Succession Planning Article

A key member of your team has resigned – do you have a successor?

It’s the Friday afternoon before a long weekend and you’re looking forward to some well deserved R&R. In walks Brad – the manager for a high profile project that is under tight timelines. He announces he’s leaving your company and his resignation is effective in two weeks. You slump forward – how can he do this to you? The project is at a critical stage and you have no back-up for him. You were meaning to put that succession plan in place over a year ago – what happened?

As managers we are well intended but too often the day to day operation of our business gets in the way of forward planning. As a result we don’t execute plans for developing our people like we should and identifying successors for critical positions gets put on the back burner. Employees get disengaged by the lack of opportunity to learn and advance (key motivators for generation x and y) and as a result leave with very little notice.

Don’t procrastinate any longer – ensure you have a succession and leadership plan in place for your key positions. Engage your workforce by providing opportunities for them to learn and progress in your organization. Map out developmental plans for your people and provide opportunities for them to be continually learning. Succession planning evolves in organizations that have a learning culture because they continually assess the required competencies (skill, abilities and knowledge) they need to be successful; identify any gaps they have with respect to talent; and ensure they have a plan to develop or acquire the talent they need – especially for key positions.

It doesn’t need to be complicated. Engage your people in conversation to find out what their career aspirations are. Clearly articulate the competencies that you need for key positions in your organization. Ensure that you develop and measure performance relevant to these competencies particularly for your leaders. Know who your high performers are and those with high potential and keep them motivated and engaged. Offer different opportunities for development which could include: mentoring, on-the-job learning, courses, special assignments, workshops and conferences. Ensure you cultivate a learning environment by making it relevant to your workplace and keep the learning alive by sharing information amongst your people (i.e. lunch & learns).

Salopek Consulting are Human Resource and Business Specialists available on an on-call basis to assist with your people issues. We are a team of specialists who have advanced HR and business designations and a combined experience level in excess of 60 years. Check out our website at www.salopekconsulting.com

HR Practical Tips: Managing Staff Performance- Keep It Simple

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A new hire or a more efficient process?

Has business started to pick up? Is servicing the customer becoming more challenging because there just doesn’t seem to be enough staff or time in the day? Is it time to start hiring again? We are advising our clients to do their homework before hiring…..make sure it’s a new person you need and not just a new process. Many organizations hire staff when they should really tighten up their processes and/or automate some of their processes to increase efficiencies. If you have determined it’s time to hire then make sure you have thought through the recruitment process before beginning. A well developed recruitment strategy will save you time, money and increase the probability that you will hire the right person. Check out our website www.salopekconsulting.com and subscibe to HR Tips and Updates to access a document that will help you develop an effective recruitment process. Once you subscibe we will send you monthly updates free that will provide you and your managers with practical HR tips that you can put to work now!

Are you developing a team that is capable of going for Gold!

Since it's the week of the Olympics it seems only appropriate to talk about developing well performing teams. Great teams don't just happen....they are selected and/or developed. Once selected a team will require "work" before they start performing at their peak. When you bring a team of people together personality differences must be addressed and people need to understand what motivates the different members. People need to spend time connecting with each other on a personal level in order to really perform their best. Just think about it - how can I know what to expect or not to expect from my fellow team mate unless I understand their interests, their challenges and their aspirations. What are you doing as the coach or manager of your team of employees to ensure that they connect and understand each other so they can perform their absolute best? Take opportunities like staff meetings to go around the table and talk about something that employees like to do outside of work. Get to understand what motivates people outside of work and you will begin to understand what it will take to motivate them at work. Provide opportunities for your employees to socialize together and consider this productive time - they're getting to know each other which means they will work more effectively together. Go for the Gold - think about ways to allow your team to realize their full potential!

Pay attention to the people side of your business...

The year 2010 will bring us uncertain times - the stock market is a daily reminder to us that the economy is far from stable! We are advising our clients however that it is important in these uncertain times to pay attention to the people side of their business. You need to be communicating regularly with your staff - tell them as much as you can about the state of your business and what your plans are. If you don't they may make assumptions - and these assumptions may not be correct. They may worry and assume that you are planning to "cut back" and this may motivate them to look for work elsewhere. You certainly don't want your good performers jumping ship especially when you consider what it cost to hire and train them. Don't under estimate the importance of regular staff meetings where you engage your staff in some "straight talk" - telling them in simple language your plans and priorities. Reinforce the importance of confidentiality with your people and then trust that they will respect it. Watch how excited and engaged your people become when you start sharing your business plan.


Stay tuned for other practical advice on the people side of your business.....