The KEY to Business Success IS Succession Planning (how to do succession planning HR)

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This video is about how to do succession planning which is very important to ensure our critical roles and critical roles are discussed in detail with leaders and managers with an action plan to bridge the gaps and plan for all scenarios.
📝 Useful resources to read further:
hbr.org/2016/12/succession-pl...
store.hbr.org/product/it-s-no...
hbr.org/2021/05/the-high-cost...
🎥 Video chapters
00:00 Intro
00:37 What is succession planning?
01:13 Outcomes of succession planning process?
01:48 Who is included in succession planning?
03:24 Succession planning template
05:48 Summary
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[@SanjaWilliams]

Have you ever done succession planning or facilitated these conversations in your business and/or HR roles?

[@mindabilityconsulting5705]

Great video!

[@ezekielowolabi5781]

Thanks for the tips. I am about to practice these steps in my organisation....👍

[@SanjaWilliams]

I hope it goes well Ezekiel. Happy to answer any questions you may have here or you can send me an email on [e-mail]

[@Hirsan]

Really enjoyed every video of yours I watched so far. Thanks.

[@SanjaWilliams]

Hi Abdirahim, thank you for your comment and watching. Glad you have found them useful. If you have any suggestions to recommend or challenges you are dealing with, let me know.

[@robynpost8733]

This is a great overview. Thanks so much!

[@SanjaWilliams]

Thank you Robyn. Succession planning is often talked about but rarely completed properly or at all.

[@estherelufowoju3166]

You are such an inspiration Sanja, hope all is well. We have note heard from you this year , please take good care of yourself and we hope to hear and see more videos soon😘

[@SanjaWilliams]

Thank you for this lovely comment, I am trying to prepare myself mentally for making more videos. I do miss it. Once you stop, it is so difficult to get back into it for some reason. Hope you are doing well too. I do send weekly newsletters, so perhaps one way to stay in better and regular contact is to add your email to the list, you can always email me directly too www.focusyourself.co.uk Speak soon

[@estherelufowoju3166]

@@SanjaWilliams Aww nice to hear from you. Yeah do take your time and do what's best for you. I will definitely add my email to the list so at least we are still in touch because there was a time I really wanted to speak to you as I had an interview but didn't bother to come here as it was so urgent and I knew it might take time for you to get the message. Yeah email sounds great. You take care and just to let you know you are doing a great job. Take care and stay blessed🙏

[@SanjaWilliams]

@@estherelufowoju3166 I do check my emails daily so that's an option to use going forward as and when you need advice :)

[@InsightswithAnggra]

I subscribed to your channel recently, and i found that your videos are very useful for me as HR practitioner. maybe it's too much, but I feel like I'm having a discussion with my supervisor and team every time I see your video. Thank you, Sanja

[@SanjaWilliams]

Hi Anggraeni, this is a lovely comment. Thank you very much. If you have video ideas please feel free to suggest them to me. Is there anything you struggle with, work projects or work relationships? I do issue weekly newsletter if you wish to subscribe. I have two, one a general one and one for HRBPs. www.focusyourself.co.uk

[@InsightswithAnggra]

@@SanjaWilliams thank you so much for the information. I will subscribe to your newsletter

[@estherelufowoju3166]

@@InsightswithAnggra I don't beleive they are too much, it depends on your level. I am a HRBP and I gain a lot from her videos.

[@geetkool]

Would be great if you could make a detailed video on competency mapping with scenarios.

[@SanjaWilliams]

Hi. Could you give me more information as to what you mean by competency mapping with scenarios?

[@parmeshmalgond7733]

👌🙏

[@olivka7560]

First of all I really appreciate your work to help HR people, you are doing a great job. I think it might be good to do a video on using tools to create good presentation or training or leaflets as thats where a lot of people struggle. Should it be Adobe, some other software etc. This could also reach broader audience. Regarding succession planning, the hardest is not what to do but how you motivate managers to keep that list updated. If you dont have influence on top management, then they are just not accountable or motivated to make those managers their successors. Other thing is that some people cannot just move up, so they stay in some roles for years eg Head of HR or HRBP or COO. Then what is point of successors or trainings to be COO if COO is in the role from the beginning of a company. So training people on potential COO skills will just result in them leave for COO role somewhere else. Also , do you inform people that they are COO’s successors? In Europe we have GDPR so we need to disclose this info if they ask us.

[@SanjaWilliams]

Hi Olivka, thank you for your comment. In terms of tools to do succession planning, it is usually a facilitated conversation by HR. HR can use presentations to set up agenda, who needs to do what (such as agree a list of critical roles and critical people to discuss as per my template) then agree an overall action plan and set up a follow up. Not sure if I have answered your question. Some organisations do succession planning in their own HR system directly. Is this what you struggle with, happy to discuss further and create something for you. You can always book a call with me here: www.focusyourself.co.uk/book-online I agree regarding getting leaders and managers to do it on a regular basis. This is why this topic is initiated and facilitated very often by HR (to get traction and see progress). It is often done when talent reviews take place as part of regular HR annual activities so most know when it is supposed to take place. Remember, it is only critical roles that need a succession plan, not all roles need it and not all roles are critical. In terms of training and opportunities, this is often led by employees but supported by management. If they leave because an opportunity didn't come up internally, then so be it. This is why having a few successors and options is a good plan. Yes, people should know when talent reviews take place, outcomes of these conversations and if they are a successor for any roles. It works well as a retention tool as they know how they are seen. Happy to answer more, you can email me on [e-mail] if you don't need a call. Hope this helps. Speak soon Sanja

[@olivka7560]

@@SanjaWilliams Thank you for your reply. I get a feeling you have worked in large organisations, correct? In startups 50-500 employees succession planning is rarely taken seriously. I have not seen HR ever initiating this discussion. We have eg CTO, then Head of tech and then team leads plus few people in critical roles with rare technologies skills. CTO rarely ever gets nominated from within after the company was founded. Head of tech has little chances to be a CTO and if we inform 2 out of 5 tech leads that they are successors of head of tech, then how it will motivate the rest? As they will find out because people talk, in startups they are usually close colleagues, they discuss salaries etc. Then 2 successors basically compete and the remaining 3 might feel they dont have opportunites to develop. Im thinking the same in HR. If in a team of 6 HR people , 2 were informed they are successors of HR manager, that just creates the lack of motivation and unnecessary competition. I think its more straightforward in big companies where respective managers often have no contact with each other or do not know each other. But is startups where people go for drinks after work, discuss things or sit next to each other in an office it is tricky to make it official and I wonder whether it is not better to make it unofficial. Meaning, we might have someone in mind but we communicate possible career path to all and we develop ( based on personal wishes) all of the people to whom a positions might be relevant in future - in this case all tech team leads and who gets a job depends on performance and soft skills. Also when i mentioned the tools i didnt mean for succession planning but for presentations, eg you use canva or microsofts , i can see you use some infographics etc. To make a good training or visual presentation for managers what do you use?

[@SanjaWilliams]

@@olivka7560 all noted. Yes I have mainly worked in large organisations. All of my work experience is U.K. based. In terms of tools to create visuals, I use power point, Canva, flaticon for icons, figma is also good. If you are keen to create illustrations many use Procreate, Adobe Illustrator (I am yet to play with them). I will consider creating a video about it as I agree it’s a good idea on how to be more self sufficient and create enjoyable presentations that add value.

[@olivka7560]

@@SanjaWilliams thank you. That would be very helpful maybe from ideas for videos I would also consider something about career progress ion in HR or options for HR BP such and consultants and what is needed its. I think many HRBP struggle with this as they dont want to go to HR manager- head of HR role etc. Other thing is that I feel is hot is navigating/ helping with employee engagement in remote world as well as data analysis what tools to use, metrics etc. Thank you so much for the hard work you are doing and I surely will consider contacting you if I need more help which might be definitely the case. I want you to know it is highly appreciated and you are helping a lot of people.

[@mahmoudkasim1240]

Would you please clarify what do you mean (if family in place) is it the available replacment from family members as an example ? Thanks, so much

[@SanjaWilliams]

This is a great question. In terms of family members to inherit and run a business, you are a limited here in terms of options as it will go to a family member regardless, however, the same principles should apply if it is not clear to whom it should go. Assess if they have the right skills and behaviours required to run a business if not assist with training or simply find other people who they can rely on for their gaps. Is this something you are dealing with at the moment?

[@sushmitabhat7872]

Hi, I am a HR Specialist based in India and I intend to switch to HRBP role/function in the near future . I have loved your videos so far as it has been quite useful to me. Could you suggest a few books on hrbp/hr which you find worth reading?

[@SanjaWilliams]

Hi Sushmita, this is a great question. I was planning to write a book about the HRBP role. Let me think about it and will come back to you

[@JenKumar]

How can an employee who wants to be on another’s succession plan get on the radar to be considered for the role when the person in the role moves on?

[@SanjaWilliams]

They need to raise this with their manager and/or their HR Business Partner/HR manager to represent further and ensure it is on a relevant succession plan. If is there a talent/career profile section in your HR, then it needs to be stated there too. Do you do regular succession plan reviews at your work place?

[@JenKumar]

@@SanjaWilliams To answer your question at the end, I don't know. However, I am an external corporate coach, so I was coaching another career professional on this and it was my first time interacting with this topic. Going to HR is a good first step it sounds like.

[@SanjaWilliams]

@@JenKumar I agree. They need to state what they are interested in. So if their organisation conducts regular talent reviews and succession planning, their name should be mentioned and skills/experience and aspiration discussed. Many organisations aren’t great at this btw

[@JenKumar]

@@SanjaWilliams It's too bad that many organizations aren't good at this... Well I can understand how easy it is to get caught up into the day to day business and miss this opportunity. That is what it is- an opportunity. There is so much wisdom that goes untapped due to this I can imagine.

[@SanjaWilliams]

@@JenKumar Indeed, so therefore HR function usually drives this by having good frameworks in place etc and leads on these meetings with business leaders

[@thebusinessofhr]

Great video!