Processes for Management Succession Planning

All management succession plans should begin with a strategy that takes into account the company’s overall vision for the future.

The information about the strategy must flow into the leadership development pipeline, company processes, and corporate culture. At this level, the talent processes must be aligned with the company’s culture to support, the management succession strategy and key individuals must be identified are developed.

The company must work to cultivate successors by identifying the optimal on-the-job experience, coaching, mentoring, networking and formal learning channels. All of these processes must work in tandem toward the same goals yield a well-articulated, agile and flexible management succession plan.

The boards of various companies are now much more involved in the overall talent management and overseeing succession of critical management leader.

Thoughtful consideration and robust planning are necessary not only to identify those individuals who should be in the leadership pipeline but also to train them for future positions whether at the CEO or management level.

The Concept of Business Succession Planning

A business succession plan is a multidisciplinary process providing a comprehensive and strategic approach to guiding the transition of business ownership.

It is also defined as the process of determining how you are going to transfer your business ownership and transition out of a business management role while maximizing your personal financial security.

It is a dynamic document that is utilized as a guide to managing the issues of transition. When a succession plan is in place, it allows the business owner to articulate and effectively manages change.

A successful plan must be realistic and workable and not prepared in isolation.
It must involve family members, professional advisors, shareholders, partners, strategic employees and all stakeholders in the business.

Communication during the preparation and upon completion is a critical component of the process. Unless all the affected parties are clear about what is in the succession plan and have had the opportunity to participate in the preparation, there will be a problem.

The plan will address the issues of “when and how” the transition of the business to the new ownership and management will occur.