Tag Archives: How To Do Succession Planning

Part 3: How to Build Your Company’s Succession Plan–The Individual Employee Profile

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When considering a succession plan for your business, there are a number of steps you can take to ensure you have a solid, well thought out plan. In Part 1 and 2 of this series, we discussed the importance of Succession Planning and the 9-Block People Matrix and the Succession Planning Business Model. Today, we will tackle the last component of the Succession Planning Process: the Individual Employee Profile.

Individual employee profiles

A world-class succession planning process involves gathering employee data and information from 3 sources:

1) the company / Human Resources,
2) the incumbent employee’s supervisor assessment of the employee, and,
3) the incumbent employee’s self-assessment.

Typical information referred to and used in succession planning discussions include:

  • Employee Employment Data An employee picture (if available), name, title, date of hire, grade level, performance rating, 9-Block People Matrix data, etc. A current employee resume, if on file.
  • EEOC Data Employees’ EEO code, EEO Category, gender, military service, relevant disability acknowledgments, accommodations or restrictions, the company’s Affirmative Action Plan. Including EEOC information is a best practice to assure compliance with any Affirmative Action Plans or requirements even if your company does not provide products or services to the US government. Age should not be a factor in discussions unless an incumbent employee has notified the company of an impending retirement. All of this information is highly confidential, shouldn’t be distributed and is best managed by Human Resources professionals.
  • Educational Information Every degree (both graduate and undergraduate degrees) as well as degree type, major and any minors achieved. Year of graduation is not important unless the coursework shows a significant change and is relevant for the role being considered. For example, if an employee has an undergraduate degree in engineering and a graduate degree in human resources, that employee could / should be considered for positions in both the engineering and human resources functional areas of the business.
  • Professional Certifications All certifications that an employee has achieved should be captured. These could be technical certifications, like Microsoft Office Certification or a professional certification like a CPA.
  • Technical Training Technical / job related training or experience from either current or previous employers, should be included where available, especially if it relates to a position that the employee is being considered for outside his/her area of functional responsibility.
  • Leadership Training Any formal training received, from either internal or external sources in support of traditional leadership development skills.
  • Professional Experience Experience from both the employee’s current and previous jobs. Information should include company, position, location and any performance awards or highlights when available.
  • Company Positions and Salary History All positions and salary changes for the employee.

Once the profile has been completed, the employee should update or validate it for future organizational use.  Figure 1 is an example of an employee data profile prepared by the company and used for the succession planning process.

Figure 1. Sample employee profile for succession planning discussions

Manager’s assessment
The second source of data used in succession planning discussions is the employee’s manager’s assessment.
The assessment should be both quantitative and qualitative if possible. In Figure 2, the Core Competencies of the company are rated on a scale of 1 to 10. In addition, the supervisor needs to capture the employee’s top 3 strengths as well as the top 3 areas for development. These can be based on historical performance discussions and employee observations.

Figure 2. Manager’s assessment of employee

Employee self-assessment
The third, and final source of data is the employee’s self-assessment. This data comes in 3 forms. The first is validation of the information found in the employee profile; which includes educational experience, certifications, and any special training. The second piece of data is the Part 1 of the Employee’s Self-Assessment shown in Figure 3.
Note that in Part 1 of the Employee’s Self-Assessment the employee is asked to list his/her top 3 strengths in addition to the top 3 areas for development for comparison and validation by the manager.

Figure 3. Part 1 of the employee self-assessment

The Employee Self-Assessment also asks about the employee’s own career goals and timing expectations. Answers to these questions can provide insight into employee engagement levels and whether expectations are realistic or not.  The second part of the Employee’s Self-Assessment invites the employee to provide a list of volunteer activities and roles within those organizations. It also asks for the employee’s involvement in professional associations. See Figure 4.

Figure 4. Part 2 of employee self-assessment

Participation in activities outside the workplace may give insight into the employee’s areas of interest and motivation.  Involvement in external associations, especially in leadership capacities, is a way for the employee to gain additional leadership experience that the company could potentially benefit from.  Finally, while not necessarily required, an updated copy of the employee’s resume could be helpful in discussions.

Good human resources practice. When I managed a staff of exempt and non-exempt employees, I asked everyone to update their resumes annually. After the initial uncomfortableness, they realized that reviewing their resume was useful, especially around self-assessment time of the performance review cycle.

Like performance goals and performance reviews, the succession planning process should be completed yearly because some employees may have been promoted, some may have completed stretch assignments, and others will have retired or left the company.

Importance of confidentiality and bias neutral process
All discussions regarding succession planning need to remain confidential like any other company-sensitive materials.
Finally, it cannot be emphasized enough that all discussions regarding succession planning be facilitated by a bias-neutral individual in order to see alternate sides of situations or opportunities. It is for this reason that many companies engage the assistance of an outside facilitator to conduct and manage these discussion events.

If you have questions or need assistance with any of the 3 Succession Planning Processes; the 9-Block People Matrix, the use of the Succession Planning Business Model, or the Employee Profile, please contact me.

Randy Lumia is President of Paradise Workplace Solutions, LLC and works with business owners to improve productivity and profitable growth by aligning people strategies to the company’s business plan.

Part 2: How to Build Your Company’s Succession Plan–The Succession Planning Business Model

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When considering a succession plan for your business, there are a number of steps you can take to ensure you have a solid, well thought out plan.  I’ve broken the steps into a 3-part series and included links to connect you with more information. In Part 1 of this series, we discussed the importance of Succession Planning and the 9-Block People Matrix. Today, we will be discussing the second component of the Succession Planning Process: The Succession Planning Business Model.

Succession Planning (or Future Desired State) Business Model:

The Succession Planning Business Model starts with the use of the company’s existing organizational chart that includes all current positions in a cascading fashion.

The Succession Planning Business Model, a modified organization chart, is used to identify candidates for critical positions within the organization. The model usually starts with the top positions in the organization and removes the existing subordinates for those positions and functions. It is done in two steps.

Step 1:  Identify all critical positions and assess incumbents

Identify all critical positions within the organization and remove the subordinate relationships that are not critical to your business. This is done for as many levels as is needed to capture each of those critical positions within the company. Critical positions can range from the President down to a highly skilled specialized individual contributor.  Don’t make the mistake of focusing on the high-level positions only.

Then, assess these three critical data points for each incumbent:

  1. succession plan rating from the 9-Block People Matrix. The Matrix is used to plot an employee’s present-day performance with his/her potential.
  2. the incumbent employee’s current performance rating, and
  3. the likely timing associated with the incumbent’s next move.

Once you have your assessments put together, superimpose them on your Succession Planning Organization Chart (Figure 1).

Figure 1. The incumbents’ data alongside the critical positions chart

Not everyone in a leadership role is a “superstar” as indicated with the VP of Technology in Figure 2, where the incumbent is identified as a Talent Risk / Blocker. This employee is most likely going to be placed on a performance improvement plan and could be transitioned from the organization if performance doesn’t improve.

Step 2: Compile a list and assess potential successors for each position

Create a three-column table for those critical positions. These columns will include

1. name of successor candidates,

2. current succession plan rating from the 9-Block People Matrix for each candidate, and

3. candidate’s readiness level for the move into that position.

This data table is then positioned on the Succession Planning Business Model (Figure 2).

Figure 2.   Potential successors placed on the critical positions’ organization chart

You’ll notice not every position has an immediate backfill for the role (see examples where an external hire is needed in Figure 2). In these cases, the next likely candidate for the role may be an external hire. External hires should be the highest priority need for the department head, Human Resources and the organization’s management team.

An important note:  The Succession Planning Business Model also does not need to reflect a current organization, rather it can be a representation of a future state for which the company may be transitioning towards.

Process considerations

  • Like with the use of the 9-Block People Matrix, the Succession Planning Business Model is usually completed by a department head for the group that is being evaluated and matched against an existing Succession Planning Business Model.
  • Like performance goals and performance reviews, the succession planning documents change from year to year. Some employees may have been promoted within the year, some may have completed stretch assignments, and still others may have retired or left the company. As such, the succession planning process needs to be treated like any other critical people-related process that gets reviewed annually.
  • It is important to highlight that all discussions regarding succession planning need to remain confidential as with any other company-sensitive material.
  • Finally, all discussions regarding succession planning should be facilitated by a bias-neutral individual in order to detect alternate sides of situations or opportunities. It is for this reason that many companies engage the assistance of an outside facilitator to conduct and manage these meetings.

Coming up:  Individual Succession Plan Profile

The last part of this series used in the Succession Planning process is the Individual Succession Plan Profile and will be discussed in the next post.

If you would like for me to email you this three-part series or if you have questions with any of the three Succession Planning Processes; the 9-Block People Matrix, the use of the Succession Planning Business Model, or the Individual Succession Plan Profiles, please contact me at Paradise Workplace Solutions.

Paradise Workplace Solutions, LLC works with business owners to improve productivity and profitable growth by aligning people strategies to the company’s business plan.