Just as diversity is important

to meet today’s needs, it is

just as crucial for tomorrow’s.

Accordingly, diversity needs to be

merged into the succession planning

strategy. This will entail cultural change

— in many cases, wholesale cultural

change — about the way the company

thinks about who its leaders will be in

the future. All employees need to feel

empowered to grow within the company;

otherwise, they are likely to deselect

themselves from the succession planning

process. This cultural change needs to

come from the top of the organization,

and leaders should invest in developing

positive role models. True inclusion

creates a work environment where all

people feel free to be their authentic

selves.

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER:

• What is your overall approach to

diversity and inclusion?

• What are your workforce drivers?

• How does your current messaging

resonate with your employees?

• What are the barriers to success?

• Who are your organizational role

models?

These questions will help promote a

healthy conversation about diversity

and inclusion and how it aligns to

succession planning.

The business case for diversity is clear. Leading companies take

charge by ensuring diversity and inclusion is engrained in their

innovation and growth strategies. For these organizations, diversity

isn’t a program or initiative — it’s part of the culture.

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Workforce planning will play a

major role in this exercise.

It enables companies to identify the

skills they will need to possess in

the future — which, in many cases,

will be skills they do not need today.

Succession planning must identify

people with these skills, or with the

potential to develop them, and create

an appropriate career path.

One leading company actually maintains

two succession planning tracks: one

for leadership and one for technical

capabilities. By looking beyond executive

roles, the organization is planning ahead

to meet its operating needs for the future.

Big data can be your best friend.

Whilst succession planning in the past

was a mostly qualitative activity, pulse

surveys and other analytics can provide

you with insight into which areas of

the company have the most engaged

employees. Mine this data to find the

most attractive pools of talent for

succession planning.

Many succession planning activities are focused on finding the next

top-level executive. That’s not enough. To be successful, a succession

planning strategy must consider all business-critical roles— no

matter where they are on the organization chart. Criticality is

more important than seniority.

LOOK BEYOND THE C-SUITE

Fewer than a third of organizations have a succession

management plan that goes beyond the very top levels.

– Josh Bersin, principal and founder of Bersin by Deloitte,

as quoted by the Society for Human Resource Management

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PLANNING FOR YOUR FUTURE?

Succession planning is directly

related to sustainability and risk

reduction — without the right people

in place in the future, how can your

company continue to thrive?

HERE ARE A FEW IDEAS TO GET YOUR SUCCESSION PLANNING STRATEGY MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION:

• Tear down the wall between talent

planning and talent management.

Both functions must collaborate

closely to ensure that a suitable pool

of talent is available to fill short- and

long-term needs.

• Identify your business-critical

positions. Consider which roles

need strong leadership to keep your

organization running smoothly today

and in the future. Strategic workforce

planning, workforce mapping and a

complete analysis of macro business

trends will help you pinpoint the skills

needed as your company grows.

• Do it continuously. Succession

planning shouldn’t be limited to a

once-yearly activity. While it’s

convenient to align your strategy to

an annual review program, companies

tell us they have better success when

they look at succession throughout

the year.

• Diversity and inclusion make a

difference. Make sure your succession

planning strategy is open to everyone

by adopting a culture that embraces

diversity and inclusion. Talented

individuals who feel they will be

unwelcome at higher levels of your

company are less likely to seek

promotions, and may, in fact, look

for jobs elsewhere.

• Don’t hide behind closed doors.

Be transparent with your succession

planning activities, so that people

know where they stand and what’s

expected from them. Otherwise, you

may be investing time and money in

people with no interest in progressing

through the company.

The nature of succession planning is evolving rapidly. It is now a

global activity that must be aligned closely to operations and strategy.

Learn how to

join us for future

events and studies

by visiting

WilsonHCG.com

To participate in future research studies

and roundtable discussions on succession

planning and other human capital

topics, as well as receive materials

on talent acquisition topics, join

WilsonHCG’s CHRO and HR Director

Global Network. Members are invited

to exclusive business briefings and

think tanks. For more information about

succession planning, the CHRO and HR

Director Global Network and business

networking and learning events, contact

us at info@WilsonHCG.com.

64% of FTSE 100 are now

describing their succession

plans in their annual reports,

but only 19% provide adequate

detail into the process.

— Investor Relations Society