Succession planning- it’s a retention issue.

I have met with hundreds of organizations and am amazed by how predictable the response is to the question “How does your organization handle succession planning?”



The Organizational Development representative I’m meeting with usually gets very excited and tells me about how hard they work to groom their new potential leaders. They ALWAYS have a name for that group- High Potentials (HiPos), Emerging Leaders, Next Generation Leaders, etc. The OD rep tells me about all of the technical and soft skills training they invest in these groups including intensive Myers-Briggs® application training, Six Sigma training, and giving tuition reimbursement for those pursuing MBA’s (all of which is wonderful).

Once the rep is done promoting their HiPo program, I congratulate them on being so thorough in developing their emerging leaders. Then, as someone walks by the conference room, I say “What about that guy?” This usually catches the rep off-guard. “What is the succession plan for that guy?” More often than not, the rep says they don’t know that particular employee. That’s understandable in a large organization, but what matters is whether or not HE knows the plan. What is his career track? What investments are you making in HIS future? Who works beneath that guy? Do they know they could succeed him in his position? Does that person WANT to succeed that person?

So many employers don’t understand why their employees have an “it’s just a job” mentality? Maybe it’s because they’re only providing a career track to the HiPo’s and giving no attention to the “worker bees.” It IS just a job for the worker bees because you aren’t giving them a reason to envision it as a career.

This is one of the loudest complaints Gen Y employees make. What is my future here? We used to say “you have to put in your time and show your skills first- then we’ll decide about your future.” That’s not good enough for Millenials. If you take time to invest in the skills and interests of each of your employees, they will return the favor through hard work and loyalty. If, on the other hand, you use antiquated corporate thinking and only operate on a year-by-year goal/performance review process, don’t be surprised when your employees are only thinking about their future with the company in 365 day increments.

Take time to walk ALL of your employees through the directions they can take to move up (or around) in the organization. Ask them what THEY are interested in, and if they don’t know then use an assessment to help them learn about their interests (I suggest the Strong Interest Inventory®). These employees equally deserve all of the soft skills and technical training the organization can afford. Help them create personal plans and set goals to achieve greater rewards in the organization.

When you employ a successful succession plan, you are feeding your leadership pipeline. If you don’t devote adequate time to the rest of your human capital, you will find your pipeline and organization coming up dry!