Effective Succession Planning

William Rothwell honored with the ASTD Distinguished Contribution Award in Workplace Learning and Performance. The definitive guide to a timely and timeless topic-- now fully revised and updated. As baby boomers continue to retire en masse from executive suites, managerial offices, and specialized or technical jobs, the question is—who will take their places? This loss of valuable institutional memory has made it apparent that no organization can afford to be without a strong succession program. Now in its fourth edition, Effective Succession Planning provides the tools organizations need to establish, revitalize, or revise their own succession planning and management (SP&M) programs. The book has been fully updated to address challenges brought on by sea changes such as globalization, recession, technology, and the aftereffects of the terror attacks. It features new sections on identifying and assessing competencies and future needs; management vs. technical succession planning; and ethics and conduct; and new chapters on integrating recruitment and retention strategies with succession planning programs. This edition incorporates the results of two extensive new surveys, and includes a Quick Start guide to help begin immediate implementation as well as a CD-ROM packed with assessments, checklists, customizable guides, and other practical tools.

Organizations that don’t take steps to address future talent needs at all levels will face some major obstacles when undervalued key employees get burned out and leave you to fend for yourself. Nobody likes to lose good employees. But sometimes the loss of a key employee can be disruptive to the business at best, and completely disastrous at worst. The most comprehensive book on the subject, the fifth edition of the bestselling Effective Succession Planning covers every base of how to address future talent needs before a crisis hits, including how to: Identify competencies and clarify organizational values Plan for and quickly fill crucial vacancies at all levels Develop and retain top talent Assess current needs and future resources for seamless succession planning Updated with current best practices, trends, and technology, the latest edition also includes: succession planning for small businesses and nonprofits; replacement planning; transition management; downsizing; international issues; mergers and acquisitions as a talent strategy; and succession planning for technical positions as well as roles built on longstanding social relationships. Don’t risk the loss of your most valued employees and their accumulated wisdom and experience that has been key to your company’s success for many years. Effective Succession Planning is your go-to indispensable guide for avoiding the catastrophe that losing them would bring.

Many attempts to establish a succession plan fail. Why? They run up against insurmountable implementation challenges, or weak executive commitment and follow-through. Succession Planning That Works: The Critical Path of Leadership Development is a step-by-step guide to help HR professionals and senior leaders develop a succession plan that delivers a measurable return on investment. Based on in-depth interviews with senior executives from nearly 50 organizations, Succession Planning That Works reveals not only the most important components of effective succession planning, but also the most effective order in which to put them into practice. Packed with real-world examples, Succession Planning That Works shows how real companies have attempted to tackle succession planning issues and examines both their victories and their failures to highlight the most common pitfalls and how to avoid them. Topics include: - 13 reasons to begin succession planning now - How to calculate the ROI of promoting from within - The Succession Planning Critical Path - the most efficient and effective way to implement a succession plan - How to gain or strengthen executive buy-in for succession planning - How to measure your success Also included are 20 downloadable templates and tools to help make succession planning easier to comprehend and implement....

This book examines current research related to succession planning strategies and tactics. The authors compare and contrast the rationale and processes needed for effective and efficient succession planning. This is a comprehensive endeavor exploring succession planning across today’s key disciplines: business, education, and healthcare. Succession planning is examined from the commercial, government, and non-profit lens. The book features active research, broad literature reviews, and examines conceptual frameworks. From this valuable contribution to succession planning research, readers will receive a thorough assessment of the theoretical foundations of succession planning and ethical considerations for sustainable leadership.

Succession planning and management and leadership development figure prominently on the agenda of many top managers. Yet, the task often falls to human resource management (HRM) and workplace learning and performance (WLP) professionals to spearhead and coordinate efforts to establish and operate planned succession programs and avert succession crises. HRM and WLP professionals often need assistance when they coordinate, establish, operate, or evaluate SP&M programs. This book is intended to provide that help. It offers practical, how-to-do-it advice on SP&M.Updated and expanded to reflect the latest trends and best practices in succession management, Effective Succession Planning presents strategies for creating a complete, systematic succession planning program.

Design your succession planning strategy. Succession Planning Basics will equip you with the background and implementation tools you need to devise and execute a forward-thinking succession planning program for your organization. It offers theory, processes, and best practices for organizations embarking on a succession-planning project, addressing the basic concepts and steps for success. This book is for management professionals considering succession planning for their organizations, organizational development professionals at the beginning of their careers, human resources professionals wanting to move away from replacement hiring, and trainers needing a basic understanding of succession planning for employee development plans. This second edition looks closer at tools and new developments in software that can streamline planning efforts as well as updated best practices and considerations for addressing the needs of every generation when creating succession plans. Chapters include assessment tools, exercises, and job aids. Succession Planning Basics is part of ATD’s Training Basics series.

The purpose of succession-related practices is to ensure that there are ready replacements for key positions in an organization so that turnover will not negatively affect the organization's performance. CCL first published an annotated bibliography on succession planning in 1995. That bibliography focused primarily on the link between succession and management development. This bibliography has a broader scope; it is an update and expansion, commensurate with the maturation of this area of practice. In addition to linkages between succession and development, we also consider representative literature on CEO succession, high potentials, and succession systems and architecture. It is hoped that those who use this bibliography will find resources that help them in conceptualizing, planning, and implementing effective succession systems in their organizations.

Business succession planning is an ongoing process that identifies necessary competencies, then works to assess, develop, and retain a talent pool of employees, in order to ensure a continuity of leadership for all critical positions. Succession planning is a specific strategy, which spells out the particular steps to be followed to achieve the mission, goals, and initiatives identified in workforce planning. It is a plan that managers can follow, implement, and customize to meet the needs of their organization.