Evidence-Based Succession Planning
The Business Case for Succession Planning
Many respected experts on effective leadership have reported that the hallmark of every successful organization is not only the caliber of its leadership, but also the continuity among those who lead their organizations toward higher levels of performance. Yet today, within our American workforce, declining loyalty, higher turnover, and a less experienced labor force mean that the absence of a well-defined succession plan can have a profound negative effect on productivity and profitability.
Without a clear succession planning process in place, companies leave themselves vulnerable to disruption, costly turnover, and the loss of invaluable institutional knowledge.
Succession planning is not simply about replacing leaders. It is about ensuring uninterrupted stability, preserving organizational memory, and building a pipeline of future leaders who can carry forward the mission, values, and strategy of the organization.
The Risks of Failing to Plan
Unfortunately, the absence of established and effective succession planning exposes organizations to needless and avoidable breaks in continuity. It also predisposes them to lose business opportunities and revenue, experience unnecessary turnover, and deal with the consequences of decreased productivity.
Such breaks often result in an experienced leader being replaced by another individual requiring an extended “learning curve.” The new leader is unfamiliar with the culture, internal politics, unique product or service offerings, and the history of how things are accomplished in that organization. Also, without formalized continuity planning programs, leaders tend to choose successors whose backgrounds and leadership styles are similar to their own and who are not likely to meet their organizations’ longer-term needs.
The Benefits of a Structured, Evidence-Based Approach
In contrast, effective succession planning offers many benefits. Research has found that those organizations providing clear opportunities for professional growth and promotion from within are significantly more profitable and successful. Giving employees these opportunities for career growth and development often leads to increased patient and employee satisfaction, productivity, and retention.
At Synergy, we bring decades of research and real-world experience to help organizations implement evidence-based succession planning tailored to their unique needs.
Our Proven Process for Succession Planning
1. Obtain Buy-In from Key Stakeholders
Earn the active support and commitment of senior leaders and boards, ensuring alignment with organizational goals.
2. Evaluate Current Progress and Identify the Organization’s Future Talent Requirements
Assess existing talent, determine readiness, and identify gaps relative to future strategic requirements.
3. Close Capability Gaps
Give particular attention to the disparity between organizational strategy and the competency of the leaders who will be required to implement it. Programs must be designed to address these gaps and reinforce the organization’s core values and philosophy.
4. Prioritize and Implement
Determine which organizational levels need to be included, establish program priorities, and develop a rollout strategy with timelines.
5. Measure, Review and Refine
Refine the process through a systematic review of the program’s effectiveness against predetermined benchmarks.
Another key to effective succession planning is an organization’s ability to differentiate those employees who are most likely to develop and meet its needs from those who will not produce the desired return on investment. This is especially critical with leaders. In fact, Synergy’s national research study found that the cost of promoting the wrong person can easily cost an organization six to ten times that individual’s annual salary.
A Question Every Organization Must Ask
Synergy has found the long-term success of an organization is to ask them:
“What would your organization do if it suddenly lost one or more executive team members?”